The California Redwood Association claims that “Across the board, wood outperforms plastics, steel and concrete. Using concrete instead of wood, for example, can generate 80 percent more greenhouse gases and require about 40 percent more energy. With LCA, science clearly shows that using wood can save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Details of the study can be found HERE
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On Friday, a B Corporation called GoodGuide released a review that shed a negative light on the popular motorized hamsters called Zhu Zhu Pets as well as several other popular Christmas toys. Goodguide gave this hot holiday toy a low relative rating of 4.5 out of a possible 10 in their Health category when compared to similar toys.
The current federal standard for both antimony and chromium is 60 ppm (parts per million). GoodGuide tests revealed the following amounts:
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Bakugan 7-in-1 Maxus Dragonoid 466-807 ppm Chromium
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Bakugan 7-in-1 Maxus Helios 143-756 ppm Chromium
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Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Laughing Farm 193 ppm Chromium
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Zhu Zhu Pet Hamster Mr Squiggles 93-106 ppm Antimony
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International Playthings My First Purse 76 ppm Antimony
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Many consumers misinterpreted this review as a product recall. The Missouri-based manufacturer of Zhu Zhu Pets, Cepia LLC, is disputing GoodGuide’s claim, stating that they are in compliance with all regulatory bodies.
What is “GoodGuide”? The website states that it is ”…the world’s largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home” based on life cycle assessment approaches. Their pronouncement raises several questions:
How was the quantitative rating 4.5 out of 10 precisely calculated?
Who conducted the XRF contaminant substance testing and what was the specific process?
Were the testing procedures and the results third party verified per ISO for comparative assertions disclosed to the public?
GoodGuide has several stellar members on their board of advisors. GoodGuide was founded by Dara O’Rouke, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley and is now comprised of industry experts, scientists, consumer researchers and technologists from Amazon, Google, eBay, PayPal, Intuit, MIT and the University of California. Given the recent uproar of climate scientists acting less than forthcoming, let’s hope that the good guys at GoodGuide are correct.