Sustainable Product Reviews
When a host from Realistic Sustainability tries a new product that claims to be eco-friendly or green, we are not telling all of you what we find. From product review requests to ones, we have selected on our own through our purchasing choices we will report them all here.
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The Grading Scale (5 being best in class and 1 being worse). We focus on several different attributes of the product:
(1) - Cost of the product: the more affordable the better the star rating.
(2) - Quality/Durability: What is the longevity of the product, will it live the lifecycle that it claims to?
(3) - Materials: Is this produced using sustainable materials? We will exclude the manufacturing process due to unknowns.
(4) - Transit: Where is this product manufactured, and how far does it travel to get to us? More distance = Fewer stars
(5) - Disposability / Waste: Compostability, how long it will last in a landfill, can it be reused for something else.
(6) - Personal Experience: I call this my preceived quality, how did I like the product, and whether I will buy it again.
Recent Reviews
The Grading Scale (5 being best in class and 1 being worst).
(1) - Cost of the product: (5/5) Stars
(2) - Quality/Durability: (2/5) Stars
(3) - Materials: (4/5) Stars
(4) - Transit: (1/5) Stars
(5) - Disposability / Waste: (5/5) Stars
(6) - Personal Experience: (4/5) Stars
Overall Rating: (3.5/5 Stars)
*Realistic Sustainability was not paid or hired to review this product but does receive 4% of the purchase cost when you buy from this LINK
The Grading Scale (5 being best in class and 1 being worst).
(1) - Cost of the product: (4/5) Stars
(2) - Quality/Durability: (5/5) Stars
(3) - Materials: (3/5) Stars
(4) - Transit: (1/5) Stars
(5) - Disposability / Waste: (3/5) Stars
(6) - Personal Experience: (4/5) Stars
Overall Rating: (3.3/5 Stars)
*Realistic Sustainability was not paid or hired to review this product but does receive 4% of the purchase cost when you buy from this LINK
The Grading Scale (5 being best in class and 1 being worst).
(1) - Cost of the product: (3/5) Stars
(2) - Quality/Durability: (5/5) Stars
(3) - Materials: (2/5) Stars
(4) - Transit: (1/5) Stars
(5) - Disposability / Waste: (2/5) Stars
(6) - Personal Experience: (4/5) Stars
Overall Rating: (2.8/5 Stars)
*Realistic Sustainability was not paid or hired to review this product but does receive 4% of the purchase cost when you buy from this LINK
The Grading Scale (5 being best in class and 1 being worst).
(1) - Cost of the product: (4/5) Stars
(2) - Quality/Durability: (5/5) Stars
(3) - Materials: (3/5) Stars
(4) - Transit: (1/5) Stars
(5) - Disposability / Waste: (4/5) Stars
(6) - Personal Experience: (5/5) Stars
Overall Rating: (3.33/5 Stars)
*Realistic Sustainability was not paid or hired to review this product but does receive 4% of the purchase cost when you buy from this LINK
The Grading Scale (5 being best in class and 1 being worst).
(1) - Cost of the product: (4.5/5) Stars
(2) - Quality/Durability: (5/5) Stars
(3) - Materials: (5/5) Stars
(4) - Transit: (1/5) Stars
(5) - Disposability / Waste: (5/5) Stars
(6) - Personal Experience: (5/5) Stars
Overall Rating: (3.42/5 Stars)
*Realistic Sustainability was not paid or hired to review this product but does receive 4% of the purchase cost when you buy from this LINK
Mike's Book Recommendations
This was the first book I've read by Douglas Tallamy on one thing is very clear, he's a very smart individual who is very focused on working within nature instead of removing it. He does a great job explaining topics like habitat fragmentation and offering solutions like "homegrown national park). It was a great book that helped me think of more ways to live within nature and how to design better infrastructure. Certainly recommend. -Mike
*Realistic Sustainability was not paid or hired to review this book but does receive 4% of the purchase cost when you buy from this LINK
This is the first sustainability book I have ever read and It's probably why I fell in love with the topic. This book is looking at material engineering in a very basic and easy-to-understand way that leads you to look at your consumer purchases in a very different light. If you are a regular listener to the show you will hear some of the same points I make because they still hold true 20 years later. This was required reading when I was at the University of Michigan and it changed my whole perspective. I very much recommend this book. -Mike
*Realistic Sustainability was not paid or hired to review this book but does receive 4% of the purchase cost when you buy from this LINK
After falling in love with cradle to cradle I knew that I was going to need to read this book. Since Cradle to Cradle changed my view of the world I had high expectations for Upcycle. This book is different. It is more of an optimistic idea of how all global products should be designed and made. Upcycle talks about creating nutrients instead of waste every time a product is created. Although not life changing like Cradle to Cradle, Upcycle is still a great read. I still recommend it, especially to engineers.
*Realistic Sustainability was not paid or hired to review this book but does receive 4% of the purchase cost when you buy from this LINK
Mike's Documentary Recommendations
*Realistic Sustainability was not paid or hired to review this Video but does receive 4% of the purchase cost when you buy from this LINK
*Realistic Sustainability was not paid or hired to review this Video but does receive 4% of the purchase cost when you buy from this LINK