Business Goes Green!

Many cities around the world today are heavily polluted. Careless manufacturing processes em­ployed by some industries and lack of consumer demand for environmentally safe products have contributed to the pollution problem. One result is that millions of tons of glass, paper, plastic, and metal containers are produced, and these are diffi­cult to dispose of.

However, today, more and more consumers are choosing "green" and demanding that the prod­ucts they buy are safe for the environment. Before they buy a product, they ask questions like these: "Will this hairspray damage the ozone layer?" "Is the packaging biodegradable?" "Will it break down in a trash dump?" "Can this metal container be recycled or can it only be used once?"

A recent survey showed that two out of five adults now consider the environmental safety of a product before they buy it. This means that com­panies must now change the way they make and sell their products to make sure that they are "green", that is, friendly to the environment.

Only a few years ago, it was impossible to find green products in supermarkets, but now there are hundreds. Some supermarket products carry la­bels to show that the product is green. Some com­panies have made the manufacturing of clean and safe products their main selling point and empha­size it in their advertising.

The concern for a safer and cleaner environment is making companies rethink how they do business. No longer will the public accept the old attitude of "Buy it, use it, throw it away, and for­get it." The public pressure is on, and gradually business is cleaning up its act.

The symbol of TM-An official Japan

recyclability. mark of Environment

Environment Canada Association

(used with permission). logo.

Vocabulaly

run out of, v истощить свой запас

garbage, n мусор, отбросы

dispose, v ликвидировать

reduce, v уменьшать, сокращать

trash, n отбросы, хлам, мусор, макулатура

landfill, n территория

salvage, v спасать, собирать

mold, v отливать в форму, формовать

melt, v плавить, растапливать

consumer demand потребительский спрос

lack, n отсутствие, недостаток

survey, n исследование

sell (sold, sold), v продавать

emphasize, v обращать внимание, подчеркивать

concern, n забота

I. Study the words to text B.

II. Read the text ‘Friendly to the Environment’. Answer the questions below:

1. What is recycling?

2. Why is the process of recycling important? Prove it by the text.

3. What may paper be reprocessed into?

4. What can be done with glass and plastic?

5. Which country recycles more – Japan or the US?

6. What do the three Rs stand for?

III. Choose the correct answer.

1. Many people choose green products because they are....

a) cheaper

b) better made

c) environmentally safer

2. Corporations are producing more green products because....

a) they have to pay higher taxes

b) it costs less

c) consumers want to buy them

3. Nowadays... consumers consider the environmental safety of products before they buy them.

a) all

b) many

c) no

IV. Write the definitions for the following words and phrases:

a) “green” products ______

b) biodegradable packaging _____

c) recycling _____

d) selling point _____