George Perks

The term plant-based is not akin to certified organic.

There is no list of requirements that a company has to meet in order to call their product plant-based.

It's totally unregulated.

But in general, I think it also really signals that it is...

not petroleum-based.

That doesn't actually mean that there's not a petroleum-based product in it, but they're trying to veer away from petroleum-based plastics and other petroleum-based products.

So if we're talking about food, there's a ton of evidence that plant-based diets are really good for you.

But what got me interested in this term was not food.

It was all of the other products and trying to learn if plant-based plastics, there are plant-based Legos.

Are those really better for the environment?

And I hate to say it, but I actually think not really.

The most popular plant-based plastic, in order to compost it, it has to go through a really intense industrial process.

And when these bio-based plastics or plant-based plastics end up in a landfill, they stick around just as long as the petroleum-based ones do.

Lately, there's been a little bit of pushback from researchers who say that the freakout over what they're doing to us is sort of, we just haven't researched it enough.

But we do know that they're out there, and we have no reason to believe that plant-based products don't create microplastics the same way that petroleum-based plastics do.

I would recommend that people do their research.

There is actually a trade organization called the Plant-Based Products Council that is working to promote renewable bio-based products and knowledge about those products.

It's not quite the level of rigor you see from certified organic or fair trade, but it could be moving in that direction.

There are other certifications, though, and I'm a fan of certifications because you can see it on a label and kind of know that it's passed some tests and there is an organization looking after.

For my kids, for instance, I always look for...