Sustainability and “being green?? remain hot buzzwords in 2009, even as the economy cools down. Most industries have benefited from marketing their sustainability efforts. In fact, the green building materials market grew 45% between 2003 and 2008 to $57 billion.
For the home appliance industry, sustainable practices can include designing products to use less, or more natural materials. It can include reducing energy usage or packaging materials. It can also include designing products that use post-consumer recycled materials.
Household appliances have been demonstrating sustainability for many years. Since the 1970s, major appliance manufacturers have been designing products that show significant decreases in energy consumption each year.
And, beyond energy, 90% of major appliances are recycled at end-of-life! The steel used in your refrigerator today may be the same steel used in your new car tomorrow. Recycled steel is efficient and reduces the drain on our environment by avoiding the mining of coal and iron ore.
The home appliance industry has made dramatic improvements to appliances over the recent years and is committed to providing high-performance sustainable products for years to come. Producing and promoting sustainable products is one of the most important efforts we can make to improve our lives, and the lives of the generations to come.