With the launch of the Eco Index beta test earlier this month, the outdoor apparel and equipment industry brought out a new tool to get companies and suppliers talking about environmental impacts and sustainability in the same terms.

By providing one platform for companies to use to understand and assess the impacts of their products - from boots to backpacks to tents to jeans and more - the industry is hoping to make it easier for everyone to talk about product sustainability, and thus take action faster to shrink their products' footprints.

While a final version of the Eco Index is still a ways away, the beta version that was released is a solid start and has the potential to become a standard part of any company's assessment of new products and product redesigns.

 This survey looks at how environmental concerns are changing consumer purchases of plastic, glass and aluminum beverage packaging.

Procter & Gamble Professional gauges perceptions, attitudes and behaviors related to green cleaning.

 Join GreenBiz.com’s Marc Gunther in an upcoming webcast, “Taking an Integrated Approach to Sustainability,” to learn how you can go beyond the basics and build a strategy that drives returns and meets today’s growing demands for transparency and accountability.