EFI's Consumer Division encourages environmental sensitivity, and we try to practice what we preach.

Packing Materials: Over the years we have explored many different packaging options. Our priority is to insure that the products we ship arrive intact, while using the most environmentally sensitive packaging we can identify. EFI's Massachusetts warehouse predominantly uses loosefill peanuts made from natural, biodegradable materials (could be corn, rice, wheat, or potatoes) under the Storopack ReNature or Pelaspan™ Bio brands. EFI's Wisconsin warehouse uses FLO-PAK BIO 8® biodegradeable loosefill peanuts, made of corn or wheat starch. In all cases biodegradable loosefull peanuts will simply dissolve in water, and are compostable.

Product Packaging: At every opportunity we encourage manufacturers to supply products in boxes that are both made from recycled materials and recyclable. Products in blister-pack are more difficult to ship, require more warehousing space, and we recognize that they are more difficult for consumers to open. While we still carry energy efficiency-related products that manufacturers ship in plastic packaging, we continue to reduce these SKUs as a percentage of our overall stock. The packaging of Earthmate brand compact fluorescents, for instance, is not only able to be recycled, but it is itself made from recycled paper products.

Product Disposal: While fluorescent lamps are more environmentally friendly than incandescent light bulbs (since they use about one-fourth the electricity, resulting in less pollution from power plants), they do contain mercury, and should not be disposed of in the trash. At the end of their life if you are unable to take expired compact fluorescents to a recycling center or municipal hazardous waste collection, you may use a RECYCLEPAK (available through EFI) to return them to Veolia ES for recycling. And, as quickly as we can, we are encouraging consumers to select LED lighting, as LEDs offer the same or greater energy savings than fluorescent lamps, do not contain mercury, and last many times longer.