It is not easy to be GREEN in a manufacturing environment, but Pratt-Read® has been working at it for some time now. Pratt-Read® has been functioning as a green entity for decades. As far back as when the company was producing components for the piano industry, we planted our own trees, ­recycled and used every scrap of wood to increase yields by developing thinner and thinner saws – all geared to reducing the number of trees needed to make its product offering. Some of our original factories harnessed water power to turn all the necessary equipment. Today is no different. The values born years ago continue to dominate our thought process in making a concerted effort to conserve and protect our natural resources and working to provide as green a product as possible. Some of our current GREEN initiatives are: 1. The majority of our handles are made from Cellulose Acetate, a renewable natural resource derived from plant fiber, wood pulp or cotton plants. Cellulose Acetate is a rugged, impact and chemical resistant material that is not a Petroleum-Based product. We recycle 98% of our process scrap into new product. 2. Most of the steel we use has been extracted from recycled materials and we collect and recycle all of our in process scrap. 3. Our finishes are applied in environmentally safe environments. And we would note that the company has shifted to the more environmentally safe hexavalent chrome plating. 4. Whenever possible, all paper or PVC packaging products, (cards, blisters, clam shells and boxes), are made from recycled materials and all are recyclable. 5. We constantly re-evaluate our methods and processes to ­reduce the consumption of electricity and natural gas and strongly ­suggest that all of our vendors do the same.   And of course, this same effort goes into how we operate our business. We use less paper today than ever before. We perform daily inspections to cut air leaks and stop oil leaks in all of our equipment saving electricity. Less leakage means less waste and less disposal ­problems. Additionally, this year we have improved operations by eliminating processes that create byproducts that cannot be recycled and would otherwise wind up in landfills. These are only some of the efforts that the company is pursuing to become a better global citizen, as we continue the drive to make a difference.