Green Culture’s Enlightened Planet Statement

Green Culture’s Goal is to promote products that are designed or manufactured with the planet in mind. Our products are eco-friendly because the items are made from recycled materials or come from renewable or sustainable resources. We also feature Enlightened Products which may not be manufactured with 100% eco-friendly ingredients, but we do carry them because they are products which are much better for the planet than the products which currently exist in the market place.

At Green Culture, we strive for a 100% planet friendly product mix. Manufacturers, however, many times make wonderful products which do not meet our strict criteria. Manufacturers always LISTEN when we ask them to modify their products to be more in line with our environmental and enlightened products mission. However, manufacturers CHANGE their manufacturer processes and materials only when we show to them that we can send them a large volume of business. They know that we are a small and growing company committed to making great changes but the volume of business we drive to them does not justify modifying their manufacturing processes to achieve our strict goals. We know that with the help and support of our customers, we will grow and as we grow, we will work with our manufacturers to modify their manufacturing processes to get closer to meeting our strict criteria.

Our goal is to vigorously reduce consumption of non earth-friendly items and simultaneously offer consumers an alternative choice of products that are better for the planet. Everything we purchase and use involves some type of tradeoff. We put the task of vigorously promoting products that are better off for the planet above absolute purity. Boycotting and not promoting products that are much better than existing products, sends the message to manufacturers that there is no market at all for their products, which ends up hurting our overall movement.

Our goal is to also blend in fashion, style and great prices with our product offerings. We will never further our goals of making these products widely used in the mainstream by offering products which are not aesthetically appealing or well priced. We appreciate your understanding of our position and with your support, our company will grow large and together we will create changes in manufacturing processes and make more planet-friendly products that are made and prove to the world that these types of products are in demand and wanted by consumers on the planet!

Forest Facts

Forests - Then And Now.

Only 8,000 years ago, the Earth was covered by approximately 14.8 billion acres of forest. Today, as a consequence of human expansion (or exploitation, depending on how you look at it) the worlds forest area has shrunk to just 8.6 billion acres. Even more alarming, most of this loss occurred in the last 50 years.

Dwindling Tropical Forests.  In only the last 200 years, humanity has been directly responsible for the disappearance of over half of our tropical forests. In current temporal terms, we are losing the equivalent of 3,800 acres of tropical forest and 4 unique species every single hour.

Our Environment Policies

The movement towards eco-friendly products is gaining momentum.  Green Culture has found that select companies in the furniture industry are interested in obtaining raw materials from places in the world that promote sustainable forestry.  As of today, the movement and demand by consumers for environmental furniture is quite low.  However, furniture manufacturers understand the importance of buying plantation grown wood and wood that is sustainable.  Some forests are even Certified as being sustainably-harvested.  However, in most cases, many Certified Wood species are not available in the quantities required by our manufacturers so furniture manufacturers are unable to purchase only Certified wood.  In addition, some furniture manufacturers and many forests do not wish to pay fees to obtain certificates indicating that they are making eco-friendly products.  Thus, although many forests are sustainable and many wood species are sustainably-harvested, they do not have certifications but our manufacturers perform their own due diligence to ensure that they are in fact buying and using wood that is sustainably-harvested.  As a result, Green Culture primarily relies upon our own internal fact finding as well as the information given to us by our manufacturers to prove that the products are made with the environment in mind.  Green Culture strives to obtain products that are 100% environmentally friendly and the reality is that there are trade-offs.  Many furniture manufacturers do not believe that they can obtain the long lasting qualities of furniture by using water based stains and thus are forced to used other stains and finishes.  Green Culture�s goal is to strive towards 100% eco-friendly products.  We feel we can achieve this goal by selling products existing in the marketplace that are very environmentally-friendly.  As our company sales and demand for eco-friendly furniture products increase,  we hope to eventually manufacture products that are 100% environmentally-friendly.  Your purchases of our products now and in the future as well as your referrals to your friends, will help us expand to such a degree that we will have enough clout with manufacturers to have products made which will meet our goal of being 100% eco-friendly.  In the meantime, we will continue to strive to find the most eco-friendly products available in the marketplace and make these products available to you.  Please support us in buying our furniture and telling your friends about us!  Thank you.

Reclaimed Lumber

Is there any way to get old growth wood and still be environmentally sustainable? Yes - a growing deconstruction movement in both the U.S. and Canada is carefully dismantling old buildings, bridges, barns, ships, warehouses, wine tanks and other structures that were built with woods now rare and highly valuable. This cottage industry is successfully reclaiming beams, flooring, lumber, doors, windows, cabinets and any other wood that can be reused. This reclaimed wood is being reused as is, or re-milled as structural timber, flooring, furniture, decks, fences, doors, and more.

