Our rating system is our way of measuring the level of “green ness” for any of our products. We do this by asking 6 questions of each product visually represented by our Structured Green Flower. The more criteria the product meets the greener it is. In an effort to simplify your experience and to plainly understand the standards to which each manufacturer produces, we created a series of questions that are clearly answered yes or no.

As the green movement picks up speed, there is still a good deal of refinement that must go into what it means to be green. There are many standards of green-ness, from the sustainability of the materials used, to the amount of shipping that goes into a piece’s production. There are certainly some products that are better than others. We don't claim our rating system to be the most exhaustive standard, but it is extremely useful.

Here are our questions of green-ness:

IS IT MADE FROM A RENEWABLE/SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL?
This is a straightforward question, and one that the majority of our pieces will meet. In terms of our wood furniture, the basic tenet of sustainable forestry is that the amount of material yielded from a forest should be at a level the forest is capable of producing without degradation of the soil, watershed features or seed source for the future as well as having a replenishment rate of 30 years.

Aluminum, known as an "energy bank", refering to the fact that electrical energy embedded in aluminum can be "energy banked" because aluminum products can be endlessly remanufactured with only 5% of the energy and emission originally required to produce the virgin product. From a sustainability viewpoint aluminum's high life-cycle value and recyclability make it a great option for eco-friendly furniture making.

IS IT THIRD PARTY CERTIFIED?
Third party certification is a resource for providing credible and reliable criteria to distinguish products that perform well and are preferable with respect to human and environmental health. Janice Frankle, an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission said, “an environmentally friendly product claim must be supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence that should include testing, analysis, research, studies and other professional evidence”. Third party certification provides this support by creating a set of specialized standards.

The current entities for green certification that are most applicable to the products we carry are:

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
Sustainable Funishings Council (SFC)
Green Seal
Smart Wood
Green Guard
Oeko-Tex

The FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) standard:
Ensures FSC certified wood is accounted for as it passes along the supply chain.
Ensures that when FSC certified wood is mixed with other wood, the non-FSC certified wood does not come from controversial sources.
Provides for use of recycled/reclaimed material.
Provides a range of on-product and promotional labeling options.
The risks that must be ruled out are:
Illegal logging
Logging in areas where there is violation of traditional or civil rights.
Logging in forests in which high conservation values are threatened by management activities.
Logging in areas being converted from forests and other wooded ecosystems to plantations or nonforest uses.
Forests in which genetically modified (GM) trees are planted.

Sustainable Funishings Council (SFC):
The Sustainable Furnishings Council is a non-profit balanced coalition of industry players founded at High Point, NC in October 2006 to promote sustainable practices among manufacturers, retailers, and consumers alike. SFC members acknowledge the tremendous urgency, and will take immediate steps to minimize carbon emissions, waste stream pollutants, un-recyclable content and primary materials from unsustainable sources from any product platform under our control. Members will utilize Life Cycle Assessment as the best method for analyzing the environmental impact of their products, and a verifiable chain of custody as the only acceptable method for tracking wood flow. SFC members support the triple bottom line of PEOPLE - PLANET - PROFITS and will lead the industry in developing awareness of best practices throughout their supply chains. Members will accomplish this goal by increasing their purchases from suppliers that show continual improvement toward meeting our high standards.
The Sustainble Furnishings Council duties are as follows:
Raise awareness of the sustainability issue
Assist companies in adopting good practices
Serve as an information clearing house
Create a symbol of assurance for consumers

Green Seal:
Specifically, Green Seal meets the criteria of ISO 14020 and 14024, the standards for ecolabeling set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO); the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's criteria for third-party certifiers of environmentally preferable products; and the criteria for bona fide ecolabeling bodies of the Global Ecolabeling Network.
The EPA criteria specify that a legitimate third-party certifier must have:
An open, public process that involves key stakeholders (businesses, environmental and consumer groups, states etc.) in developing its criteria or standards.
Award criteria, assumptions, methods and data used to evaluate the product or product categories that are transparent (i.e., they are publicly available, easily accessed and understandable to the lay person).
A system of data verification and data quality.
A peer review process (with representation of all stakeholders) for developing the standards or criteria.
Criteria which are developed based on a "systems" or life cycle approach (i.e., "cradle to grave").
An outreach program to educate the consumer, which includes clear communications to consumers that provide key information concerning environmental impacts associated with the product.
An established goal of updating standards or criteria as technology and scientific knowledge advance.
Authority to inspect the facility whose product is certified to ensure compliance with the standards or criteria.
Testing protocols for the products that are certified which ensure testing is conducted by a credible institution.
Access to obtaining the seal by small and medium sized companies (e.g., the cost of the seal is not so high as to prevent access by companies).
Compliance with the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims.

