Want to know what that word means you saw attached to our product? Want to better understand environmental issues? Have we got the list for you! We have compiled a list of terms we think are important to us and add to it frequently. Give it a read!
Biodegradable: the ability of a material to be broken down naturally by organisms in an ecosystem. Everything will biodegrade given enough time.
Bio-based: made from renewable sources, like corn starch or sugar cane.
Bio-blend: a blend of bio-based and petrol-based products. Sometimes biodegradable or compostable, sometimes neither.
Petrol-based: made from oil or natural gas, anything that is a non-renewable resource which contributes to emissions and harms the environment
Compostable: a product that can break down in a specific time frame and become non-toxic and natural elements, not releasing anything harmful to the environment
Home compostable: suitable to be placed in the compost bin at home along with other organic waste material, and will usually break down within 90 days
Industrial compostable: requires specific conditions to break down, usually provided by a large-scale industrial composting facility. Home compostable can also be industrially composted, but industrial compostable cannot be home composted
Carbon footprint: a calculated value that shows how much carbon emissions a person or company is responsible for.
Carbon neutral: having a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. Different from net zero, where net zero is a goal for countries, carbon neutral is more business based
Carbon Dioxide emissions: carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to the warming of the atmosphere. It is produced naturally in the environment, but also humans for example by burning fossil fuels and creating cement
Carbon offsetting: compensating for the emissions you create by investing in carbon being absorbed elsewhere. For example, our company produces emissions from making our products, and we offset it through Climate Partner who plants trees and creates renewable energy projects.
Circular economy: economic system based on the reuse and regeneration of materials or products in order to continue production in a sustainable way. Keeps materials in circulation and out of the landfill
Deforestation: the purposeful clearing of forested land. Cutting down trees.
FSC certified: certified by the Forest Stewardship council to ensure the forests are responsibly managed and meet high environmental and social standards
Greenwashing: occurs when an organisation spends significantly more resources advertising being green without actually being green, making people believe your company is more environmentally friendly that it actually is.
Renewable: is a natural resource which will replenish itself overtime. Good examples of this are solar energy, corn starch, plant materials, and wind energy
Non-renewable: a natural resource that cannot be readily replaced by natural means at a pace quick enough to meet consumption. Examples of this include coal and oil
Net zero: any emissions put into the atmosphere are being absorbed elsewhere by creating a zero balance. Goal by the UN states we need to reach net zero globally by 2050.
Recyclability: an object can be collected and repurposed into a new product rather than becoming trash
Recycled materials: made from materials that were once a product and became repurposed into a new product
Sustainable development goals: Goals created by the United Nations in 2015 to guide countries, leaders, and businesses towards developing a sustainable future for generations to come. Social, environmental, and economic issues are all targeted in the goals
Virgin Plastic: newly manufactured plastic made from non-renewable resources
Recycled Plastic: using once-used plastic being used to create a new product
Kraft Paper
PLA: Polylactic acid is a plastic usually made from renewable biomass. It is a bio-based plastic that is biodegradable
PET: Polyethylene terephthalate is a petrol-based plastic that is easily recyclable, but not biodegradable
CPP: cast polypropylene is a low-density plastic that is able to be recycled. It is not technically biodegradable, but takes a much shorter time to biodegrade than other kinds of virgin plastic.
LDPE: is a flexible and light-weight type of virgin plastic that is not biodegradable, but can be recycled
Closed-loop recycling: a recycling process where a product can be used and then turned into a new product indefinitely without losing any properties in the recycling process
Open-loop Recycling: is a recycling process where the materials are converted into waste and new raw materials, essentially “keeping the loop open” for potential waste
