Here's a great example of greenwashing that got called out by bloggers and caused a stir. Crane Paper, the makers of many beautiful high-end papers, have come out with a new line of 100% cotton paper. Their identity firm C&G Parnters is claiming (this link has been removed from their site): "This is the world's greenest paper. No trees or wood fiber go into it because is entirely made of cotton." In addition to some hasty copywriting, their Green Claim (GC), doesn't hold up.

It's easy to spot the lack of trees does not equal green, but savvy green minded people are increasingly looking all the way back through the production process to determine the total impact of a product.

The cotton used at Crane is a byproduct of industrial mills, where fibers are swept off the floor and become paper, just like how the company started by collecting rags in 1805, or so goes their story. But the original cotton product has already done its damage, something which carries over to all products associated with it. Conventionally grown cotton accounts for 25% of the world's insecticide use and 10% of its pesticides, according to the Pesticide Action Network. Detectable levels of these chemicals then appear in the groudwater of states where cotton is grown. And with a growing period of 6 months, cotton also requires an enormous amount of fresh water.

Crane's own environmental site has information on their commendable environmental efforts, including using water-based inks and treating wastewater to be composted to topsoil. More...

When I heard that New Seasons had recently begun offering online ordering, I squealed with delight. When I got the chance to test the new service for free as an ecometro.com blogger, my delight only intensified.
 
Fearless Husband, of course, was a bit more wary. “Remember the last time we did an entire grocery shopping trip at New Seasons?” he reminded me. “You know, the time we went almost $50 over budget?” Ahh, yes. I recalled it well. I’m an admitted impulse shopper, to say nothing of a sucker for stocking up on waaaay more than we need just because there’s a sale. But – but – this organic pasta sauce will never be this cheap, ever again! We must stockpile! More...

If inspiring thousands of people across America to go green isn’t enough, then I’m going to have to throw in my natural, bamboo, unbleached towel. I mean, if I had that towel I would toss it in with my cry of “Uncle!”  My wannabe status doesn’t seem to be a problem in this EcoMetro community where folks are united in an effort to simply do better more often, inspiring each other along the way by sharing ideas. Good deal. It makes for an awesome place to dip my toes into the eco-friendly wading pool. More...