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green glossary

green glossary

from biodegradable to sustainability, here’s how we define some commonly used terms.

BIODEGRADABLE:
an ingredient or formula that will degrade into simple and benign components in the environment. method follows the highest technical standard for defining biodegradability, whereby at least 70% of organic ingredients break down within 28 days.

CARBON FOOTPRINT:
the full quantity of carbon consumed to produce a product, run a company or complete an activity. method measures our product and company footprints using internationally recognized methods and constantly seeks ways to reduce our footprint wherever we can.

CARBON OFFSET:
an investment that results in an external reduction of carbon emissions. carbon offsets can take forms such as planting trees, investing in renewable energy technologies, or otherwise reducing the quantity of carbon in the atmosphere, thereby reducing global warming.

COMPOSTABLE:
a material that will break down to simple, benign components in composting conditions.

CRUELTY-FREE:
method believes that household products should be cruelty free. We are proud to be Leaping Bunny approved. A global programme, Leaping Bunny requires cruelty free standards over and above the legal requirements.

All of our own brand household and cleaning products are approved under the Cruelty Free International Leaping Bunny programme, the internationally recognisable gold standard for cruelty free products. We adhere to a fixed cut-off date policy and proactively monitor our suppliers to ensure our products continue to adhere to the Leaping Bunny criteria. Our supplier monitoring system is also independently audited.

For more information about Cruelty Free International, Leaping Bunny and Leaping Bunny criteria, please visit www.crueltyfreeinternational.org

NATURAL:
method defines a natural product as one where 100% of the functional ingredients (the ones that do the cleaning) come from plant-based, abundant mineral or water sources.

NATURALLY DERIVED:
an ingredient or formula made from renewable, plant-based materials, abundant minerals or water.

RECYCLABLE:
a packaging element or material that can be collected by municipal recycling programs and made into a new material/package.

RECYCLED PLASTIC:
plastic that has been diverted from a waste stream and made into something new (like a shiny method bottle). this includes both PCR (post-consumer recycled) and PIR (post-industrial recycled).

SMART SCIENCE:
the specific technologies or combination of ingredients that make each method product work. the smart science for each product is listed in each monograph.

SUSTAINABILITY:
the health, community, and environmental impact of our products.