INTENT
The intent of this Imperative is to encourage manufacturers to select optimal materials for human health and environmental attributes.
REQUIREMENTS
Living Products are designed to minimize the continued extraction of virgin fossil-fuel based inputs, decrease existing global waste and maximize the usage of natural, bio-based and carbon-sequestering materials. Manufacturers must demonstrate intentional selection of materials that confer positive impacts throughout the full life cycle of the product.
Regenerative Inputs
Inputs to Living Products should aim to have a positive impact from sourcing to the end of the product’s life. Manufacturers must evaluate all material used in the product and prioritize the use of rapidly renewable, bio-based and carbon sequestering materials or non-toxic recycled or waste inputs whenever they have an overall better health and environmental performance based on toxicological and life cycle impacts.
Appropriate Lifetime
The product must be designed so that its durability, warranty and useful lifespan have a direct relationship to its environmental impact and embodied energy. Disposable or single-use products do not qualify unless 100% of the product contents are biodegradable within five years or are made from a material that is compostable or readily recycled within the country of intended use.
Responsible End of Life
The product, including its packaging, should be designed to consider impacts at
the end of its useful life as a functioning product. This means the product and its packaging must meet one of the following requirements:
- Be completely compostable within five years.
- Be able to be 100% recycled.
- Have a manufacturer take-back program available in the market where the products are sold.
Additionally, the product’s packaging must not contain single-use plastic and must not pose a hazard to marine, bird or animal life.
CHANGES FROM LPC 1.1 TO 2.0
Regenerative Materials is a new Imperative in LPC 2.0. The Imperative brings together the Responsible End Of Life and Appropriate Life Time Imperatives from LPC 1.1 under an umbrella of selecting materials that support an appropriate life time and end of life options.
The Imperative also adds this component of optimizing materials to encourage the creation of products that are not just Red List Free and recyclable, but that also consider sourcing materials for inputs. This Imperative encourages manufacturers to evaluate their product materials and identify whether they have optimized their products for recycled or renewable inputs, and/or end of life options such as recyclability and biodegradability.
Finally, this Imperative adds a requirement about avoiding single-use plastics in packaging in order to encourage dematerialization of product packaging, and disincentivize the use of petroleum-based plastics. Compostable and bio-based plastic are currently accepted.
