Working together for a brighter, greener future.


Benco Dental identified ten criteria universally recognized as reducing a product’s environmental impact. 

As a conscientious customer, we know that being eco-friendly is important to you too. How do we know? Recently, several of our customers requested that Benco Dental offer a method to easily search for and identify products that have a reduced impact on the environment. In response, Benco Dental immediately got to work, developing and implementing a brand new process to help customers find eco-friendly products within our publications and platforms.

Benco Dental identified ten criteria universally recognized as reducing a product’s environmental impact. Then we reached out to each of our vendors asking them to help us identify which of their products meet at least three of the criteria. We required each vendor to supply supporting documentation as to why each product met the specific criteria. Once the information was compiled, we developed a rating scale (Silver, Gold and Platinum) to find out which products truly had a lower environmental impact than others.

You will notice in this catalog that some products have a green leaf next to their descriptions. These leaves indicate that the product fits our criteria and is considered eco-friendly. In addition, when ordering through our Painless system, using the search term “eco-friendly” will quickly return a list of “green” products.


As a conscientious customer, we know that being eco-friendly is important to you too. 

Green Product Qualifications:

BIODEGRADABLE: A material which may be naturally broken down by other living organisms.BIODEGRADABLE: A material which may be naturally broken down by other living organisms.

REDUCED SHIPPING IMPACT: An effort has been made to lower the shipping impact of this item either by reducing the weight of the product, or reducing the weight and/or composition of the packaging materialsREDUCED SHIPPING IMPACT: An effort has been made to lower the shipping impact of this item either by reducing the weight of the product, or reducing the weight and/or composition of the packaging materials.

MADE WITH RECYCLED MATERIAL: Any product that contains at least 30% recycled material. A recycled material is one that has been made by using the waste of another product.MADE WITH RECYCLED MATERIAL: Any product that contains at least 30% recycled material. A recycled material is one that has been made by using the waste of another product.

LOWER MANUFACTURING IMPACT: Made with a process that consumes fewer natural resources or emits less CO2 than a comparable product. LOWER MANUFACTURING IMPACT: Made with a process that consumes fewer natural resources or emits less CO2 than a comparable product.

REUSABLE / RECYCLABLE: A product which, in its current form, can be used multiple times, can be used for a different purpose, or can be manually broken down for reuse. REUSABLE / RECYCLABLE: A product which, in its current form, can be used multiple times, can be used for a different purpose, or can be manually broken down for reuse.

ORGANIC: Contains at least 30% of any material which originated as a living organism.ORGANIC: Contains at least 30% of any material which originated as a living organism.

NO ANIMAL IMPACT: No animal ecosystem was damaged in the research or manufacturing of this product. NO ANIMAL IMPACT: No animal ecosystem was damaged in the research or manufacturing of this product.

NON TOXIC/HEALTHIER THAN COMPARABLE: Implies that the product is not composed of poisonous materials that could harm the environment or human health.NON TOXIC/HEALTHIER THAN COMPARABLE: Implies that the product is not composed of poisonous materials that could harm the environment or human health.

REGIONALLY MANUFACTURED: 100% of this product is manufactured and / or assembled within North America.REGIONALLY MANUFACTURED: 100% of this product is manufactured and / or assembled within North America.

ENERGY EFFICIENT: The end product uses fewer natural resources and/or is more energy efficient, or emits less CO2 than a comparable product. ENERGY EFFICIENT: The end product uses fewer natural resources and/or is more energy efficient, or emits less CO2 than a comparable product.


PLATINUM RATEDPLATINUM RATED
ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCT:
Contains at least 9 of the attributes above. 

GOLD RATEDGOLD RATED
ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCT:
Contains at least 5 of the attributes above. 

SILVER RATEDSILVER RATED
ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCT:
Contains at least 3 of the attributes above.