‘Biodegradable’ has no time limit — many plastics technically biodegrade in centuries. ‘Compostable’ means it breaks down into safe soil within months under composting conditions. Ask: compostable where, and how fast?
Turning waste into something of equal or higher value — like cement sacks into shopping bags — without breaking it down first.
Buying the product without new packaging, using your own container. The oldest shopping habit in Bangladesh, now returning to cities.
The total greenhouse gases caused by an action or product. In Dhaka homes, cooking fuel, electricity and transport are the biggest parts.
Making a product seem more environmentally friendly than it is — through green colours, leaf logos or vague words like ‘natural’ with no proof.
A system where products are designed to be reused, repaired or recycled, so materials keep circulating instead of becoming waste.