Wood reclaimers are also salvaging beautiful woods from river and lake bottoms, where many logs sank decades ago as they were floated to lumber mills from the forests where they were cut. Fine wood also enters the reclaimed wood industry from "urban forests" where trees in parks or on residential streets may have blown down or require removal. Orchards past their producing years yield wood for reclamation that would otherwise have gone to waste.

Recycled Poly-wood

Poly-Wood products start as dairy containers and soda bottles once destined for the landfills of America. After the end user drops the containers off at the recycling center or has them picked up at curbside, the collection is taken to the processing stage where they are separated, washed free of contamination, dried and ground into small flakes.

From there, the grounded flakes are blended with UV-inhibitors and an extrusion pigment system (so that the product has color all the way through and will not flake or peel off), along with foaming compounds, and selected process additives. The end result is a wood-like product manufactured to exacting reproducible specifications. Poly-Wood has exceptional resistance to moisture, corrosive substances, insects, and other environmental stresses. It does not absorb moisture, therefore, it will not rot, warp, splinter or crack. Additionally, Poly-Wood requires no waterproofing, staining, or similar maintenance when used in exterior applications.

Silk

Fact: Roughly 3,000 Bombyx Mori pupae are killed for one pound of silk

GreenCULTURE promises our customers that we will never knowingly sell lighting and furniture products that contain silk, and we require manufacturers to meet our cruelty-free criteria. Not many realize the link between silk and animal cruelty, but the evidence is stark and ample. Pupae are boiled alive, killed with steam, lanced with pins, or roasted by the scorching sun before they are able to break free from their silk cocoons as moths. While this preserves the continuous length of the silk thread, many don�t believe the end justifies the means. The questionable treatment of the Bombyx Mori doesn�t end there. The species has been so inbred that they are unable to fly if they do emerge from the cocoons. Males kept alive to mate are thrown outside after their task is done, often eaten by crows as they are unable to wing to safety. Mated female moths are immediately sliced open or crushed upon laying their eggs to check for disease. If signs of disease are present, the eggs are destroyed; if not, the survivors are reared to begin the cycle again.

Fact: GreenCULTURE does not abide by traditional silk harvesting techniques

GreenCULTURE is committed to selling compassionate products. Lamp shades and furniture fabrics on this site are crafted from cotton, linen, imitation leather or other humane alternatives to silk and leather product. We are aware that humane silk harvesting techniques exist that promote sustainability without the death of undomesticated moth pupae. We applaud such enlightened efforts and if we begin to sell silk products, consumers can rest assured they will be produced from these �wild silks.�

Leather

Resolving to nix leather purchases is one of the most important steps a person can make toward cultivating a positive, compassionate lifestyle. Reasons why GreenCULTURE refuses to carry leather goods are sundry and compelling, but most are symptomatic of two major trespasses on an eco-friendly existence: pollution and animal cruelty.

Fact: Chrome-tanning wastes almost 15,000 gallons of water and produces up to 2,200 pounds of �solid waste� per ton of hide processed at a facility

Chrome-tanning, the most widely used method in the United States for converting animal skins into the leather you see on the market today, is a process awash in materials considered hazardous by authorities like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Waste produced from the process of tanning, dyeing and finishing leather includes such noxious elements as formaldehyde, sulfides, oils, acids, coal-tar derivatives and residue from finishes. This toxic stew is linked to environmental risks, pollutes streams, lakes and rivers, and jeopardizes human health. Studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and other groups report that workers in such factories have higher risks of developing testicular, sinus and lung cancers, while residents around such tanneries have been linked to significantly higher incidences of leukemia.

Fact: According to the EPA, U.S. factory farms are the largest source of pollution to American waterways

When these pollutants are combined with the waste generated by raising the animals destined for leather and meat consumption, things become even bleaker: forest trees felled for pastures, exorbitant fossil fuel use, and 1.4 billion tons of untreated animal waste produced in the U.S. alone. Whether tanneries stay in developed countries or relocate to elsewhere to take advantage of lax environmental laws and cheap labor, pollution of the planet is a problem that transcends geographic borders

Fact: Leather is the most valuable co-product of the meat industry

If you�re vegetarian but still purchase leather products, you indirectly support the meat industry and the often inhumane treatment of the animals in the system. Cows, pigs, goats, and sheep are subjected to confinement, hormone and antibiotic injections, branding, tail docking, horn removal, and repeated breeding. Exotics aren�t immune to the leather industry, with alligators, kangaroos, shark, snakes, and boars considered prime sources of luxury leathers. Instances exist of domestic cat and dogs skinned for leather in Asia and exported to European and the Western countries under �Genuine Leather� labels. It can become a challenge to differentiate legal from illegally gained leather.

