The terms "eco-friendly," "sustainable," and "green" often conjure similar ideas in our minds when attached to product branding or marketing. While each term carries its official definition, they are frequently used interchangeably, leading to confusion among consumers seeking environmentally conscious products. As a company committed to offering products aligned with these values, we find it crucial to clarify these marketing buzzwords, providing you with greater confidence in your purchasing decisions.
Understanding Sustainability:
In the context of cleaning and personal care products, sustainability encompasses both the environmental and social impacts throughout a product's lifecycle, including raw material extraction, usage impact, and disposal considerations.
The well-known mantra "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" encapsulates sustainable practices. Simple actions like reusing glass containers, cultivating your own produce, opting for well-formulated concentrates, or reusing greywater contribute significantly to both environmental health and personal savings.
Orana Essential's commitment to sustainability spans using naturally derived, renewable plant-based ingredients in our formulations. These ingredients are sourced from reputable suppliers with eco-compatible systems. Our products' effectiveness minimizes consumption, and their phosphate-free, biodegradable nature ensures gentleness to the environment. We mitigate packaging waste through concentrates and recyclable materials. Our products are also greywater and septic-safe, enabling water reuse.
What Does Eco-Friendly and Environmentally Friendly Mean?
At Orana Essential, we take pride in being both eco-friendly and environmentally friendly. According to the Oxford dictionary, this means being "not harmful to the environment." While this definition captures the essence, when applied to cleaning and personal care products, it entails a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding.
Ensuring eco-friendliness involves a multifaceted approach encompassing ingredient selection, sourcing, formulation, packaging, and even shipping methods. For us, steering clear of aggressive chemicals, pollutants, and fillers in our formulations in favor of naturally derived, biodegradable ingredients forms the basis of creating environmentally friendly products. This approach not only preserves the environment but also results in gentler, safer products for our customers. Our commitment extends to employing recyclable packaging, and utilizing recycled paper when necessary for shipping—encompassing a holistic "environmentally friendly" stance.
However, some brands employ creative interpretations of environmental friendliness by making minor changes to their processes, formulas, or packaging. While any positive change should be encouraged, the umbrella term of "environmentally friendly" is broad, and consumers might unintentionally overestimate the impact of these changes or overlook other environmentally detrimental aspects.
Understanding 'Green' Products:
The term "green" is broad and lacks specific insight into a brand's meaning unless further context is provided. Unfortunately, anyone can claim to be green without substantiating their claim.
Green, often associated with earthiness, naturality, and healthiness, can mislead buyers if not substantiated. Some brands employ a green color scheme with leaf imagery without altering their products or processes—an approach known as "greenwashing." This deception becomes apparent when astute buyers begin to inquire.
Authentic green products incorporate environmental components, such as recyclable packaging, waste reduction strategies, and formulations minimizing toxic ingredients. The key lies in researching a brand's interpretation of "green" before assuming its meaning.
At Orana Essential, being green entails minimizing our footprint while delivering effective products aligned with our customers' needs. Transparency is paramount in sharing processes, and insights with our valued customers. We're here to address any inquiries concerning our journey toward environmental friendliness. Feel free to ask us any questions.