Categories: Science & Technology
|
24 February, 2020 6:06 pm

5 Ecologically Friendly Products That Are Not That ‘Green’

Share
Advertisements

Is paying attention to the environment by choosing ecologically friendly products your philosophy of life? Good, but sometimes even with the best intentions you can be wrong. In fact, there are many things that many people believe are ecological but are based on urban legends or false beliefs. Not everything that is natural is low impact, like cotton. And not always saving trees means protecting the environment.

Is paying attention to the environment by choosing ecologically friendly products your philosophy of life? Good, but sometimes even with the best intentions you can be wrong.

In fact, there are many things that many people believe are ecological but are based on urban legends or false beliefs. Not everything that is natural is low impact, like cotton. And not always saving trees means protecting the environment. Let’s try together to dispel some false myths and find out what is really the most sustainable alternative.

Advertisements

Ecologically Friendly Products: Soy or Dairy?

Soy is a very nutritious legume as a good source of plant protein. It is no coincidence that it is the main alternative to meat and dairy products. But is it more sustainable? Its production is. The production of a glass of soya vegetable drink requires 1/3 of water and emits 1/5 of CO2 emissions compared to a glass of milk.

In fact, cattle breeding has the highest environmental impact, but even soya is no joke.

Advertisements

Every year more than 1.5 million hectares of Amazonian forest are destroyed, and 10% of deforested areas are used to grow soybeans, almost all of which are GMO.

So it is all right to replace or alternate dairy products with plant products. But when you buy soya products, make sure they come from sustainable supply chains that don’t harm the environment.

Natural Fake Fabrics

Fashion is a sore point. It’s an industry with a very high impact. Just think that a quarter of the chemicals produced in the world are used for clothing, often made of synthetic fibres (derived from petroleum) and treated with solvents that pollute rivers and seas. Not to mention water consumption and CO2 emissions.

What many people unfortunately do not know is that we must also beware of natural fibres, such as cotton. 10% of pesticides produced in the world are used in its cultivation. Around 80% of the cotton on the market comes from GMO crops. And it consumes enormous amounts of water: more than 7000 gallons for a T-shirt! So cotton is fine, as long as it’s organic. Otherwise, it’s better to focus on other more sustainable fibres such as flax, hemp or bamboo.

Another deception is eco leather, which is anything but ecological. No animals die, it’s true, but it contains oil derivatives and it is not even a biodegradable or recyclable fabric.

The False Myth of Biofuels

We all know what the problems with conventional fuels are. They pollute, and make us dependent on oil, a resource that is not renewable anyway and will therefore gradually run out. Biofuels exist today as a sustainable alternative, obtained from agricultural crops such as wheat, maize, sugar cane and others.

They certainly reduce the emission of harmful substances into the environment. However, in order to cultivate these resources it is often necessary to deforest as is the case in South America with maize and palm oil in South East Asia. In addition, not only agricultural waste is used, but plants are grown specifically to become fuels. In this way, resources are taken away from the agri-food industry and competition and financial speculation are created which increases the price of cereals.

Más leídos

The growth of the International Association of Honored Developers.

Many companies during lockdown had to incorporate working remotely in their lifestyle, and even though smart working isn't a necessity anymore, studies have indicated that the demand of this way of working will be increasing in 2023.

The social network TikTok has conquered millions of young people around the world. Let's see how to juggle the filters and the best at the moment.

Amazon vs Walmart: companies with very different retail strategies. As their market share increases and smaller chains are pushed out of the market, who will take over?

The digital age revolves around data, we generate, store, and analyze it in ever-increasing amounts. However, managing this data flow can be a logistical nightmar. In this article, we present you AWS DataSync and we illustrate you how it simplifies and accelerates data transfers, taking the grunt work out of your data management routine.

Now the ultima tool to help parent. One simple act will be enough.

';