Green Cultures Goal

Green Cultures Goal is to promote products that are designed or manufactured with the planet in mind. Our products are eco-friendly because the items are made from recycled materials or come from renewable or sustainable resources. We also feature Enlightened Products which may not be manufactured with 100% eco-friendly ingredients, but we do carry them because they are products which are much better for the planet than the products which currently exist in the marketplace.

At Green Culture, we strive for a 100% planet friendly product mix. Manufacturers, however, many times make wonderful products which do not meet our strict criteria. Manufacturers always LISTEN when we ask them to modify their products to be more in line with our environmental and enlightened products mission. However, manufacturers CHANGE their manufacturer processes and materials only when we show to them that we can send them a large volume of business. They know that we are a small and growing company committed to making great changes but the volume of business we drive to them does not justify modifying their manufacturing processes to achieve our strict goals. We know that with the help and support of our customers, we will grow and as we grow, we will work with our manufacturers to modify their manufacturing processes to get closer to meeting our strict criteria.

Our goal is to vigorously reduce consumption of non earth-friendly items and simultaneously offer consumers an alternative choice of products that are better for the planet. Everything we purchase and use involves some type of tradeoff. We put the task of vigorously promoting products that are better off for the planet above absolute purity. Boycotting and not promoting products that are much better than existing products, sends the message to manufacturers that there is no market at all for their products, which ends up hurting our overall movement.

Our goal is to also blend in fashion, style and great prices with our product offerings. We will never further our goals of making these products widely used in the mainstream by offering products which are not aesthetically appealing or well priced. We appreciate your understanding of our position and with your support, our company will grow large and together we will create changes in manufacturing processes and make more planet-friendly products that are made and prove to the world that these types of products are in demand and wanted by consumers on the planet!

LED, Halogen, and Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

According to the Natural Resource Defense Council, electric power plants are the largest U.S. industrial source of carbon dioxide emissions, a main cause of acid rain and global warming. A higher demand for electricity means more fossil fuels, like coal, oil, and natural gas are burned by plants to generate power. Besides replacing antiquated electric power plants with ones that use renewable energy sources, energy-efficient bulbs are a phenomenal way to reduce the amount of carbon emissions added to the atmosphere. As an bonus, energy-efficient bulbs lower your utility bills, making them a smart long-term investment! GreenCULTURE�S commitment to the environment shows in our large selection of eco-friendly lighting.

Fact: LEDs come in a variety of appealing colors and can add ambient, decorative light in ways incandescent, fluorescent, and halogen bulbs can�t

The LED is the little bulb that could. A lighting giant in a tiny package, the lit LED bulb produces very little heat, so a greater percentage of electricity goes into generating light rather than wasting energy. Because LEDs lack filaments, powered instead by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material, they outlast incandescent bulbs. An LED bulb can last ten years, or 10,000+ hours, and will dim at the end of their life rather than flicker or suddenly burn out. Incredibly hardy, they resist vibration and shock, making them a reliable light source.

Fact: Choosing a fluorescent bulb keeps approximately 700 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere for the duration of the bulb�s life

Did you know that energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps use 66% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs for the same amount of light? What�s more, fluorescent compact bulbs last an average of 10 to 15 times longer than your heat-producing standard filament bulb. The fluorescent bulbs of today are a far cry from those loudly buzzing, sterile white creations recognizable from office lighting in the 80�s, and compact fluorescent bulbs fit into many of the medium socket and candelabra lamps on our site. If wattage is throwing you off or making you second guess the brightness of compact fluorescent bulbs, don�t worry. Because fluorescent bulbs are remarkably efficient, a low watt fluorescent bulb brightens a room with the same intensity of a high watt incandescent bulb

Fact: Halogen uses a mixture of a tungsten filament and halogen gas to last up to three times longer than its incandescent brethren

Halogen bulbs are wonderful for long periods of use because their filaments, encased in quartz envelopes, produce bulbs of remarkable longevity. They also emit more light per unit of energy compared to incandescent bulbs, their bright pools of light perfect for reading a book or focusing on a work station.

ENERGY STAR AND OTHER ENERGY-EFFICIENT PRODUCTS

Fact: Find the ENERGY STAR label on everything from computer monitors to lights-- even newly built homes

That little label above has had a tremendous impact on the environment since it first appeared in 1992. ENERGY STAR is the synergistic result of the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, conceived out of a need make energy-efficient appliances widely available to consumers.

