WHAT MAKES METRO LIGHTING GREEN?

1. Quality, durability.

Our items are designed to last a lifetime. We use quality brass and copper parts and antique style construction. That means that a fixture you buy from Metro might be rewired, repaired or refinished by your grandchild someday. While most other products sold today will end up in a landfill sooner than later, Metro Lighting still builds fixtures "the way they used to."

2. Energy Efficient Products.

We offer a full line of Compact Fluorescent fixtures. While we have 13w, 18w and 26w screw-in bulbs that will fit into many of our incandescent fixtures, we also offer "hard-wired" compact fluorescent fixtures that comply with California's Title 24 energy code. These are the "pin" type bulbs. Our CFL fixtures have been U.L. listed since 2006. Please see: HOW TO ORDER COMPACT FLUORESCENT FIXTURES FROM METRO

3. Energy Use / Solar

Our showroom is 100% powered by our 19 kilowatt rooftop solar array, installed in 2004. Please see our "Solar Spotlight" interview on the solardweller blog. In 2007 we replaced over 500 incandescent 25watt bulbs with 5 watt mini spiral bulbs in our displays. Through the local SmartLights program, we even retrofitted our fluorescent work lights to use ultra efficient T8 bulbs. We also collect burned out CFL's so if you have any, bring them in and we will dispose of them properly for you. Remember, despite their energy efficiency, CFL's contain mercury vapor and require responsible recycling!

4. Local Manufacturing

We build our fixtures here in Berkeley. A purchase from Metro Lighting supports local skilled labor. We get most of our lighting supplies from a company in L.A. We offer glass shades from half a dozen local artisans, (Berkeley, Richmond, Santa Cruz area, San Luis Obispo area and Ukiah), as a local alternative to our other glass which comes from an 85 year old factory in France. Our fixtures receive an artist patina here on site, or we send them to a local plater whom has won environmental honors.

5. Recycling.

We have received a grant to develop a line of recycled aluminum and recycled glass lighting, which will be available by the end of 2008, if not sooner. We already offer a line of recycled aluminum fixtures from Eleek Inc. which are made in Portland, Oregon. Not only do we recycle our paper, cardboard, bottles and cans, we also recycle our scrap metals. And of course, we buy recycled office paper, bath tissue and paper towels.

6. Resource efficiency / Waste reduction.

We have changed our production process to reduce by 50% the amount of rinse water we use. Our metal plater recycles all of his rinse water on site in Oakland. Last year we installed dual-flush low flow toilets in our showroom and our workshop.

We are proud of our Green Business practices and look forward to helping you with your next green project.