Not All 'Green' Products Really Are

The growth in the number of consumers who go out of their way to choose “environmentally friendly” products means more and more businesses want to position their products as “green.”

But with Earth Day approaching, perhaps it’s a good time to remember that not all products that claim to be green actually are.

A study released at the American Chemical Society National Meeting reports that ingredients in some products labeled “green” actually come from petroleum. The study analyzed more than a dozen samples of commercial liquid laundry detergents, dishwashing liquids, and hand washes.

Not all carbon is equal

“Not all carbon is created equal -- carbon originating from petroleum is clearly not from a renewable resource. No one can dispute that we need to use less petroleum and consumer products are no exception,” said Cara Bondi, who led the research team.

The problem may stem from definition. There are no legal or standard definitions of sustainable, natural, or renewable. If the law is confused, it’s no wonder consumers are too.

Bondi and her colleagues used an indisputable scientific indicator: where did the carbon in these products originate? Did it come from plants or from petrochemicals produced synthetically from petroleum?

Archeologists’ tool

To answer that question, Bondi’s team turned to a variation of the famous carbon-14 dating technique, used to analyze carbon in ancient bone, cloth, and other artifacts.

The products tested showed significant variation in plant-derived carbon content: hand washes ranged from 28%-97%, liquid laundry detergents from 28%-94% and dishwashing liquids from 43%-95%.

The research also revealed that all of the products tested that are positioned in the consumer market as “green” contained over 50 percent more plant-based carbon on average than product samples tested without such positioning. So, a product without the “green” designation on its label might actually be better for the environment than as so-called “green” product.

More surprises

And, there were other surprises.

“The plant-derived carbon content of the product samples tested was largely inconsistent with some of the content claims made on packaging,” Bondi said. “For example, a liquid laundry detergent that makes the claim ‘petrochemical free’ contained only 69 percent plant-based carbon, meaning that 31 percent of the carbon in this sample is, in fact, petroleum-derived.”

What it means, Bondi says, is consumers can’t always trust a label that shouts “green” Instead, you have to know where the carbon is coming from.

“Carbon derivation is the cornerstone of sustainability and, as such, understanding the ratio of plant-derived versus petroleum-derived carbon is critical for both consumer product manufacturers and raw material suppliers who are trying to minimize petrochemical use,” Bondi said.

Radiocarbon dating, she says, that tool used by archeologists to determine the age of artifacts, just might be a tool for regulators to determine just how earth-friendly a “green” product really is.