Fact: In 2005, Americans saved enough energy with ENERGY STAR appliances to prevent the release of greenhouse gas equivalent to emissions from 23 million cars, cutting $12 billion on their utility bills

In the United States, electric power plants are the largest industrial source of carbon dioxide emissions, a key factor in acid rain and global warming issues. A higher demand for electricity means more fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) are burned by plants to generate power, contributing to heat-trapping smog in the air. The Natural Resources Defense Council reports that by using an ENERGY STAR refrigerator as opposed to a less energy-efficient model, a person reduces carbon dioxide emissions by almost a ton throughout the product�s life! And with less electricity consumption, a consumer benefits the environment and their checkbook.

Fact: GreenCULTURE proudly hosts a wide variety of ENERGY STAR products

Purchasing ENERGY STAR appliances is one of the easiest and most effective ways to have an immediate impact on our environment. You�ll find functional and attractive ENERGY STAR products in our Housewares and Lighting sites.

Frequently Asked Questions

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I. Lighting and the Environment

Lighting is not only about illuminating a space so that you can see well. It is a decorative addition to your life that will affect the way you feel and function. Lighting also affects the environment in several ways. The amount of energy consumed by each light and the materials used to manufacture such lamping products both influence the environment.

II. Benefits of Eco-Friendly Lighting

By purchasing energy efficient lighting products, energy consumption is minimized. This will reduce the release of harmful emissions by polluting power plants. Efficient lamps generate and equal or greater amount of light as traditional incandescent bulbs while consuming only much less energy and generating much less cost.  Additionally, many new choice materials used to construct lamping products are environmentally friendly. Some manufacturers even go so much as to offer recycling programs for their products so that they can later be reused for the production of new lighting items.

III. Lighting and You

Lighting provides many benefits to ones life other than simply allowing them to see at night.  For instance, lighting has a significant impact on health, comfort, safety, productivity, and performance. It has been proven that employees become more productive and perform well in an environment with proper lighting. At home, lighting can make a room romantic, relaxing, inviting, etc.

IV. Our Electric Bill

• One quarter of the United States annual electric bill, $34 billion, comes from lighting.

• More than 20% of the electricity generated in the U.S. is used for lighting alone. 

• Approximately half of this energy is wasted lighting empty rooms or as heat produced by inefficient bulbs and lighting fixtures. 

• By using energy efficient lighting you can save up to 75% on your monthly electric bill.

V. What materials will Green Culture refuse to sell?

Green Culture feels that protecting the earths animals is an important step in becoming an enlightened planet. We will refuse to sell materials which are often harvested inhumanly. These include, but are not limited to, silk, leather, and suede. Often, hides are painfully removed from animals which are not intended to be slaughtered for their meat. In order to harvest silk, the worms which produce it are boiled and killed. This process is used because it is cheaper and quicker than harvesting the silk in a manner that would allow the worms to live and continue to produce. Green Culture will not support either of these practices.

VI. Why are incandescent lights not energy efficient?

Incandescent light bulbs are the most familiar type of light bulb used in almost all homes. This type of lighting, unfortunately, is also the most inefficient type of lighting. In an incandescent light bulb, electric current heats up a metal filament making it glow white-hot and give off light. The reason these bulbs waste energy is because only 5% of the electricity is actually used to produce light. The remaining 95% ends up as heat.

During the summer this heat causes your cooling requirements to go up and makes your air conditioner work harder. During the winter the extra heat might seem like a bonus, but it is a very expensive way to pay for a little extra heat.

Though Green Culture does sell products which can only use incandescent bulbs, we strongly encourage the use of compact fluorescent or halogen bulbs whenever available. We are, however, pleased that the product itself is made of eco-friendly ingredients.

VII. Why are compact fluorescents (CFLs) energy efficient?

Compact fluorescents use about 65% less energy than standard incandescent light bulbs and last 10-20 times longer. For example, a 100W incandescent bulb will cost approximately 75 cents to purchase and last 750 hours. To use a lamp with this bulb for 3 years you will go through 6 bulbs ($4.50 total) and spend about $35 in electricity. On the other hand, to use that same lamp with a compact fluorescent for 3 years you will spend $11 on a bulb that will last almost 7 years. Additionally, you will spend only $8.00 on electricity throughout the initial 3 years. That is a total operating cost of $19.00 for a CFL, compared to $39.50 for an incandescent bulb. So, for spending a little more on the initial bulb you can save more than $20 on each lamp.

VIII. Types of CFLs available

Modern advancements in CFLs have enabled them to emit a warmer more welcoming atmosphere, unlike the fluorescents of the past. You can now buy CFLs for indoor and outdoor use and you can now find types to fit almost any light fixture in your home. For general usage, 1 watt of fluorescent lighting equals the light output of 4 watts of incandescent lighting. That is a huge, money saving difference.

