FAQ

General

What makes something environmentally friendly?

Why are plastic, paper, and Styrofoam bad for the environment?

What are the alternatives for plastic, Styrofoam, and paper?

What does it mean when a product is biodegradable?

What is the difference between compostable and biodegradable?

If I dispose of compostable products by throwing them out with the trash will they still biodegrade in the landfill?

Are all your products recycled or recyclable?

Company

Where is Ecologic Earth located?

What makes Ecologic Earth special?

Where are Ecologic Earth's products sourced?

Why should I buy the products from you, can't I buy them directly from the manufacturer?

What is ecologic Earth doing for the environment?

Order Information

How do I order a product?

How long until I get the products I ordered?

When a product is "out of stock" what should I do?

What if I don't see a product I'd like to purchase on your website?

Custom orders

Do you do custom orders?

Can I have my company logo printed on your products?

What is the process of making  a custom order?

Bulk Orders

Do you do bulk orders?

What are your prices and shipping time for bulk orders?

Shipping & Returns

How quickly can I expect to get my order?

What is your return policy on defective products?

Eco-Friendly Materials

What material is used to make the tableware and cutlery?

What is the difference between PLA, PSM, PBS, and Bagasse?

What are the biodegradation times for PLA, PSM, PBS, and Bagasse?

How long can I store biodegradable products before using them?

Can I use your plates, bowls and cups for hot foods?

Are the plates, trays, and bowls microwave safe?

Can I put the tableware products in the freezer?

Are your products pet and child safe?

Will your corn-based biodegradable products cause a problem for people allergic to corn?

Certifications

Do your products conform to any environmental certifications?

Do your products conform to FDA regulations?

Payment & Personal Information

What payment options are available for orders?

Is giving my credit card safe on your website?

Are all my details safe on your website?

 

Answers:

General

What makes something environmentally friendly?

 

Products that are made of either sustainable materials, natural materials or man-made materials but that cause minimal harm or do not harm the Earth at all in their production, life-span, and disposal are considered to be environmentally friendly.


Why are plastic, paper, and Styrofoam bad for the environment?

 

Plastic is usually derived from petroleum (oil) or natural gas, both non-renewable resources, and when disposed of they are a strain on the eco-system since they last in landfills for hundreds of years. Paper is derived from wood, which is made from trees. Trees are the natural "filters" for making CO2 (carbon dioxide) into Oxygen. Cutting down trees to make paper puts a strain on the environment and causes an imbalance in nature. Also, paper products are usually heavy and transport of paper products requires a fair amount of energy, much more than plastic products. Gasoline (derived from oil) is used for energy transport and transporting paper products causes a further environmental burden.  However, paper is biodegradable, and after its disposal it does not stay around for long.


Styrofoam (properly called Polystyrene - or PS for short) is actually plastic! Its impact is greater than that of plastic since it is hard to recycle PS, since it requires a lot of energy and takes quite a bit of time. PS is lightweight and contains mostly "air", which is actually processed by use of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), and HCFC's (hydrocholorofluorocarbons), both very harmful gases which destroy our Ozone.

 

What are the alternatives for plastic, Styrofoam, and paper?

 

There are many alternatives to these materials. It all depends what the needs are. Reusing materials is always the best choice, since by reusing you are saving the production of a new material from non-renewable resources. If you need the products to be disposable anyway, meaning that disposability is more sanitary or more sane -  for example, using trash bags, or disposable dog waste bags - then a better choice would be biodegradable trash bags, or biodegradable dog waste bags. Our biodegradable products are made of renewable resources and have very little impact on the environment.


Paper bags can be replaced with either reusable bags or biodegradable bags. Plastic cutlery, plastic plates, plastic bowls, and plastic cups can be replaced by biodegradable cutlery, biodegradable plates, biodegradable bowls, and biodegradable cups. The same goes for Styrofoam cups, plates, and bowls.


What does it mean when a product is biodegradable?

 

Biodegradable means that the products' ingredients will decompose back into the Earth naturally and relatively quickly, usually by some activity induced by micro-organisms, which break the material down into inert elements.


What is the difference between compostable and biodegradable?

 

Compostable and biodegradable are very close definitions and in some places (like California) they are synonymous. The slight difference between them is that in order for a material or product to be labeled compostable it must biodegrade at a rapid pace (according to certification, 90% within 6 months), while some biodegradable products or materials may take longer to biodegrade, and can therefore not be labeled compostable. Compostable products may also be composted with the natural compost in industrial or home composters, while not all biodegradable material can be processed in them.


