Year after year, the Honda Civic has been one of the most popular car models in the United States. The model has done relatively well in Japan, too. The company introduced a hybrid Civic in the US, but we all know how well they sold—drive around certain neighborhoods in LA and Northern California and you would think the Toyota Prius was the only car available on the market. The hybrid Civic, sadly for Honda, never had the chance to compete.

More wineries are moving towards plastic bottles and aluminum caps and away from cork stoppers. Some would say this is unfortunate for a host of reasons. Harvesting cork is an ancient practice that keeps a cluster of cork trees, which are almost entirely in Portugal and Spain, alive.

Year after year, the Honda Civic has been one of the most popular car models in the United States. The model has done relatively well in Japan, too. The company introduced a hybrid Civic in the US, but we all know how well they sold—drive around certain neighborhoods in LA and Northern California and you would think the Toyota Prius was the only car available on the market. The hybrid Civic, sadly for Honda, never had the chance to compete.

Greenwashing apparently knows no boundaries, either geographically or by industry. For example, Korean supermarket aisles boast products touting their “well-being” attributes, without explaining how they could possibly make anyone well. The Shanghai Expo touts its green activities, as if all that frenzied construction could somehow be offset or mitigated. The electronics manufacturer Canon has launched an ambitious green marketing program in Asia, which is smart marketing because consumers in the Pacific Rim region are becoming more aware of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.

As more of us try to concoct ways to become more “green” or “sustainable,” one of the most tried and true methods to reduce one’s carbon output is to just not buy new items in the first place. It’s easy to focus on solar panels, composting bins, double-paned windows, or weatherizing your home. But if more of us would be content using used products, that alone would make a huge step in reducing the depletion of our resources. Go to the ENN Community page to post a comment on this story.

I have to bite my tongue when I hear people claim how progressive Europe is when it comes to sustainability and consumerism. Take Amsterdam, where in May I worked and traveled for two weeks. True, bicycles are everywhere, public transport works, and you can find great locally grown food. But step into an Albert Heijn supermarket, and you will see that the capital of tulips and bicycles is also the capital of processed food, over-packaged in plentiful plastic.

This fall, stores in the Chicago will start sending used cups to a Green Bay, WI, paper mill, where a Georgia Pacific facility will turn them into napkins. The program will start small but is a significant step to address the company’s devouring of 3 billion paper cups and 1 billion plastic cups annually. Starbucks wants recycling at all of its stores by 2015 and the company’s leadership is focusing on two approaches: first, recycling bins at all of its stores, and second, finding a market for all those dirty cups that otherwise end up in a landfill.

With all the talk and shtick over “green” products, it’s easy to forgot that Tom’s of Maine has long been a leader in natural consumer products and sustainable business practices. Started in 1970 with a $5000 loan, the company’s products now take shelf space at 40,000 retail outlets, including Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. From its beginnings, with its groovy ClearLake Laundry Detergent, Tom’s has still shown product innovation, most recently with its new line of toothpaste. Colgate-Palmolive bought 84% of the company in 2006, but one important stipulation of the deal allowed Tom’s of Maine to continue its good-for-the-earth business practices without interference from above.