A dictionary of green terminology

I’m consistently saying EB Knits is an eco-friendly business and that I prioritize eco-friendly materials, but what does this really mean? I try to explain how each product is environmentally-friendly within each listing whether that means it’s sustainable, biodegradable, recycled, up cycled, etc, but what do all of these terms really mean? I’m still learning as well and may use the wrong vocabulary sometimes but I’m trying to evolve my education on helping the planet! This is not a comprehensive list; these are the words I use the most throughout EB Knits.

Biodegradable: An organic compound that can be degraded or converted to more simple compounds by microorganisms in the natural environment. - Green Nature Marketing

Carbon Footprint: Someone's carbon footprint is the measurement of the amount of carbon dioxide that his or her activities produce. - Elle Australia

Circular Fashion: Designing waste and pollution out of our clothes, and ensuring they help regenerate natural systems at the end of their (long) lives. - Good On You

Compostable: A product that is "compostable" is one that can be placed into a composition of decaying biodegradable materials, and eventually turns into a nutrient-rich material. It is almost synonymous with "biodegradable", except it is limited to solid materials and does not refer to liquids. - Elle Australia

Cruelty Free: In the animal rights movement, cruelty-free is a label for products or activities that do not harm animals anywhere in the world. Products tested on animals are not considered cruelty-free. - Elle Australia

Decomposition: The breakdown of organic wastes by various means. Complete chemical oxidation leaves only carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic solids. - Green Nature Marketing

Eco-Friendly: Not harmful to the environment. - Elle Australia

Environmentally Friendly: Also eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green are synonyms used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment. A generic statement often used to designate a product or process that has a reduced ecological footprint when compared to other products/processes. - Envirocitizen

Ethical Fashion: For the EFF, ethical fashion represents an approach to the design, sourcing and manufacture of clothing which maximizes benefits to people and communities while minimizing impact on the environment. - Elle Australia

Ethical Trade: Means that retailers, brands and their suppliers take responsibility for protecting the environment and improving the working conditions of the people who make their products. - Elle Australia

Fast Fashion: A model of mass-producing cheaply made, “of-the-moment” items that are sold at a lower price point. - Good On You

Fair Trade: Fair trade refers to the general movement, which encompasses many different organisations with the shared aim of supporting producers and protecting workers’ rights and the environment. Fair trade describes a brand or an individual product that has been certified and labelled by an independent organisation because it meets certain standards. - Good On You

Green: The adjective used to describe people, behaviors, products, policies, standards, processes, places, movements or ideas that promote, protect, restore or minimize damage to the environment. - Envirocitizen

Greenwashing: A superficial or insincere display of concern for the environment that is shown by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public impact. - Elle Australia

LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): A series of building rating products developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to provide a standard for what constitutes a “green building” or “high performance” building. - Envirocitizen

Living Wage: A living wage is the bare minimum wage required for workers to live a decent life. It’s different from the legal minimum wage, which is usually far below the living wage! - Good On You

Locally Sourced: The philosophy of buying food, and/or items, that were produced in, or near, the region of the consumer. By doing this, one can theoretically reduce emissions and waste by eliminating unnecessary transport of goods. - Envirocitizen

Minimalism: Stripping back the unnecessary, leaving only the things that provide you with real value and joy. - Good On You

Natural Dyes: Natural dyes are dyes or colourants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources—roots, berries, bark, leaves and wood—and other biological sources such as fungi and lichens. - Elle Australia

Non-toxic: Products that are not composed of poisonous or toxic materials that harm the environment or human health. - Envirocitizen

Organic: Produced or involving production without the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, or other artificial chemicals. - Elle Australia

Post-Consumer: Material that has completed its life as a consumer item and has been discarded for disposal or recovery. It often refers to paper products such as newspaper, white paper and magazines, that have been recycled to make new products. - Green Nature Marketing

Pre-Consumer: Material that has been discarded by commercial enterprise for disposal or recovery. Pre-consumer waste often refers to material such as paper products that have been recovered from industry and recycled into new products. - Green Nature Marketing

Product Life Cycle Analysis: To examine how much a product impacts the environment, it is necessary to account for all the inputs and outputs throughout the life cycle of that product, from its birth, including design, raw material extraction, material production, part production, and assembly, through its use, and final disposal. - Green Nature Marketing

Reclaimed: Products that are comprised of materials that have been extracted from the garbage or waste. - Envirocitizen

Recyclable: A designation for products or materials that are capable of being recovered from, or otherwise diverted from waste streams for recycling. - Envirocitizen

Recycle: The separation, processing, conversion and marketing of waste material like glass and aluminium from the waste stream so it can be converted into new and useful product. - Green Nature Marketing

Recycled Content: Refers to the percentage of the total weight of recycled materials in a product. - Envirocitizen

Reduce: Not using or buying products in the first place so less waste, less recycling and less reusing.- Envirocitizen

Renewable Resource: A natural resource that can be replenished by natural means at rates comparable to its rate of consumption. - Green Nature Marketing

Reuse: To use a material more than once. - Green Nature Marketing

Slow Fashion: A movement and approach to fashion which considers the processes and resources required to make clothing, particularly focusing on sustainability. - Good On You

It means buying better quality garments less often that will last for longer, and values fair treatment of people, animals, and the planet.

Sustainability: A goal that aims toward preserving quality interactions with the local environment, economy and social system. - Green Nature Marketing

Sustainable: Of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged - Merrian-Webster dictionary

Sustainable fashion: Finding a balance when designing, manufacturing, and consuming clothes. It means avoiding the depletion of natural resources, but also the exploitation of individuals and communities. - Good On You

Traceability: Traceability for a company means knowing its supply chains from start to finish, and being able to trace back each component of a product, from the raw material to the clothes tag and everything in between. - Good On You

Upcycled: The process of reusing materials in a way that increases a product's value and makes it desirable again, saving garments from going to landfill. - Elle Australia

Vegan: Veganism is way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practical, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. - Elle Australia

Vintage: Denoting something from the past of high quality, especially something representing the best of its kind. - Elle Australia