Products hyped as ‘green’ often fall short
By Craig Guillot • Source: Bankrate.com
Despite a plethora of materials and organizations dedicated to green products and services, the definition of “green” can vary between organizations and between consumers. Mic LeBel, a partner at Planet Friendly Public Relations, a firm that represents clients with green products, says “green” is often defined in the minds of the individual consumers. In general, green products uphold the values of fair trade, protecting the environment, supporting sustainable resources and paying workers a living wage.
Joey
Shepp, founder and chief executive officer of the green search engine
Greenmaven.com, says “green” could apply to any product, service or
company that upholds “green values.” Examples include organic food,
fair trade coffee, organic clothing, renewable energy, LEED-certified
green buildings and hybrid vehicles. Shepp says people buy green
because they care about the world.
“They
can see that by buying this food or product, they’re actually helping
the environment. It starts with a personal motivation but also moves to
a larger environmental and social awareness,” says Shepp.”
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Products hyped as ‘green’ often fall short
By Craig Guillot • Source: Bankrate.com
Natural. Organic. Fresh. Clean. Good for the environment.
It
seems every company out there is making some sort of reference to
natural ingredients and the eco-friendliness of its products.
Car commercials tout fuel efficiency;
appliance stickers sell energy savings, produce
boasts organic certifications, and everything
from paper towels to cleaning chemicals are
packaged in and made with materials that are
supposedly less harmful to the environment.
Even oil and chemical companies have jumped
on the bandwagon with commercials about preservation
and efficiency.
Natural and “green” products abound — but with so much green
advertising, it’s sometimes hard to tell what’s for real and who is
trying to pull the recycled wool over the eyes of consumers.
Shades of green
Despite a plethora of materials and organizations dedicated to green
products and services, the definition of “green” can vary between
organizations and between consumers. Mic LeBel, a partner at Planet
Friendly Public Relations, a firm that represents clients with green
products, says “green” is often defined in the minds of the individual
consumers. In general, green products uphold the values of fair trade,
protecting the environment, supporting sustainable resources and paying
workers a living wage.
Joey
Shepp, founder and chief executive officer of the green search engine
Greenmaven.com, says “green” could apply to any product, service or
company that upholds “green values.” Examples include organic food,
fair trade coffee, organic clothing, renewable energy, LEED-certified
green buildings and hybrid vehicles. Shepp says people buy green
because they care about the world.
“They
can see that by buying this food or product, they’re actually helping
the environment. It starts with a personal motivation but also moves to
a larger environmental and social awareness,” says Shepp.
While the origins of environmentalism
can be traced back to 19th century Europe,
it wasn’t until post-World War II industrialization
that people began to take notice of the environmental
damages caused by man. By the 1980s — with
the Chernobyl meltdown and the Exxon Valdez
disaster — consumers became more aware of
how corporate decisions affect their lives,
their futures and the planet. As globalization
took hold, stories of sweatshops, human rights
abuses and environmental damages started to
creep more and more into the evening news.
Some
corporations, not anxious to alter their operations, instead
implemented the use of “green” marketing and advertising as a means to
mask or soften their images. Pratap Chatterjee, program director for
CorpWatch, an investigative corporate watchdog Web site, points to the
oil companies as some of the earliest and most prolific “greenwashers.”
Chatterjee says that Chevron’s “People Do” campaign started in the
1990s is a classic example of greenwashing.
“They ran a series of ads
with birds and wildlife refuges implying that
Chevron was saving wildlife. There is not
much that could be further from the truth,”
says Chatterjee. “Chevron’s work in extracting
petroleum involves going into places like
Nigeria where they create a tremendous amount
of pollution, far beyond what they would do
here.”
In July 2000, British Petroleum
launched a $200 million advertising campaign
introducing the world to its new slogan “Beyond
Petroleum.” A new green shield logo was
also introduced. The campaign stated that
BP was producing cleaner fuels, that it was
exploring more solar energy and that it was
investing millions of dollars into alternative
fuels. While all of those may have been true,
the company had a questionable environmental
record in the past and in 2006 was responsible
for an oil spill of more than 200,000 gallons
at the transit lines in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
Reaching the green consumer
Greenwashing can also come in more subtle
means, like chemical plants hiding smokestacks
behind a thick barrier of trees or landscaping
their office buildings with beautiful, green
foliage. Other companies actually paint their
buildings and equipment green and use animals
or natural elements as logos. Multinational
corporations can even relocate their hazardous
chemical production to developing countries
where environmental standards are lax. Some
companies simply make a donation to an environmental
organization, then publicize it through press
releases or advertisements.
Shepp says that because we are
still in the era of developing standards,
many companies use their own corporate social
responsibility, or CSR, reports to tout how
sustainable and environmentally responsible
they are. The problem is that many reports
and claims don’t have third-party verification.
Many nongovernmental organizations are highly
suspicious and critical of CSRs, which they
say are usually nothing more than corporate
“spin.”
“When
you see companies creating their own certifications and labels, those
are the ones to be questioned. They all have these CSRs but a lot of
them don’t hold water when tested academically,” says Shepp.
While greenwashing is often used by large corporations
to present a greener image or to mask environmental
issues, it can also be used subtly to sell
regular products on the shelves. There are
a number of consultants and marketing firms
that focus on reaching out to the green crowd,
often through the use of green words and phrases.
Then there is the packaging where trees, plants
or natural images can often be used to imply
greenness or a sense of eco-responsibility.
