Green Products: What Are They Really?

BioSafe Systems makes many green products. GreenClean Granular Moss & Algae Control for Lawns and Landscapes eliminates disease-causing pathogens that create unsightly brown spots and patches on lawns. Courtesy of BioSafe Systems

As with most marketing and advertising jargon, the term green can be defined in many ways-its definition tweaked to support a particular message or point of view. In recent years, green has even made its way into the scientific lexicon (e.g., green chemistry). Yet, while the general consensus is that green refers, in some way, to environmentally-preferable attributes of a product, service, and/or technology, there is no single, universal definition of the term.

What constitutes a green product? How has the term green has been used and misused? How can green products affect indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and human health?

By the late 1980s and 1990s, the notion of green products became somewhat trendier. The practice of marketing products as such became more commonplace in niche markets. But it wasn't until the start of the 21st century-when concerns over global warming and natural resource depletion began gaining momentum-that green went mainstream and began influencing the practices of product manufacturers.

Around the same time, researchers focusing on building-related illnesses began to understand the health benefits of good IEQ. Subsequently, building rating systems, certification programs and certain eco-labels started to make IEQ a priority. Third-party product certification programs (such as LEED) focusing specifically on green products also began surfacing in the marketplace, largely in response to concerns about product toxicity and children's health.

A growing body of research suggests that exposure to chemical emissions-in particular, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from common indoor materials and finishes-can have numerous adverse health effects, including an increased risk of asthma, pulmonary infections, and allergies.

It is critical to note the distinction between chemical emissions from products (which are a major source of indoor air pollution) and chemical content of products. Many products claim to be low-VOC or no-VOC because they comply with various state and federal VOC content regulations.

Other products may make similar claims even if they lack data to corroborate them. The problem is that these content-based VOC regulations were developed to help reduce outdoor VOC emissions that contribute to the formation of ground ozone and smog.

They weren't developed to reduce indoor VOC emissions and chemical exposure to building occupants. Since not all VOCs contribute to ozone and smog formation, low-VOC or no-VOC products can still off-gas potentially toxic chemicals into the indoor environment.

- Courtesy of Air Quality Sciences