environmentally friendly
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environmentally friendly
Describes products, processes, or behaviors that put little or no strain on the environment or damage it little or not at all.
Wir versuchen, umweltfreundliche Reinigungsmittel zu verwenden.
We try to use environmentally friendly cleaning products.
The adjective is composed of 'die Umwelt' (the environment) and 'freundlich' (friendly). So it literally means 'friendly to the environment', which makes the meaning very transparent.
Der Kauf von regionalen Produkten ist oft umweltfreundlich.
Buying regional products is often environmentally friendly.
The ending '-freundlich' is very productive in German. It can be attached to many nouns to express that something is good or positive for that thing, e.g. 'benutzerfreundlich' (user-friendly) or 'familienfreundlich' (family-friendly).
Das Hotel wirbt damit, besonders familienfreundlich zu sein.
The hotel advertises itself as being especially family-friendly.
Common nouns that are combined with 'umweltfreundlich' (environmentally friendly) include 'Verpackung' (packaging), 'Energie' (energy), 'Heizung' (heating), 'Verkehrsmittel' (means of transport), or 'Produktion' (production).
Wir heizen unser Haus mit einer umweltfreundlichen Wärmepumpe.
We heat our house with an environmentally friendly heat pump.
'Umweltfreundlich' (environmentally friendly) can also be used as an adverb to describe how an action is carried out. In this case, it is not declined.
Viele Menschen versuchen, umweltfreundlicher zu reisen.
Many people try to travel in a more environmentally friendly way.
green
Grün and umweltfreundlich can both be used for a product with a low environmental impact. Grün is a broad, sometimes promotional label, while umweltfreundlich directly expresses that the product has little or no impact on the environment. Use umweltfreundlich for this specific property and grün for the more general positioning.
Die neue Verpackung ist umweltfreundlich und belastet die Umwelt nur wenig.
The new packaging is environmentally friendly and has very little impact on the environment.
Die Firma bewirbt ihre neue Verpackung als grün.
The company is promoting its new packaging as green.
