Furniture and wood: http://www.coopamerica.org/woodwise/cons... We need to ask the questions: " where is this wood from and how was it produced?" Consumers need to reject unsustainable forest products and demand alternatives. Many times, we do not see the link between unsustainable products and forest destruction. There is a need for communities to become involved and influence the larger corporations. Greenpeace has been working hard to educate consumers and convince industry to stop destroying ancient forests.
Computers: http://www.govlink.org/nwpsc/ComputerPur... There are many things consumers can be aware of when they buy computers. Here are a few of those ideas that the Northwest Product Stewardship council has listed. 1. Lease and take-back options (the purchaser buys computing "service" rather than a computer "product"). Dell and Gateway have substantial leasing programs. Dell, Hewlett-Packard and some others take back certain used equipment. 2. Choose operating systems and software that are readily upgradable 3. Ask for readily upgradable hardware. Toshiba is developing a modular, computer with a rewritable cartridge that can be upgraded electronically at low cost. 4. Make sure spare parts and service will be available (defined in "years available after production"). 5. Check to see that memory is easily expandable. 6. Demand "spare tire" software and licensing, pre-loaded to allow for simple reuse of hardware. (Spare tire software is 'inflated' when equipment is decommissioned. The original software-related data are erased.)
Packaging:
Here is another issue that needs to be addressed. These ideas are listed at the EPA site for computers but also could apply for many products: 1. Ask for several computer units to be packaged together for shipping (called "multi-paks") rather than boxed individually. 2. Require recycled-content materials and recyclable packaging. Recyclers need to know material types, so require labeling (type of plastic, metal, etc.) 3. Require manufacturers or shippers to take back packaging for reuse or recycling. City of Seattle and Boeing computer contracts do this. 4. Ask for on-line manuals and pre-installed programs. City of Seattle requires this. 5.Require that types and number of materials are minimized and content is labeled.
Other: 1. Demand products and parts designed so they can be disassembled with universally available tools; minimize use of fasteners. Compaq and Dell are experimenting with snap-in, snap-out assembly.
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