Organic production is based on a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers.
Reclaimed lumber is used wood that has been taken for re-use, often from long-standing idle buildings, and is sometimes refinished for new purposes. Most reclaimed lumber comes from timbers and decking rescued from old barns, factories and warehouses and some companies have been known to source wood from less traditional structures such as boxcars, coal mines, and wine barrels.
Recycling is the reprocessing of old materials into new products, with the aims of preventing the waste of potentially useful materials, reducing the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy usage, reducing air (from incineration) and water (from landfilling) pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production.
Parabens are a group of chemicals that can be found in shampoos, commercial moisturizers, shaving gels, cleansing gels, personal lubricants, topical/parenteral pharmaceuticals, spray tanning solution, toothpaste and are also used as food additives. Parabens have been a source of controversy as studies have shown they can mimic the hormone estrogen, which is known to play a role in the development of breast cancers and can inhibit development of the male reproductive system.
Materials that are harvested in a way that reduces the environmental impact and ensures a replenishing supply of the material.
Hemp is harvested for its fibers for hemp clothing and seeds for hemp oil. With a relatively short growth cycle of 100-120 days, it is an efficient and economical crop for farmers to grow, however, industrial hemp cannot be commercially grown in the United States because it is erroneously confounded with marijuana. In fact, industrial hemp and marijuana are different breeds of Cannabis sativa. Smoking large amounts of hemp flowers can produce a headache but not a high!
Post-consumer means any material that has been used by a consumer and then recycled for use in a new product. It is not the same as post-industrial waste, which is the reintroduction of manufacturing scraps into the manufacturing process.