The cost for a company to comply with the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS) Directive, in Europe, is $2.6 million on average. The research, conducted by Technology Forecasters for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), within OEM companies, EMS providers and component traders has shown that the total costs of the RoHS Directive will be approximately $32 billion; or 1.1% of the industries total revenues.

Wal-Mart, a retailer to over 90% of US households, recently said they started tracking shoppers’ green buying habits. The data is available through its “Wal-Mart Live-Better Index” online. The company recently selected 5 products to follow to assess the increase in adoption green products, and found that year later sales of these items had increased by 66%.

The ExxonMobil chemical company recently launched a new product, Enable mPE, with the potential to reduce waste and energy consumption across a broad spectrum of film applications. Enable mPE is designed to reduce the amount of raw materials needed because films can be made thinner, but with equal strength. Enable mPE also generates less process waste than resins used in existing film applications, and it is recyclable. Enable mPE is ideal for packaging that makes it easier to ship and store bottled water, beverages, canned goods, hand soaps, detergents, health products and beauty aids.

SeaWorld Orlando and other Busch Entertainment Corp. parks are converting their food-service containers and tableware supplies to versions made from materials that are both farm-raised organic,   and biodegradable. Everything from spoons to pizza boxes will come from the soil and quickly return to it after they have been used. Company officials said the items are designed to quickly decompose in typical landfills, in a matter of months, rather than in the hundreds of years that petrochemical-based plastics can last.

The growth of green labels on products and companies has led to confusion and a lack of trust among shoppers who are suddenly inundated with similar-looking options for "green" products. Focusing on companies' efforts on backing up the environmental claims of products is the goal of a report by Forum for the Future entitled "Eco-promising: communicating the environmental credentials of your products and services," which looks at the past, present and future of green labeling schemes, and suggests ways that companies can live up to the green promises.

The Sierra Club launched their "Buy Green to Save Green" campaign recently, calling on taxpayers to spend their economic stimulus checks on energy efficient products and services. The campaign also calls on retailers to offer promotions and other incentives to encourage consumers to participate in the campaign. Major retailers including Lowes, Home Depot, and Sears Holdings (Sears and KMart) have all endorsed the campaign.

A California mother sued Nalge Nunc International Corp., claiming the company knew, but downplayed risks, that a toxic substance in its popular Nalgene plastic sports bottles could leach into the bottles' contents and sicken consumers. The case is believed to be the first consumer class action over the use of bisphenol A, or BPA, in plastic sports bottles since Canada moved to ban baby bottles containing the substance and the U.S. government expressed concern over its safety.