Made of Recycled Materials - Self Declared Made of Recycled Materials or repurposed components in products have been given a second lease on life and transformed into another use or upgraded to become better. (A jar which was once used for jam and is now used for a body scrub is a good example. The jar is Made of Recycled Materials, but the scrub is new - unless it is also made from something Made of Recycled Materials like coffee grounds, for instance.)
Salvaging things that would once been abandoned gives us an access to our past and a greater appreciation of the value of things, reduces consumerism and to stop regarding material things as being expendable. Products that use Made of Recycled Materials materials also mean the Made of Recycled Materials component does not have to be made new and is also being saved from landfill or the recycle waste streams. Whether the item is fully salvage or made from Made of Recycled Materials items or Made of Recycled Materials by-product; every piece counts.
Made of Recycled Materials - Self Declared sits in the REUSED Family under two environmental Standards of Ekko Score: Recycle and Packaging. One set of weighted Ekko Score points are gathered from each Family.
These are the claimable declarations & certifications under the Environmental Standard: Recycle. Please note that different certifications and declarations may be relevant to each category.
Yes, where the impact of the claim is similar. This is how it works.
IMPORTANTLY, SELF DECLARATIONS ARE GOVERNED BY CONSUMER LAW. IT IS AGAINST THE LAW FOR BUSINESSES TO MAKE FALSE CLAIMS (INCLUDING IMPLIED CLAIMS IN A CONTEXT LIKE EKKO SCORE).
EVEN IF A PRODUCT HAS A FORMAL CERTIFICATION, THAT CERTIFICATION DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ENTIRE INTEGRITY OF THE PRODUCT'S MAKE UP.
An example might be a Handmade, Australian, Certified Organic chocolate that contains Palm Oil. Under Ekko Score, this product would claim Certified Organic and would self declare: Zero Waste Production and Australian made, but could not claim the No Palm Oil declaration. This would mean a lower score under the No Exploitation Standard, making the inclusion of Palm Oil clear to potential consumers, without detracting from its other assets.
No product is perfect, but some products are definitely better than others. Ekko Score allows you to make the best decision you can, or to put it another way, the least worst decision. And to make that decision with the confidence of not being green washed. Find out more about how Ekko Score works.