Greenwash Watch: Greenwashing Your Countertop: LG Eden

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First off, anyone who markets green products with lame hippie imagery should be smacked round the head, and is going to get looked at really closely. So what is it? It is a thermosetting acrylic countertop material that is "one of the most environmentally conscious acrylic products in the industry" from a company that advertises "When we go green, we go all the way."

And why is it green? Because "the Eden Collection is created from a minimum of 12% pre-consumer recycled material."- somewhat akin to calling a product vegan when it is made from 88% lard. When you look at their "how to screw LEED points out of this" PDF manual they get a point for this minimal standard of recycled content, and also squeeze out a "Regional Materials" point for being made in Georgia.

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And where does this 12% pre-consumer recycled material come from? According to their press release, "During the manufacturing process, LG takes an environmentally responsible approach to handling imperfect sheets by utilizing them as regrind material to be used in standard line colors versus sending them to a landfill."

So they grind up their own manufacturing inefficiencies and mistakes, stuff that should never have been created in the first place, and call that recycling.

I am not certain which is worse, the marketing or the product. Both are blatant greenwashing. ::LG Eden