This report features seven electronics companies (two major consumer electronics companies, and five component suppliers) that have moved beyond compliance with regulatory mandates and engineered environmental solutions that negate the need for most – and in some cases all – uses of brominated and chlorinated chemicals. The case studies provide examples of how companies have addressed industry-wide technical performance challenges associated with this material change, while… …
In an effective Extended Producer Responsibility scheme the true cost of waste management is internalized within the retail price and companies, because they are now financially responsible, will seek to reduce these costs to remain competitive - which can drive ecodesign. This factsheet examines how individual producer responsibility is a factor to encourage and reward ecodesign in electronics. …
Since its founding in 1989, California based Avalon Natural Products has been a leader in making cosmetics from natural and organic ingredients. Avalon sells mainly in the organic and natural foods market, through stores such as Whole Foods and Wild Oats, but is seeing increased interest from mainstream retailers who wish to attract the growing numbers of health conscious consumers. The company initially developed two major lines of cosmetic products — Avalon Organics, using a high… …
Terratex PLA represents Interface’s latest innovation on the company’s journey towards sustainability. Launched in 2004 as the first commercial interior fabric made from 100 percent renewable biopolymers, Terratex PLA is used in window treatments and office cubicle paneling. Over the past eight years, Interface’s product development team worked to introduce this new fiber, developing one of the most comprehensive approaches to selecting green chemistry in the textile industry. …
You’ve got to have your supply chain aligned to manage chemicals in retail fashion. In this fast moving industry, designs sell out in six months. With this high turnover rate, fashion companies like H&M never design the same product twice. As a result, chemistry for dying and finishing textiles is set during the earliest stages of the design process. Once design is complete, there is no chance to go back and redefine the chemicals used in the product. …
Long before green design became popular, a culture that would nourish it had formed at Herman Miller. Product design at Herman Miller has long been seen in the light of constraints, problem solving, and long-term value. The designer Charles Eames, renowned for his “Eames Chairs”, saw constraints as a constructive force in design. …
In the mid 1990’s, Dell shipped its first computers and displays free of a host of toxic brominated flame-retardants. Since then, Dell has worked with its customers, regulators, investors and environmental advocates to develop a broader list of restricted materials and implement a program with suppliers to reduce their use in Dell products. …
The Premier healthcare alliance is committed to protecting the environment and maintaining a safe and healthy climate for patients, workers and communities. Premier and its members are leaders in the industry, setting the bar for environmentally preferable purchasing and healthcare practices and working to transform healthcare. …