IX. What are the environmental benefits of using compact fluorescents?

The environmental benefits of switching to compact fluorescent lights are substantial. For example, using a single 20-watt compact fluorescent bulb instead of a 75-watt incandescent bulb saves over 550 kWh of electricity over its lifetime. If your electricity is produced from burning coal, using a CFL would save 500 pounds of coal that would release 1,300 pounds of carbon dioxide and 20 pounds of sulfur dioxide, and a variety of other harmful pollutants

X. Halogen Lights

Halogen parabolic aluminum reflector (PAR) lamps are a good alternative to incandescent PAR bulbs wherever they are used; such as in track lighting or recessed lighting. They use 30% less energy than the incandescent lights. To produce the same amount of light, look for a halogen with about 70% of the wattage of the incandescent it will replace.

XI. Solar Powered Outdoor Lights

Another great way to save energy and money is to use solar energy to power outdoor lights. They look great and they don require any electricity from the grid.

During the day, a photovoltaic (PV) panel collects energy from the sun and stores it in a battery. At night, the stored electricity is used to power the lights. You can get models that turn on automatically by light sensing controls (i.e. turn on when it gets dark) or motion sensing controls (i.e. turn on when movement is detected).

XII. Energy Saving Tips for Lighting:

•  Get in the habit of turning off lights when you leave the room. Its so simple but so easily forgotten. Even if you are only leaving for a few minutes, it does make a difference. If you have trouble remembering, install occupancy sensors that automatically turn the lights off for you when you leave the room.

•  Make use of natural light during the day. Open drapes and curtains in your home. Install a skylight. Rearrange your room to take advantage of natural light. Try putting your favorite reading chair by the window. Nothing is more pleasing and efficient than natural light.

•  When redecorating or moving into a new place, paint the walls in your home a light color to make the best use of natural lighting. Also, with lighter walls, you can achieve a 25% reduction in the amount of watts needed to light that room.

•  If you can switch your old light fixtures over to compact fluorescent lights, make sure you use incandescent lights wisely . Higher wattage incandescent bulbs are more efficient than lower-wattage bulbs. So, if you have a light fixture that holds more than one bulb, youll save energy and money by using one 100-watt bulb, rather than four 40-watt bulbs.

•  Keep your light fixtures and bulbs clean and free of dust . Youll get more light in the room and may be able to switch to a lower wattage bulb.

•  Concentrate light where it is actually needed and reduce background light levels. This strategy is called task lighting and is used in office buildings. Install lights to illuminate your desk or the kitchen table where you read the newspaper. Halogen lights are great for delivering light right where you need it.

•  Use dimmers to allow you to control the level of light in the room. Often you don need lights on at their full intensity to be comfortable. Never use a compact fluorescent in circuits that have dimmers unless the lights are specially designed for that purpose. Check the box the CFL came in for that information.

XIII. How do I determine the proper chandelier width?

Add the length and width of your room in feet and then use that number in inches as your starting point. For example, if your room is 18 x 20 start with a 38� chandelier. From this point, the amount of furniture in the room will play an important role. A room full of furniture might be better served with a smaller chandelier. A larger, more open room with a high ceiling looks better with a larger chandelier.

XIV. How do I determine the proper size chandelier for a dining table?

Choose a chandelier with a diameter half the width of the table. It should be hung with the bottom of the fixture 30� above the tabletop for an 8 ceiling. Go up 3� for each additional foot of ceiling.

XV. How do I determine the proper chandelier length?

Make sure the bottom of the chandelier does not hang more than 7 from the floor. From there, its a matter of personal preference

XVI. How far from the surface of the table should my chandelier hang?

We suggest 32" to 34" from the top of the table. This strikes a balance between the chandelier and having enough room for your table settings. If you like large center pieces, you may consider setting it higher.

XVII. Whats the proper height to install wall sconces?

Sconces should be installed 60� from the floor. To illuminate an entire hallway, they should be placed eight to ten feet apart

XVIII. In what area should I use semi-flush fixtures? What is their purpose?

The ceiling height, the area, and the physical dimensions of a room will determine the fixtures that should be used. Semi-flush fixtures provide unique style in a low-ceiling application.

XIX. What are the differences between line voltage and low voltage?

Line voltage is wired directly to your homes 120 volt electrical system. Low voltage needs a transformer to convert regular household current from 120 volt to 12 volt