Just as the term “organic” has become mainstream, so has the team “green.” In fact, according to a recent Times article, it has become too mainstream. The article refers to the recent phenomenon of seeing the market saturated with green products “greenwashing.”
The problem with this is not that people are becoming aware of the green (and organic) issues. The problem is that a lot of these products are not actual green. A recent example - Scot Case who is the vice-president of Terra Choice had his research team analyze supposed green products found in a retail store. The results? Only one out of 1,018 products actually lived up to their green product claims.
Why is everyone claiming their products are green when in fact they may not be? The reason is simple: money. “Going green has become big business - sales of organic products alone went from $10 billion in 2003 to more than $20 billion in 2007 - companies appear eager to associate themselves with the environment.”
So how can consumers be aware of what is and isn’t green (or organic)? The TerraChoice website offers some guidelines called the Six Sins. Telling Green From Greenwashing.
1) Hidden Trade- Promotion of one aspect of a product as environmentally friendly while its negative impact is obscured.
2) No Proof - Environmental claim that can’t be easily verified.
3) Vagueness - Assertion so amorphous that it’s meaningless - like a “nontoxic” claim when anything could be toxic if misued.
4) Irrelevance - Claim that’s technically true but unimportant for the planet.
5) Lesser of Two Evils - Claim that isn arrowly true but ignores larger environmental problems - like “green SUVs”
6) Fibbing - Claim that is demonstrably untrue
There’s also a website called the Greenwashing Index (www.greenwashingindex.com) that allows consumers to post ads that may be examples of greenwashing. The Advertising Standards Authority in Britain has received 561 complaints about false green ads (up from 117 the year before). Here in the States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is updating its Green Guide with the hopes of helping consumers. If things don’t change soon, the oversaturation of false ads aan do more harm than good. Scot Case said, “We have better green products but a lot of exaggerated claims. That could be enough to capsize the whole green movement.”
Source:
Walsh, B. Going Green - Eco-Buyer Beware. Time Magazine. September 22, 2008.
Image:
Istock Photo.
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