Nature.is

The Work Environment - guidelines

The work environment is a concept that encompasses both the work site and the products and the work itself which is related to and performed with the product. Guidelines for use on the packaging should therefore ensure that the product is used in a safe and secure manner.

Guidelines for each product should show how the product should be used without endangering health of the worker or user of the product. The product should not be harmful to health and it is the responsibility of the producer and then the distributor to ensure that the right message about the right use of the product reaches the consumer.

Harmful agents in the working environment can, for instance be: noise, air pollution, the wrong use of chemicals, evaporation and the wrong working position:

Noise – Does the use of the product create noise, measured in dB(A)?

Air pollution – Toxic chemicals may not be released into the atmosphere (many chemicals are not harmful in the right mixture but can become toxic if released from chemical bonds).

The wrong use of chemicals – Does the usage of the product demand special care or specific use of chemicals? If so, which chemicals? Can the chemicals be harmful to human health? Guidelines because of maintenance and running of the product have to be available. It can be of little use to buy an environmentally friendly product if the use of the product requires a large quantity of unsavory chemicals!

Evaporation – Sooner or later chemicals evaporate into the atmosphere. Therefore the producer has to define accurately which chemicals are incorporated into the product. Slow evaporation can be harmful in the long term even though a point measurement shows chemical concentrations within limits.

The environmental situation in general has improved in many respects as more knowledge and better technology has become available, for instance cleansing equipment in industry. But new knowledge has also led to new discoveries. Pollution that is taking place today is in many ways more complicated than it was in the past. The pollution sources are more numerous., They are also more spread out and the pattern of consumption has changed enormously. The root of chemical release into the environment stems, for instance, from our consumer products today, while we’re using them.

Bromated flame retardants and phthalates are among the common chemicals found in household appliances and clothes all around us. Those chemicals however, have a negative effect on both human health and the environment. Bromated flame retardants have been used for a long time in order to make plastics and resins more resistant to heat/flame. Those chemicals are most likely to be found in your computer and in the textile (áklæði?) on your chair. Today the consumer has a choice. I It is possible to buy both textiles and computers without bromated flame retardants. Many synthetic chemicals are toxic and should be avoided. But it is also necessary to avoid those chemicals that appear harmless but have a negative impact over the long term. It can be very difficult to assess the impact of such chemicals;therefore care should be taken.

Wrong working positions concerns, for instance, the adjustment of chairs, furniture and equipment - Are there specific guidelines about the product, working positions and possible adjustments? It may be necessary to adjust, chairs, tables, screens, keyboards, control boards and the general working environment.

Biologically speaking we’re still primitive animals, designed to be constantly on the move out in nature. A stone has probably been our first desk. Today things are different. The human body, designed to be constantly on the move, sits for hours in almost the same position. This has led to the fact that more and more people suffer from pain in the neck and shoulders. Mouse shoulder, is becoming as common an affliction as tennis elbow among athletes When buying desks, chairs and computers, it should be kept in mind that use of the product can influence health. TCO labeling provides information about both the environment and how work-friendly the item is. TCO labeling encompasses computer screens, keyboards and office chairs.

Graphic: A symbol exclusively used for work environment at nature.is ©Nature.is.

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Let’s join our hands together and practice eco-shopping!

Ecologically conscious shopping or eco-shopping is about choosing the product which is less harmful to the environment compared to other products that serve the same need and have the same or lower outcome in LCA-analysis.

In order to facilitate the choice of goods and services that are environmentally friendly, Nature.is has compiled 11 eco-conscious guidelines that touch upon the most relevant sectors. The guidelines are clear and simple and help consumers pick the best available products from the viewpoint of health, environment and even social conditions, for what we usually call sustainable development.

Here in the horizontal row you see icons representing the guidelines and in the vertical column you see icons representing the different product categories. If you click on those icons you can read about each guideline and each product category. It is also easy to see which guidelines apply to each product type, as the relevant guideline icons are visible in a horizontal line next to the product.

The guidelines are: Energy, Fuel, Water use, Allergy, Hazardous Chemicals / Synthetic Chemicals, Heavy metals, Safety sheet, Environmental labes, Fair trade, Work environment and Recycling.

One or more of those guidelines are valid for every product. As soon as we grasp what we have to look for when choosing environmentally friendly products, eco-shopping becomes pure joy.

