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Neutral Posture Is In The Green
Building an effective Green Program takes a company-wide effort, but we think it's worth the effort to ensure that our manufacturing process has the least possible effect on the environment. Listed below are some of the ways in which Neutral Posture's products, manufacturing procedures and delivery processes minimized the impact on our renewable natural resources, making Neutral Posture one of the greenest seating manufacturers in the world. The use of recycled materials is something we encourage and practice, and we carefully monitor the level of recycled materials to ensure their maximum use without affecting quality strength, quality, and durability. Minus paint, foam and fabric, Neutral Products are basically 100% recyclable. If calculated by weight rather than component count, which is the standard used for environmental burden, the chair yields approximately 95% recyclable materials.
Pulp fiction? No way-just pulp fact
The molded fiber composite used to manufacture our seats is produced using aspen (Populus tremuloides and Populus grandidentata) pulpwood as the raw material. In addition to excellent gluing properties, aspen has the advantages of being fast growing, abundant across the northern tier of North America and regenerates quickly and naturally from root suckers as part of an even-age management system. By utilizing pulpwood quality material, molded fiber composite does not require wood from old growth forests or long rotation management systems, such as would be required for veneer quality hardwood logs supplied to veneer mills for molded plywood. Green logs contain a high percentage of water (50% by weight). Drying the logs and removing the processing waste (over 20% vs. 50% for solid wood products) close to the woodland source is energy efficient. The manufacturing plant setup to process local forest resources helps to save the high-energy cost of transporting green veneer logs long distances for processing and redistribution in a rough form. By flaking strands from pulpwood, our suppliers recover about 30% more usable fiber from the pulp stick than is possible using conventional production methods for producing rotary veneer from high quality logs. This process efficiency helps avoid the use of high quality veneer logs, and actually requires a smaller volume of logs to produce the same product. This translates to avoidance of harvesting activities on a significant amount of forestland to produce the same product. Wood residues from the processing and trimming operations are recycled into local markets for wood energy and horse bedding.
The deal about steel
Neutral Posture's chairs contain steel that is 100% recyclable. Additionally, up to 25% of this steel comes from recycled product, since 25% is the maximum we can utilize while still ensuring the strongest possible product for our customers.
Green Upholstery? You bet.
The glues and adhesives used in our manufacturing process are primarily MDI (Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate)
adhesive, which contains no formaldehyde to be released in the finished product. Cured MDI is very stable, and
off-gassing of MDI from the product diminishes very rapidly after removal from the press to levels well below the
detection limit. A CFC free adhesive was chosen because of its preferable characteristics for use in the
manufacturing process of gluing foam to foam and foam to fabric. The brands of adhesive chosen were picked for
their functionality, water solubility and performance as a high-tack adhesive. This water soluble glue is just one
more way in which Neutral Posture contributes to the overall, green manufacturing process.
Foam that's comfy for you and the environment
All Neutral Posture seating foam is free from polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Additionally, scrap foam
from the manufacturing process is collected and returned to the vendor for recycling/reuse.
Neutral Posture plastics
Neutral Posture uses virgin ABS plastic in its injection-molded seats and backs. During processing, up to 25% of this raw material is re-ground and recycled to be used in the finished product.
Thinking outside the box
Utilizing sturdy boxes to ensure prompt, intact delivery of Neutral Posture products is one of the ways in which we serve our customers best. Our cardboard shipping boxes are produced from 45% recycled material, and 100% of the materials come from renewable pulp sources. For large orders, customers can opt to blanket wrap their chairs, which totally eliminates packing waste, or could choose to use a box made from 100% recycled materials for an upcharge. Additionally, all cardboard packaging received in our shipping & receiving department is recycled once the contents have been unpacked for storage or use. And we've established agreements with our metal vendors to deliver products in gaylords (large bins) that can be returned and reused and to use bulk
packaging wherever possible, eliminating the need for cardboard boxes altogether.
The Paper Trail
From administrative offices to the production floor, our employees are careful to recycle a wide variety of waste that results from typical office use. Each trashcan in our administrative offices is equipped with its own recycle slot. Our breakroom features special receptacles for aluminum cans. And our corporate profit sharing program provides an incentive for all employees to pitch in to eliminate waste from administrative and manufacturing processes alike. Cardboard packaging is collected and donated to a local charity for recycling. Obsolete office paperwork is also collected, shredded and donated to a local charity for recycling. Neutral Posture has recently also eliminated the shipping of separate printed owner s manuals, since our research showed that
customers do not traditionally use them. Instead, Neutral Posture has an integrated owner's manual in the right arm of our core product. We have also taken advantage of the digital age, providing video clips of each adjustment, along with postural guidelines, via the Neutral Posture web site (http://www.neutralposture.com).
A long and healthy product life
Typical chairs wear out and require replacement within a year or two. Neutral Posture chairs are made to last,
as is evidenced by our lifetime warranty. Neutral Posture has been around since the 1980s, and it is not unusual
to find original products from our first year of production in perfect working condition. Although we are
continually improving our products, we allow for retrofitting of earlier generations. This allows the customer
to upgrade individual components as desired without having to discard the product they already have purchase a
new one. This helps avoid filling landfills with used chairs, and is another way in which Neutral Posture customers
contribute to their immediate health and well being as well as the continued wellness of our environment.
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