Many companies put their own logos on the
back near ingredient lists to claim that a
product is “earth-friendly,” “natural”
or “safe for the environment.”
LeBel
says that companies market their true green products by packaging and
communicating with the customer. Because green consumers often care
about where products originate, companies need to publicize their
stories and show any third-party certifications that they may have.
By going green, or at least
creating an impression of greenness, companies
are selling a philosophy and a set of values
to the consumer. Tucson, Ariz., resident Brenda
Lee Kozuch has always had an interest in green
products, but has become more educated and
aware of the matters over the years. Her shopping
habits range from buying cloth diapers for
her child to eco-friendly clothing and clean
products that she purchases over the Internet.
“For
me and my family, it’s mostly for the health reasons and to lessen my
impact on the environment. It goes pretty far for me,” says Kozuch.
When green isn’t green
The differing definitions of green
can sometimes cause green advocates to battle
over what is really green or what is greener.
One case in study is ethanol, which has recently
been touted as a cleaner and greener fuel
that cannot only help save the environment
but can help wean the United States off foreign
oil. But Todd Larsen, corporate responsibility
programs director for Co-op America, says
ethanol isn’t really a green solution. Millions
of acres of land, argues Larsen, would need
to be cleared to plant more corn, more environmental
damage would occur from the run-off from fields
and a food crop would be diverted to energy.
It would ultimately raise the price of corn,
he adds, putting pressure on the world’s poor
that won’t be able to afford a major staple
of their diet.
“A true green solution
(or greener solution) would be to increase
the fuel efficiency of the cars and create
more hybrids and plug-in vehicles,” says
Larsen.
The demand for more fuel-efficient
cars has significantly increased in the past
couple of years but may be due more to the
increased price of gas than consumers’ desires
to leave a smaller “footprint.”
Nevertheless, automakers have been eager to
respond by promoting and advertising more
fuel efficient vehicles. Green advocates all
agree that as demand for green products and
services increases, so will the supply.
But at times, there appears
to be greenwashing even within the green community
itself. Al Gore, one of the leaders of the
environmental movement, has been criticized
for his nongreen policies when he pushed through
the North American Free Trade Agreement while
serving as vice president. The agreement opened
the door to some of the unfair trade practices
which many green organizations are speaking
out against today. People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals, or PETA, for example,
offers report
cards on greenwashing organizations that
try to mask testing products on animals. Meanwhile,
PETA also has its critics, who say that the
organization kills more animals (through euthanasia)
than it helps.
It might also be a fair observation
to say that nothing in the civilized world
is truly green. Those that live the hardcore
green lifestyle note that no matter how green
a product may be, chances are it is shipped
to stores on smoke-belching trucks and handled
by underpaid workers at some point in the
supply chain. Within the green realm are certain
levels of greenness that range from buying
a compact fluorescent light bulb to living
strictly off solar power, boycotting big chain
retailers and riding a bicycle.
Using ‘green’ to make green
Oil companies are far from being the
only greenwashers. Everyone from big-box retailers
to small service providers and corner stores
use the tactic to cater to a greener market.
Large corporations may be reluctant to change
their ways because of the costs involved,
but as more consumers demand green products,
going green can also be good for profits.
Shepp says green values can coexist with the
pursuit of profit.
“I would actually look at the whole sustainability
movement, not just about sustaining resources
but about sustaining profit. Wind energy is
a good example of that. It’s not like fossil
fuels where there is a certain scarcity. We
can have as much as we want,” says Shepp.
Larsen at Co-op America points
to Patagonia as a successful and profitable
company that was founded on and operates on
strict green principles. The outdoor clothing
and gear company has actually built a loyal
following on its principles and is known for
producing products that cause the least harm
to the environment and treating its employees
well. The company engages in environmental
activism and even recycles clothes into new
garments.
As
more certification organizations come online and jump into the
industry, the greenwashing of products may become less common. Linda
Chipperfield, vice president of marketing and outreach at
GreenSeal.org, says that because organic products must be certified and
because organic foods must have a United States Department of
Agriculture, or USDA, organic seal, there is little, if any,
greenwashing in the organic industry. Companies that make false claims
can be investigated and fined up to $11,000 per incident under the
Organic Foods Production Act.
“Because there are national organic standards,
there should not be any greenwashing with
organic products. And if you’re talking about
food, there cannot be greenwashing with organic
food because there is traceability and a paper
trail,” says Chipperfield.
“Organic”
is defined as an ecological production management system that is based
on minimal use of off-farm inputs — materials, such as chemicals, used
to increase production that do not originate on the farm — and on
management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological
harmony. Organic products are not just limited to produce and can
include organic clothing, apparel, flowers, pet food and nutritional
supplements.
Other green-related certifications
and authorities include Energy
Star, whose logo is given to products
which meet strict energy-efficiency guidelines
set by the Environmental Protection Agency
and the U.S. Department of Energy. Green
Seal uses science-based environmental
certification standards to certify everything
from coffee filters to air chillers. Green
building design, which is becoming increasingly
common, is measured and documented by the
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Green Building Rating System under the U.S.
Green Building Council. Co-op
America also runs a network of more than
3,000 screened and approved green businesses.
In
the end, it’s a combination of consumer education and the rise of
certification standards and organizations that will lay greenwashing to
rest. Chatterjee says fluffy green ads are often a response to
consumers’ increasing concern for the environment. “It’s really just
about selling a product,” says Chatterjee.
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