Practice makes perfect in eco-shopping like everything else. Our Earth cannot tolerate more exploitation and the disrespect often shown today.

Let´s join our hands together and practice eco-shopping!

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Demeter

Demeter is the brand for products from Biodynamic Agriculture. Only strictly controlled and contractually bound partners are permitted to use the brand. A comprehensive verification process insures strict compliance with the International Demeter Production and Processing Standards, as well as applicable organic regulations in the various countries. This is done without a gap, through every step, from agricultural production to processing and final product packaging.
Motivated by Rudolf Steiner's, Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture and Goethe's, Conception of Nature, Biodynamic farmers view their farms as individually unique living organisms.

See further information on Demeter's website.

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Hazardous Chemicals / Synthetic Chemicals - guidelines

Products that people buy and use on a daily basis contain chemicals whose purpose is to enhance the life of the product, make them softer, decrease the risk of fire, etc. Our consumption pattern is reflected in the home in a way that most people do not realize. Það er til dæmis hægt að greina yfir 150 mismunandi efni í “rykrottum” á hverju meðalheimili. Many of those chemicals have been classified as harmful by the EC, that is, they are poisonous, lipidic and do not biodegrade in the body. The great amount of many chemicals in our home is the main reason that chemicals increase faster in humans than in the natural environment. Domestic chemical use is the main source of synthetic chemicals in nature.

With new legislation within the European Union in 1981, it became necessary to register, not evaluate, all chemicals that are produced and sold within the EC. Applications for registration were received for 100,106 chemicals. It is estimated that today there are up to 70,000 chemicals in use within the countries of the EC, and of those, there are around 30,000 which are produced in higher quantities than one ton per company per year. Only around 5% of the chemicals used have undergone some kind of risk assessment. Therefore our knowledge of the impact of chemicals in general on both human health and the environment is still severely limited.

Many people believe that the chemicals used today as constituents in, for instance, shampoo’s , clothing, construction materials, toys and other things are all carefully tested and accepted by the environmental and health authorities. It is more apt to say that those chemicals are not forbidden since there is no law or regulation in effect which demands that the producer check the danger of those chemicals before they are used in the product or sold in another way.

It is however the duty of public authorities to investigate the chemicals in use and if such is the case, prove that they can be harmful to human health and the environment. Then those chemicals can effectively be banned. The burden of proof, thus, lies with the public authorities not with the companies that market the chemicals. Nature.is considers it only natural that the general consumer is informed about the effects of the various chemicals that are or can be part of a product. It is, therefore demanded by law that the producer/seller list and report to the public authorities what type of classification and which safety and precautionary measures apply to the chemical in question based on current law and regulations. There is, therefore, only a demand that the producer/seller in question report to the authorities the information required by law that he has to report anyway, on, for instance Material and Safety data sheets or on the commercial labeling of products.

Information about classification along with safety and precautionary labels is to be found in regulation 236/1990 [pertains to the classification, labelling and handling of hazardous chemicals and consumer products which contain such chemicals)] with later changes. Here it is correct to point out that in some cases the producer of the chemicals has to supply MSDS (Material Safety and Data sheets).

Example:

Chemicals such as flame retardants with bromide found in electric appliances, electrical chords, textiles, curtains, tapestry and furniture are considered harmful to the environment and may also have an effect on fertility and in other ways impair the health of human beings.

Plasticizers, so called phtalates, used in glue, paint, varnish, cosmetics, perfumes, plastic in floor materials and in certain toys are considered harmful to the environment and they too may also have a detrimental effect on fertility and in other ways impact on the health of human beings.

Biological chemicals with TBT which is, for instance, found in boat paint, textiles, clothing, leather products and floormats, besides being harmful to the environment are considered irritants for the skin and eyes.

Surface active chemicals for example, in soap and detergents that are harmful to the environment can also produce eczema and other skin diseases.

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The Blue Angel

The Blue Angel (Der blaue Engel) is the first and oldest environment-related label for products and services in the world. It was created in 1978 on the initiative of the Federal Minister of the Interior and approved by the Ministers of the Environment of the federal government and the federal states. Today about 10,000 products and services in 80 product categories carry the Blue Angel eco-label. In Iceland it is best known on various paper products and folders.

See further information on Blue Angels's website.

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