Smart Wood:
Smart Wood sets the international gold standard for credibility in auditing environmentally and socially responsible forestry. The Rainforest Alliance's Smart Wood program offers a diverse set of certification and verification services. While each of these services has a different focus -- ranging from Forest Stewardship Council certification, to verification of legality, to the management of high conservation value forests -- they all benefit from the rigor and expertise of the Smart Wood team.
Smart Wood auditors can verify the legality of forest products, the accuracy of carbon calculations and help identify and manage forests of high cultural and biological significance.
Smart Logging is a rigorous, third-party, field performance-based audit and certification system for individuals and groups of loggers represented by loggers' associations, master logger programs and forest products companies.

Green Guard:
The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) has established performance based standards to define goods with low chemical and particle emissions for use indoors, primarily building materials, interior furnishings, furniture, cleaning and maintenance products, electronic equipment, and personal care products. The standard establishes certification procedures including test methods, allowable emissions levels, product sample collection and handling, testing type and frequency, and program application processes and acceptance.

Oeko-Tex:
Oeko-Tex Standard 100 is an international testing and certification system for textiles, limiting the use of certain chemicals, developed in 1992.
Responsibility for the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 is shared between the 17 test institutes that make up the International Oeko-Tex Association. The criteria catalogue which forms the basis for the tests for harmful substances is based on the latest scientific findings and is continually updated, ensuring that the requirements for the human ecological safety of the textiles tested are more far-reaching every year. With a total of over 51,000 certificates issued for millions of different individual products, and over 6,500 companies involved world-wide, the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 has become the best known and most successful label for textiles tested for harmful substances.
Samples are tested for their pH-value, formaldehyde content, the presence of pesticides, extract-able heavy metals, chlorinated organic carriers and preservatives and allergy-inducing dyestuffs.

IS IT US MADE?
The relevance of US Made products, has as much to do with supporting our national/local economy as it does to do with minimizing the burning up of barrel-loads of fossil fuels shipping ideas, materials, and objects all around the planet.

IS IT RECYCLABLE?
As much as we hope that the enduring beauty and lasting craftsmanship will ensure that what you buy from us will remain useful, beautiful and in your family's "collection" for many many years to come, the reality of our changing lives and adapting needs means that sometimes we have to upgrade, alter or replace certain items. In the rare case that you should want to replace one of our pieces, it's important to know that whether you choose to donate it to a charity organization or not, that the components can be disassembled and reused, up-cycled or safely disposed of.

ARE THE COMPONENTS (screws/adhesives/padding/etc) NON-TOXIC?
As important as it is for the primary materials of our products to be sustainable and non-toxic, it is equally important that efforts are made to consider all elements, no matter how small. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted by dyes, adhesives, varnishes, seals and solvents. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified indoor air pollution as one of the four greatest risks to human health. The World Health Organization estimates that 30% of new and remodeled buildings worldwide experience indoor air quality problems.

DOES THE MANUFACTURER RUN AN ECO-FACTORY?
This is our own term used to refer to the code of conduct of any manufacturer’s factory. Many manufacturers are extending their belief in the green movement beyond just the products they make and are practicing eco-friendly measures within their offices and factories.
Manufacturers who meet this criteria practice one or more of these:
Support local artisans/craftspeople.
Run an energy efficient office/factory.
Run a waste-free factory.
Use Fair Trade business practices.
Use alternative energy.
Implement flatpacking/softwrapping or other progressive shipping methods.

Please contact us at cs[AT]structuredgreen[dot]com with questions or thoughts on our green-ness rating.