Sustainable Sourcing Provides Full Carbon Offset for Consumers

June 20, 2011 - PRLog -- Great Barrington, MA-When it comes to environmental labeling and certification, there is often no incentive to go beyond the minimum requirements required for the seal of approval, no matter how low the bar.

Many have bemoaned the low standards of "USDA Organic", which often makes no distinction between petroleum powered monoculture super-farms and small family owned sustainable ones. This is especially true in the new "carbon-offset" industry. Often certification will be granted if only one aspect of a company's carbon footstep is offset, most frequently their electricity usage. However, if a product is manufactured in China and then shipped to America, the carbon footprint from transportation is usually much larger.

“I'm certainly not saying that carbon offsetting for electrical usage is bad,” states Melissa Kushi, CEO and founder of Sustainable Sourcing. “The perfect solution shouldn't be the enemy of the good, either. If we're pursuing a values-driven economy, communication with the consumer regarding products with social value must be clearly stated as such – directly to the consumer.”

This is why several companies, such as Sustainable Sourcing, have gone to greater lengths in order to provide a full carbon offset to their consumers. Melissa Kushi has partnered with the Green-E and the Bonneville Environmental Fund to calculate her entire carbon footprint, from transportation and electric to packaging, printing, trucking, ocean freight, running her organic, kosher, gluten-free facility and gas her employees spend driving to work and then offset 100% of it with sustainable wind and solar power. Melissa proudly displays her Green-E certification label on her web site, but along with a few other pioneering eco-business men and women, her stamp means a little more.

For more information on Sustainable Sourcing, their products or business practices, please contact Jessica Burfield at Libra Design and Media, 608-577-9337, or jessica@libradesignandmedia.com.

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Sustainable Sourcing™ offers ethically sourced, artisan harvested natural products from the world's most remote, pristine lands. Today, Sustainable Sourcing is the leading manufacturer of the most complete line of Himalayan pink sea salt products, HimalaSalt™, and Sustainable Sourcing Organics™, a distinctive line of organic peppercorns, spices, and artisan salt blends, including 100% zero-landfill gift sets, made from wood certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Products are available for purchase online at https://secure.sustainablesourcing.com/, and are available at Whole Foods, Wegman’s Fresh Markets and other natural and gourmet stores. Visit the Sustainable Sourcing web site for a complete product listing of HimalaSalt and organic peppercorns at http://www.sustainablesourcing.com/.