“Green” Products Are Sending Up A Red Flag 「綠色」產品名符其實嗎？1

Not all products are as environmentally friendly as their labels want you to believe

並非所有產品都如同外包裝所說的一樣環保        by Joanna Wuertz

These days everyone is trying to do their part to help the environment. One of the easiest ways is simply to buy products that are labeled “eco-friendly.” Choose fruits and vegetables that are organic. Select appliances that are energy-efficient. Avoid items made with synthetic materials. But going green may be harder than it looks – those product labels can be misleading.

What is organic?

  Pick up a box of cereal at a grocery store. Its label boasts “All-natural!” in big green letters on the front. That means the cereal must be organic, right? Wrong. “All-natural,” “free-range” and “hormone-free” are all words companies like to use to help sell their products, but none mean the product is actually organic. 

It's important to know what "organic" is - and isn't - when you're shopping. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines organic as containing no ingredients that have been treated with certain unnatural chemicals or medicines, radiation or DNA-engineering. In the U.S., if a food is labeled as "organic," at least 95 percent of the ingredients must be organic. To be labeled 100 percent organic, every ingredient must have been raised and harvested in a USDA-certified organic environment.

【Chat room】

Green product 綠色產品(有環保概念的)

He is still green at his job. 他仍然對工作不熟悉(未成熟、沒有經驗、生手)

green thumb 有園藝才能的

to be green with envy 充滿嫉妒

【Key word】

synthetic 合成的、人造的 (syn”有一起”的意思)

This synthetic fabric is water resistant yet very light and soft.

這種合成布料是防水的，但同時又輕又軟。

This synthetic rubber can sustain extreme temperatures.

這種合成橡膠可以耐受各種的極端溫度。

radiation 輻射、放射線

Radiation from the sun can hurt your eyes, if you’re not wearing sun-glasses.

如果沒有戴太陽眼鏡，太陽輻射可能會傷害到眼睛。

The radiation contaminated building was blocked and guarded.

這個被輻射汙染的建築物被封鎖和看守

certified 被證明的、有保證的、公認的

(certify 的過去分詞)

These certified documents were listed as evidence.

這些已經公證過的文件被列為證物

Sean is a government certified accountant who is also a lawyer.

Sean是一位國家認證的會計師，他同時也是位律師。