Welcome back for another edition of the green news weekly.  This week we go green shopping with the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics; then, we decorate for the holiday season taking advantage of Home Depot’s Holiday LED light exchange; and finally, you’ll be surprised to learn what percentage of the US population is now buying organic foods based on a survey released by the Organic Trade Association.

Greenpeace has released the seventeenth edition of the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics.  Companies were rated on a scale of 1 to 10 which places them in either a green, yellow or red zone contingent on their performance.  “HP, Dell, Nokia, Apple lead the way by innovative cradle-to-cradle design, use of less toxics as well as use of eco-friendly material in their products.” HP stole the top spot from Nokia because of their high score “when it came to measuring and reducing carbon emissions from its supply chain.”  Here’s the top 10 based on score (you can download the score card for each company):

1. HP 5.9/10
2. Dell 5.1/10
3. Nokia 4.9/10
4. Apple 4.6/10
5. Philips 4.5/10
6. Sony Ericsson 4.2/10
7. Samsung 4.1/10
8. Lenovo 3.8/10
9. Panasonic 3.6/10
10. Sony 3.6/10

It’s that time of year when everyone starts taking out and checking their lights in preparation for the holiday season; however, not everyone’s lights are eco-friendly. Home Depot Canada is doing something to help remedy that very problem through their Eco Options program. On Saturday November 12th to Sunday November 13th 2011 from 8AM – 3PM (where open) in all Canadian Home Depot Stores they will be hosting a light exchange. All customers have to do is bring in their old incandescent or old LED holiday light string and they will receive an in-store coupon for 30% off a new energy efficient set of LED holiday lights.   There will be a limit of five coupons per household and each coupon can be used for up to five new sets of lights. This should help an average household replace all their outdoor lights for the holiday season. 

New LED light sets are 80% more energy efficient than the traditional incandescent version of holiday lights. Being more efficient means that a new set of LED lights will last up 25,000 hours or the equivalent of 12 holiday seasons. These new sets come with replacement bulbs and don’t heat up like the previous generation of lights, making them safer while saving money on energy.

Home Depot’s Eco Options program is designed to help customers identify products that are making an environmental difference, one purchase at a time. Home Depot also has Eco Options Consumer Events, which help customers “upgrade to more energy and water-efficient products, and providing public education on key environmental issues.” The company also hosts recycling programs, which help consumers responsibly recycle batteries, compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), and “paint (in select provinces).” The light exchange program will certainly help make this holiday season a little brighter, while being greener.

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) has reported that seventy–eight percent of U.S. families say they purchase organic foods. “In a time when the severity of the economy means making tough choices, it is extremely encouraging to see consumers vote with their values by including quality organic products in their shopping carts,” said Christine Bushway, OTA’s Executive Director and CEO. “Nearly half – 48 percent – of parents surveyed revealed that their strongest motivator for buying organic is their belief that organic products “are healthier for me and my children.” Other motivators for purchasing organic included concern over the effects of pesticides, hormones and antibiotics on children, and the desire to avoid highly processed or artificial ingredients.”

Stay tuned for more green news.
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