Probably not very high in an absolute sense and definitely not as high as such pigments contained in the past, but slick and professional packaging is a bit toxic and a heavy metal content above 0.0000 when there’s no reason for having any present at all (besides making a throwaway box prettier) is myopic to say the least. My sense of irony has often made me wonder what the toxicity level of most commercially used green pigments is.

anna: I think what people get mad about is that corporate “green” marketing is often just that; a marketing ploy and is otherwise a bunch of bullshit (the only type of shit that’s truly 100% recycled). This kind of thing is patronizing to say the least and diverts attention away from the fact that it’s the corporate structure itself that’s the primary problem; “profit before people and planet” is not just a trite accusation of WTO protesters, it’s the literal mandate of corporate charters although they phrase it a little more subtly. The only real job Reynolds Aluminum Co. has is to make their shareholders happy, and that’s done by constantly growing, growing, growing. When unchecked growth happens inside of our body, it’s called cancer. In business, it’s called ‘sound management,’ but here’s really no such thing as a healthy, sustainable tumor.

Still, I can tell they did it because they wanted to save fuel, which was rising in cost at the time, IIRC. It was a new change, so it’s easier to justify than this campaign. What would have been a really green change in my mind would be a shift to recipes that break down better in the drain so that it is easier to remove by water treatment plants and is safer for animals to come in contact with.

(Bauxite is a naturally-occurring mineral made up of Al and Silicon. They can’t purify away all the Si, which is why Al has trace amounts of Si. They add a little Iron to the Al for puncture resistance.)

“Aluminum for Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil is placed into alloying furnaces at the continuous cast plant in Hot Springs, Arkansas and heated until molten.”

The info sheet on the recycled wrap says, “Food-safe foil made from a mix of pre and post consumer aluminum.”

I stand by my original assertion. They are essentially the same thing.

http://www.reynoldspkg.com/reynoldskitchens/en/product_category.asp?cat_id=1337

“…98.5% aluminum. The balance is primarily iron and silicon. These are added to give the strength and puncture resistance obtained only in the alloy used in Reynolds household foil. Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil contains no recycled material and complies with U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements for direct contact with food.”

Either they are trying to make it sound like their aluminum is not recycled by using the term “material” or their product is actually completely new aluminum and they are just joining the consumer based green movement and taking advantage of the consumer fad just like everyone else.

And of course, a lot of people fill the measuring cap to the top without noticing that Line 1, for normal loads, is about one-third of a cap. Again, a genius marketing move: the company gets to sell 3x the product (never mind the wasted soap) and promote itself as a green innovator.

A more earth-friendly option, of course, would to be to sell detergent from a big permanent vat, where customers bring and fill their own refillable containers. They used to do this at Whole Foods and other natural foods co-ops. Unfortunately, bulk refilling means that you don’t get to control the messaging on the take-home container, so it’s unattractive to companies who depend heavily on advertising and marketing.

One thing that might be different from the regular product is if the package is recycled. Still, I haven’t checked.

Personally, I consider it to mean a lot more if a company sacrifices or even just risks profitability to be green. Otherwise, the action is just business, and begs the question why it’s so special, as if it’s profitable, the competitors will do the same. It does lobby that legislation is unnecessary, but not every green action is profitable enough for companies to pursue.

One example I liked was how Frito Lay set up a factory where they fry chips that uses natural gas and solar power to fry chips a few years ago. The factory would cost more to run than a factory that used only fossil fuels, but they predicting rising oil costs would eventually make it cheaper to run. This shows the company is forward thinking, and willing to take risks to help preserve resources.