Nowadays, green products are not just limited to those products that can save you energy and water, or those that are recyclable. Green products also refer to those that are environmentally friendly throughout their product life cycle, from raw material acquisition to disposal (this is also referred to as 'from cradle to grave').

Eco-design, which is one way of achieving EPR, is the process of integrating environmental considerations into product design and development. It aims at making the lowest environmental impact throughout the product's life cycle. This is considered an effective method of addressing environmental impacts as most environmental impacts can be addressed at the design stage.