Fact: GreenCULTURE never sells leather product on its furniture and lighting sites

While we respect the fact that regulations exist to try and curb abuses and unwarranted discomfort in animals, GreenCULTURE circumvents this industry entirely, avoiding leather products. Manufacturers abide by our mandate, and as a result, we offer a dazzling array of natural fiber, microfiber, faux leather and vinyl substitutes that decorate your house in compassionate, leather-free style!

Stainless Steel

Fact: New stainless steel contains 50%-70% recycled scrap stainless steel

Stainless steel is a sterling example of a recycling success story that just keeps getting better. Stainless steel product in today�s market is comprised of at least 50% recycled stainless steel material, which equates to less scrap languishing in our landfills. Not only that, this versatile, durable metal is 100% recyclable, feeding back into the recycling loop as a renewable resource. So take a second look at that stainless steel table leg, there�s more than a 50% chance it had a past life as a sink, silverware or even a beer keg. Even more good news: the stainless steel industry expects the amount of recycled metal in new product to increase in the future. Your low maintenance stainless steel product also requires less toxic chemicals like paint, cleaners, solvents, and protective coatings throughout its lifetime.

Sustainable Timber Harvesting / Plantation Grown Lumber

Fact: Central America has lost more than half its rainforest in the last 50 years.

If a tree falls in our rapidly vanishing temperate, boreal, or tropical forests, does it truly matter whether it makes a sound? Even if you don�t hear it, you certainly feel the effects of deforestation. The impact of unchecked slash-and-burn farming and environmentally unsound commercial logging is devastating enough to be felt on a global level.

Fact: Deforestation is estimated to release 1/3 of the CO2 caused by people

The consequences of deforestation are varied and create problems of unfortunate complexity. We rely on indigenous forests to absorb carbon as part of their photosynthesis cycle and keep the heat-trapping gas under control. Conversely, burned or rotting trees left in the wake of commercial logging and slash-and-burn farming release an excess of carbon dioxide. This adds to the current problem of mounting temperatures known as global warming.

Fact: Deforestation is the permanent destruction of a once viable area

Additionally, decimation of rainforests in particular creates a catastrophic disruption of fragile eco-systems. In the Amazon, half of the water content in the eco-system is held within the trees. The loss of flora results in an inability of the region to retain water, leading to soil erosion, silt traveling to bodies of water, and the extinction of animal and insect species dependent upon the forest canopy and undergrowth. The severity of this problem is revealed when you consider more than 50% of the planet�s species reside in these dwindling forests. Because slash-and-burn farmers don�t allow the land to fully recuperate from initial farming before coming back a few years later to reclaim the soil, the ground is leeched to the extent it loses all ability to produce vegetation. A wasteland is all that remains.

Fact: The Associated Press reported in June 2006 that the Earth is the hottest it�s ever been in 2,000 years

The grave fact of the matter is that without a desperately needed adjustment in the mentality of farmers and lumber companies that practice environmentally negligent harvesting, we stand to lose most rainforests and tropic woodlands by 2050. This is where sustainable harvesting, stewardship forestry and educated consumer choices come into play.

Fact: GREENCulture only works with manufacturers that practice sustainable harvesting or stewardship forestry

GREENCulture believes treading lightly upon this earth can meet our needs without needless destruction. Our furniture manufacturers must adhere to our strict criteria of practicing sustainable harvesting or using plantation lumber, which ensures that trees are being replanted to replace those being used. In this manner, the harvest site doesn�t lose viability and can be used again. This not only helps the environment, but teaches indigenous people how to maintain a living without despoiling the source of their livelihood for their children. We also seek producers who practice stewardship forestry, which not only involves replanting and managing a harvest site, but protects the sanctity of the eco-system within its boundaries. Organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) are making it easier for consumer and retailers alike to purchase sustainably harvested wood products with their certification programs. Manufacturers with such �Chain of Custody� certificates have proven every step of their harvesting practice is environmentally sensitive. GREENCulture always seeks new products and gladly listens to recommendations from customers who are able to find products made from sustainable wood or which bear the FSC label. GREENCulture hopes that all furniture manufacturers will turn to these enlightened harvest methods in the future.