If I dispose of compostable products by throwing them out with the trash will they still biodegrade in the landfill?

 

Compostable products are usually made of natural materials, so any product which is truly compostable (like those sold by Ecologic Earth) will biodegrade in a landfill just like any apple or banana would.


Are all your products recycled or recyclable?

 

At Ecologic Earth we try, whenever possible to carry products that are either biodegradable or recycled. All of our products (if not compostable) are recyclable.

Company

 

Where is Ecologic Earth located?

 

Our headquarters are located in Asbury Park, NJ, while our warehouse is strategically located in Michigan, the optimal place for us to be able to supply all of the US in the most efficient manner.

 

What makes Ecologic Earth special?

 

Ecologic Earth's products have been handpicked by us, all our suppliers have been carefully screened and chosen based on their environmental policies and practices and the environmental quality and overall performance of their products. All products have passed rigorous testing and all our compostable products are certified by a third party for ASTM D 6400 and/or EN 13432 - the two certifications for compostability in the US and in Europe.

 

We have designed the customer shopping experience to be one of the highest in the industry, as we really believe our premium customers deserve premium products and a premium experience.

 

We're constantly improving and searching for more products and better products for the Earth and for our customers. Those are the things that make us special.

 

Where are Ecologic Earth's products sourced?

 

Most of our products are sourced from local manufacturers in the US, some from Canada, few from the UK, and some from the Far East.

 

 

Why should I buy the products from you, can't I buy them directly from the manufacturer?

 

You certainly could! And we can even help you get In touch with them.

 

You'll likely have a different experience than buying from us, and will certainly have to deal with minimum quantities per order, warehousing, shipping, and sometimes freight and customs. If you are a bulk buyer, we can certainly help you with your logistics for high-volume orders as we are also sales agents for the manufacturers we work with.

 

What is ecologic Earth doing for the environment?


We not only sell environment-friendly products at Ecologic Earth, we also take care to minimize our negative impact on the Earth. That is why this website is hosted on a server powered by renewable energy, using no electricity from the power company, our coffee and tea cups are either reusable mugs (just like the ones we have at home) or bagasse cups. We use biodegradable trash bag for our office disposal, all our lights are energy-saving lights, and we try to use gas heating as much as we can, instead of electrical heaters.

 

Order Information

How do I order a product?


How long until I get the products I ordered?


When a product is "out of stock" what should I do?


What if I don't see a product I'd like to purchase on your website?

 

Custom orders

Do you do custom orders?


Can I have my company logo printed on your products?


What is the process of making a custom order?

 

Bulk Orders

Do you do bulk orders?


What are your prices and shipping time for bulk orders?

 

Shipping & Returns

How quickly can I expect to get my order?


What is your return policy on defective products?

 

Eco-Friendly Materials

What material is used to make the tableware and cutlery?
What is the difference between PLA, PSM, PBS, and Bagasse?
What are the biodegradation times for PLA, PSM, PBS, and Bagasse?
How long can I store biodegradable products before using them?

Can I use your plates, bowls and cups for hot foods?
Are the plates, trays, and bowls microwave safe?
Can I put the tableware products in the freezer?
Are your products pet and child safe?
Will your corn-based biodegradable products cause a problem for people allergic to corn?

 

Certifications

Do your products conform to any environmental certifications?

 

Yes. All our biodegradable/compostable products conform to ASTM D 6400 and/or EN 13432. Our other products conform to ASTM D5338 and ASTM D6954. For all our products, when biodegradable materials are used, you will find the certification for it for your reference, Some of our products, which are not biodegradable (such as our reusable bags or others) do not need certification, but some conform to ISO or other ASTM standards as required.

 

Do your products conform to FDA regulations?


All our products that come in contact with food, or those that come in contact with products that are ingested, and all others that require FDA certifications, are certified by the FDA.

Payment & Personal Information

What payment options are available for orders?


You can either pay us by credit card or PayPal if you are an individual or company, and businesses can also pay us by checks or bank transfers for orders larger than $1,000. If your order is larger than that you may contact us and we will try to accommodate you in the best form for all parties.


Is giving my credit card safe on your website?


Yes, you can rest assured our website is secured by ____, who provide our encrypted security to keep your credit card and personal information safe.


Are all my details safe on your website?


Yes they are. We do not sell, give away, or allow any 3rd party to make use of your personal information. We may keep this personal information for our own records, and to contact you if necessary, all according to our privacy policy.