- What is greentomato?
greentomato is an environmentally friendly company based in the UK. Our mission is to make the environment and green-living affordable and accessible to the mainstream.
- How much money can I save with the greentomatokit?
The following table is a guide to the savings that can be made with the greentomatokit. The savings are not guaranteed, and are meant as a guide only.
| Appliance | SHOULD save £ (p.a.) | COULD save £ (p.a.) | Planetary saving per year (up to) |
| Cotton Bag | Not measurable | If 10p plastic bag levy is introduced, this bag could save you up to £20 | A significant decrease in the size and toxicity of landfill sites |
| Water Saver | £20 (on metered bills) | £20 (on metered bills) | 9,000 litres of water per family |
| Radiator Panels (2) | £4 | £7 | Between 30kg and 50kg of CO2 for two radiator panels installed behind one radiator |
| Light Bulbs (2) | £12 (£6 each) | £18 (£9 each) | 80kgs of CO2 (40kgs each) |
| Thermometer | £36 | £40 | Up to 300kg of CO2 for each degree C you lower the temperature on your thermostat |
| Sticker Sheet | £2 | £8 | 60 Kg of CO2 |
| Total Saving | £64 | £112 | 490 Kg of CO2 9,000 litres of water |
- How much CO2 will I save with the greentomatokit?
Please see the table above
- Where can I buy the greentomatokit?
The greentomatokit is available on www.greentomato.org. If you are a retailer and would like to carry the kit in your store(s), please contact us at mail@greentomato.org
- How do I order a greentomatokit?
You can order a greentomatokit in the shop on our wesbite - https://www.greentomato.org/shop. We accept all major debit and credit cards. Once your payment has been processed, your greentomatokit will be sent to you within two to three days.
If you don’t have access to the internet (in which case, how are you reading this?) then you can also buy a greentomatokit by calling 020 83808908 and making an order over the phone.
If you don’t have access to the internet (in which case, how are you reading this?) then you can also buy a greentomatokit by calling 020 83808908 and making an order over the phone.
- Why did you put those items in the greentomatokit?
The greentomatokit is a simple proposition; that’s the whole point. That doesn’t mean that we didn’t put a great deal of thought into what items we would include within the kit.
We started with a list of 40 products, but whittled them down one by one until we got to the current mix. As detailed on the greentomatokit page, each item in the kit had to adhere to four key criteria:
We were surprised by the lack of interesting green products on the market. There are plenty of gadgets out there, but we felt that many of them were gimmicky, using far more energy to produce than they would ever create / save. And whilst we recognise the educational aspect some of these items may have, we did not wish to go against our core principle of not producing something that will just go to waste. So we chose everyday items that people would use.
- I can get some items in the greentomatokit for free – why should I pay?
Although some items in the greentomatokit can be obtained for free, it is not the case for all of them. Furthermore, there has been nowhere - until now - where you can get all these items in one place.
What we are trying to achieve with the kit is to make it as easy as possible for people to make a fairly significant foray into understanding and reducing their environmental impacts. Our objective is to achieve real savings for normal people who would otherwise do nothing.
- Are you trying to make money from other people going green?
Whilst it is true that capitalism and the green movement haven’t always been the best of bedfellows, we believe there needs to be a concerted push to bring environmentalism into the mainstream. NGOs, charities and public entities have done a great job in keeping green issues on the agenda - it is now time for the business community to join in the push to bring environmental products and services into the mainstream.
greentomato wants to be a successful business – a business whose sole purpose is to make the environment and green-living accessible to the mainstream. We also want to prove that green businesses can be viable and turn a profit, as that is the easiest way to persuade others to follow suit.
- Why is the bag made of cotton, and not jute or hemp?
We chose this specific bag as it was the lightest weight cotton we could find. This makes it possible to scrunch up and take with you everywhere. A lot of companies now make bags from jute and hemp. Whilst we think these are great, they’re not a real replacement for the plastic bag, as you can’t put them in your handbag / rucksack / briefcase because they are too big.
We chose this specific bag as it was the lightest weight cotton we could find. This makes it possible to scrunch up and take with you everywhere. A lot of companies now make bags from jute and hemp. Whilst we think these are great, they’re not a real replacement for the plastic bag, as you can’t put them in your handbag / rucksack / briefcase because they are too big.
- Is the bag made of organic cotton?
Unfortunately this is a bit of a touchy subject. When we first asked our bag supplier if the bag was made of organic cotton, they said YES. However, on closer scrutiny, they were unable to back this up with actual proof, so, although the bag MAY be organic (we thought it was when we ordered it) we thought it best not to mislead anyone.
- What if I have an idea for something that should be in the greentomatokit?
In the next phase of the kits, we may find other products that suit our criteria. We’re always on the lookout for good green products, so if you know something that you think would fit in the greentomatokit, send your idea to mail@greentomato.org and we’ll look into it.
- I live outside the UK. Can I get a greentomatokit sent to me?
At present the greentomatokit can only be sent within the UK.
- Is it true that energy saving light bulbs are dangerous?
Put simply, no. The scientific consensus is that if you smash quite a few energy saving light bulbs in a small, unventilated room then you might be in some short term danger. But that’s unlikely to happen.
However, you should take great care when dealing with any breakages. Luckily, in their present format, the light bulbs in the greentomatokit are pretty difficult to break. We should know, as we packed 20,000 lightbulbs into 10,000 kits by hand, and dropped a few in the process. We’d always test them afterwards, and not one of them broke. This includes a fall on two separate occasions from about 4ft onto a concrete floor - with the bulb out of the packaging. Try doing that with an incandescent light bulb!
- Is the packaging recyclable?
No. The packaging of the greentomatokit is made from potato starch, and is 100% biodegradable and compostable. The packaging is so environmentally friendly that you can bury it in your garden and it will release nutrients into the soil as it biodegrades. However, you should not put this in with your recycling. If you wish to dispose of the packaging, please do so along with the rest of your household rubbish.
- How do you send the kits out?
The greentomatokits are sent out by Royal Mail, in their biodegradable protective cover. Even the address labels printed on the kits are biodegradable. The kit itself is too big to fit through your letterbox, so we recommend you get it delivered to your office instead.
If you place an order for more than one greentomatokit, we will send the kits out to you in a box we have specially re-used for this purpose. This way, we don’t use new materials to send you our kit.