Starbucks addresses water wastage following tabloid indictment
Following the revelation in British rag-mag The Sun that constantly running
dipper wells waste a humongous amount of water, a Starbucks spokesperson confirms, “Stores will be instructed to switch off the dipper well tap and will wash
spoons after use.” And the plot thickens: According to PRWeek.com, a senior-
level source at an unnamed PR agency claims, “We warned [Starbucks] several
years ago that their usage of water was not good for their environmental
credentials and could be a potential problem for them. They listened, but
they didn’t do anything about it.” Starbucks has tried to polish its green
image, saying that by 2010 it wants to source 50 percent of its energy from
renewables, use green-building practices in all new stores, and “reestablish”
ceramic mugs as the “global standard” for in-store drinkers. As for water use,
Starbucks will continue to look into dipper-well alternatives, including those
newfangled — whaddayacallem? — dishwashers.
Sources: BusinessGreen
Clorox’s Green Works line now top-selling green cleaners in U.S.
Clorox’s first entree into the green-cleaning market, released just this year, is going swimmingly so far with the $5.3 billion company on track to sell over $40 million worth of its Green Works cleaners in the U.S., according to sales figures. The Clorox Company already captures a large swath of the conventional-cleaner market with brands like Formula 409, Liquid-Plumr, Pine-Sol, and Tilex. Now Clorox is also the proud owner of the best-selling line of green cleaning products in America. Overall sales of its Green Works line have already surpassed well-known purveyors Seventh Generation and Method. However, Clorox hasn’t managed to shrink the other brands’ market share; instead, Green Works appears to be attracting buyers who otherwise would have reached for conventional cleaners. Wal-Mart is partially to blame for the brand’s strong sales — a partnership with the retailer promotes the products in-store and gives them prominent shelf space. Another Green Works sales boost came from a controversial partnership with the Sierra Club to use the conservation group’s logo on the cleaners in exchange for an undisclosed sum of money.
Sources: San Francisco Chronicle
New Apple laptop is “greenest MacBook ever”
The new Apple laptop that your geeky officemate is swooning over is “the greenest MacBook ever,” according to the company. Instead of being cobbled together from various pieces, the new MacBook’s main frame is cut out of a single piece of aluminum, and the discarded metal is recycled. It arrives to stores in 41 percent less packaging than the previous generation, and can be returned to Apple for recycling at the end of its life. Like other Apple offerings, the newbie boasts arsenic-free glass, is backlit with energy-efficient LEDs, and contains no mercury, brominated flame retardants, or PVC. The new MacBook even won a Gold rating from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. (But remember, kids: Hanging on to your current laptop is even greener.)
Sources: Apple
