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Greenest of the Green

October 12, 2009

The word "Green" is used very frequently these days. Companies are stretching the definitions to include themselves wherever they can. What does "Green" mean anyway? How do you define it? Those are good questions and no one has really answered it.

Many foam and fiberglass companies call themselves green. Not sure how this is possible. Fiberglass is not as effective as an insulator compared to Cellulose or Foam. In fact, fiberglass is really an air filter that allows air (and heat) to pass through it. Cellulose is 40% more effective as an insulation. Fiberglass is made from very little recycled materials and manufacturers even consider the waste from original production to be counted as recycled when they through it back into the production process.

Foam Companies have done a great job promoting themselves and, consequently, clouding the truth about how green they are. R-Values in foam vary by it's structur of open-cell or closed cell. Closed cell carries a high R-Value, while open cell is slighly below cellulose. Foam Companies base their "green" status on how they can save energy in a home once it is installed. The issue lies in what it's made from. Foam is a PETROLEUM based product. Don't be fooled by the SOY-based claims some companies make. It is simply not true. The highest percent of soy that can be added is 16% - hardly a base. The rest is petroleum. That's right, the very thing we are trying to conserve.  In addition, the manufacturing process uses upwards of 50,000 BTUs per pound. This is over 65 times what it takes to make one pound of cellulose.

Cellulose is made from recycled newspaper. National Fiber uses only over-issued newsprint. This is the newspaper on sale today that goes unsold. It is very clean material and does not contain foodstuffs or other foreign materials. 85% of the product is this type of paper - recycled from the region, employing local people and saving energy! We only use borate as our fire retardant. Borate is safer, cleaner and more consistent. Cellulose only uses 750 BTUs per pound to make and is clearly the greener choice from the way it is made to the energy it saves you! It is truly the Greenest of the Green!