Procter & Gamble Plans More Compact Detergents

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:00:00 -0500

Over the next five years, Procter & Gamble U.K. will reduce how many formats its laundry detergents come in, narrowing them down to versions that use fewer resources, reported MarketingWeek.

In the coming years, the company will toss out all liquid and tablet formats, first launching gel versions of its Bold, Daz and Fairy products this summer. In October P&G rolled out its Ariel Excel Gel, which requires 40 percent less water during manufacturing and comes in 14 percent less packaging than compact liquids. » read more

Closing The Loop For Carpeting

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:00:00 -0500

For more than 15 years Zeftron Nylon's 6ix Again program has collected and recycled waste commercial carpet, turning used nylon 6 - a type of nylon that is infinitely recyclable - into brand new nylon.

Richard Ranke, Zeftron's marketing specialist, spoke with GreenBiz Radio about Zeftron's Cradle-to-Cradle certification and how it's 6ix Again program helps find alternate uses for unwanted carpet.

Jonathan Bardelline: First off, could you tell me a bit about Zeftron Nylon and how it is a Cradle-to-Cradle product? » read more

California Gives $20 Million to Recycling Projects

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:00:00 -0500

Twenty projects throughout California will receive a total of $20 million to improve the collection of recyclables, provide cleaner recyclable material, create new jobs and increase the amount of products with recycled content. » read more

Minnesota Lists Car Air Conditioning GHG Leakage Rates

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:00:00 -0500

A new Minnesota law that goes into effect Jan. 1 requires automobile manufacturers to publicly report how much of a greenhouse gas their vehicle air conditioners leak.

Car makers are required to report the leakage rate for the refrigerant HFC-134a for every 2009 vehicle they sell in Minnesota, and the list is available on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency website. HFC-134a is about 1,400 times more potent than carbon dioxide. » read more

Sustainability Standard for Casino Gaming Underway

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:00:00 -0500

A committee is being formed to develop a sustainability standard for the casino gaming industry.

The drive for sustainability in gaming is being led by the non-profit Leonardo Academy and casino equipment seller EGM Green, which have teamed up to develop a standard under the rules of the American National Standards Institute.

The goal of the standard is to help those in the gaming industry identify and explain the green aspects of their products and services and to allow purchasers to identify the sustainability aspects they're looking for. » read more

Sony Rethinks the Clamshell

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:00:00 -0500

Sony is expected to soon announce new types of packaging to replace hard-to-open plastic clamshell packaging.

The electronics company has been rethinking packaging for at least the better part of the year; at an annual employee meeting in April, Sony showed a video of people trying to open clamshell packaging - unsuccessfully - with their hands, teeth and a hacksaw. Sony has posted part of that video on its blog and says it is "working on the matter." » read more

Product Stewardship Gains More Allies

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:00:00 -0500

Product stewardship councils in Vermont and British Columbia have adopted the “Joint Framework Principles for Product Stewardship Policy."

The concept of product stewardship makes producers responsible - financially and/or physically - for the proper collection and disposal of items. The principles are intended to guide legislation and policies that oversee multiple products, instead of legislating on a product-by-product basis. » read more

California EPA Releases Final Green Chemistry Framework

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:00:00 -0500

The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) has developed a six-part framework for furthering the statewide Green Chemistry Initiative.

Launched in April 2007 and leading to more than 800 ideas, the Green Chemistry Initiative is an effort to change how California approaches chemicals. The framework touches on evaluating chemicals, informing businesses about how to reduce toxins in products, bringing green chemistry to the classroom and educating businesses and consumers about what is in products and how those products have impacted the environment. » read more

Lunar Design's Journey Towards Green

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:00:00 -0500

As Lunar Design strives to bring sustainability to product design, it's developed a company-wide initiative, called Elements, to guide both the greening of its internal operations and the products it makes.

Travis Lee, Lunar's sustainable engineering lead, and Alberto Villarreal , the company's senior lead designer, spoke with GreenBiz Radio about clients asking for greener designs, the challenges of lowering product impacts, and how Lunar helped HP reduce materials and save money.

Dell's Packaging Plan: Cut 20 Million Pounds, Save $8 Million

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:00:00 -0500

Dell plans to eliminate 20 million pounds of packaging for its desktop and laptop computers around the world within the next four years, a move expected to save $8.1 million.

The company will cut out about 10 percent of its computer packaging as well as make the remaining packaging greener. Dell wants to make at least 75 percent of its packaging curbside recyclable by 2012 and increase the renewable and recycled content of cushioning and corrugate by 40 percent. » read more