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"  This past Christmas I received a battery-powered holiday candle as a present. It&amp;#039;s colorful and realistic-looking and best of all, I don&amp;#039;t have to worry about leaving it lit all night long. But one thing about it really upset me. There was a wire with a button coming out of the bottom with a tag that said Try Me. It was intended to allow shoppers to turn the candle on to see what it looked like. However before I could use the candle at home, I had to disconnect this wire. I realized that this piece of electrical wire would be thrown out and wind up in a landfill. In addition, a company had to source the materials to make the wire, electricity was used to manufacture it, the device had to be tested to ensure it works (either by a person or by a machine), and it had to be connected to the product, increasing its overall size and weight (yes, by a small amount, but if thousands are shipped all over the world, that small amount can add up). And all this usage of resources just so that consumers could see what the candle looked like when turned on! While I know this feature was intended to help sell the product, it had a negative influence on me. Manufacturers need to be mindful of how every last detail will affect our earth. Here at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, we&amp;#039;re very aware of environmental issues and while we realize that every product can&amp;#039;t have zero impact on the planet, we&amp;#039;re always tring to help you choose ones that put the lowest drain on our natural resources. One way we&amp;#039;re doing this is by issuing the Green Good Housekeeping Seal. When you see our green emblem on products you know that not only do they work (and come with our limited two-year warranty) but that their manufacturers are taking steps to be environmentally responsible. Have you seen or purchased products that have made your blood boil because they&amp;#039;re not &amp;quot;green&amp;quot;? Tell us about them. Be sure to check out Good Hosuekeeping&amp;#039;s other related articles: About the Green Good Housekeeping Seal, Green Good Housekeeping Seal Products, 15 Resolutions for a Greener New Year from thedailygreen.com. And if you&amp;#039;re going to be in the NYC area, be sure to come take a tour of the GHRI labs! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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