Anodizing: How to Avoid “Greenwashing” Your Product
Green marketing claims can be challenged
Product manufacturers naturally want to say good things about their product. Current marketing trends emphasize environmentally beneficial attributes of a product, not just to identify the manufacturer as a good corporate citizen, but also as an inducement for the consumer to purchase the product.
#basics
Presented at the 19th Annual International Anodizing Conference & Exposition, October 5-7, 2010, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. For more information, please visit Anodizing.org
- Aluminum is a durable and sustainable metal: Two-thirds of the aluminum ever produced is still in use today.
- Recovering aluminum for recycling saves money and dramatically reduces energy consumption. The aluminum container recycling process saves 92% of the energy needed to produce aluminum from bauxite ore, according to EPA's Waste Reduction Model (WARM).
- Of the most common recyclable materials aluminum, glass, paper, metals, corrugated paperboard and plastics aluminum is the only material that is infinitely recyclable, 100% recyclable, and pays for itself.
- Recycled aluminum and virgin aluminum are inherently the same.
- Use of aluminium products helps limit greenhouse gases emissions: aluminium products save energy because they are strong yet light. For the transport sector, the reduced weight offered by aluminium improves fuel economy. Moreover, aluminium increases payloads within maximum truck weights and reduces the number of trips necessary. For an average family car, each 100 kg weight saving from the use of aluminium amounts to a fuel saving in the range of 0.4-0.6 litre per 100 km.
- Aluminum is notable for its ability to be recycled indefinitely owing to its high intrinsic value and the widespread industrial infrastructure available for remelt and repurification of the metal. Recycling aluminum uses only a fraction of the energy incurred in manufacture of the primary product.
- LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a topic that an increasing number of our Customers have asked about. We are able to offer material and services that may increase your opportunity on LEED projects or help with your own LEED products. Availability of quality, recycled aluminum extrusions and managing our process responsibly is important for these guidelines.
- Health and Safety. Anodizing is a safe process that is not harmful to human health. An anodized finish is chemically stable, will not decompose; is non-toxic; and is heat-resistant to the melting point of aluminum (1,221 degrees F.) Since the anodizing process is a reinforcement of a naturally occurring oxide process, it is non-hazardous and produces no harmful or dangerous by-products.
- Environmental Safety - Anodizing is a safe process that is not harmful to human health; it has little environmental impact and anodized aluminum is fully recyclable without the environmental risks associated with organic coatings.
RELATED CONTENT
-
How to Apply the 720 Rule to Current Density Anodizing
What can you tell me about the 720 Rule as it applies to current density anodizing? Plating expert Sjon Westre, Ph.D., from Chemeon, answers this question.
-
Plating Q&A: Can you color stainless steel?
Our expert, Art Kushner, says yes, you can color stainless steel, but it is not a process that is typically performed in a plating shop. Read more about his answer.
-
Understanding Corrosion and Salt Spray
How it’s produced, NSS testing and how to get the best results possible.