echoing eco: a critical look at "green" marketing

Of course, if people are buying into Green,the market is going to sell it. Green advertising is one of the fastest growing trends in marketing. Even Wal-Mart, notorious among the activist community for their social irresponsibility, has launched an Eco Campaign. BP- yes, the oil company - began marketing themselves as "Beyond Petroleum" to tout their alternative energy investment initiatives.

When fighting global warming is hot, there is a strong incentive from the business perspective to hop on the green-wagon (in general I think this is a good thing, but I've still got some further thoughts on this for a later post). This brings up a critical question...

If we are trying to "vote with our dollars" by buying from sustainable companies, how do we know if these businesses are practicing what they preach?

A recent study completed by environmental marketing firm Terrachoice found that 99% of "green" marketing labels were either false or misleading. Greenwashing is defined by CorpWatch as "the phenomena of socially and environmentally destructive corporations, attempting to preserve and expand their markets or power by posing as friends of the environment." The following interview with the President of Terrachoice, Scott McDougall explains the "six sins of greenwashing."



So much of this "green" advertising could be a bunch of "all natural cyanide," so to speak. In order to protect ourselves from buying the faux-green products, we've got to be skeptical. Planet Green suggested asking questions before buying such as

1. Where did this material come from?
2. What are the byproducts of its manufacture?
3. How is the material delivered and installed?
4. How is the material maintained and operated?
5. How healthy is the material?
6. What do we do with the material once we’re done with it?

And of course, checking for certifications from well known programs such as

Green-e, EcoLogo, and Green Seal.

Unsuitablog also suggested looking out for buzzwords and phrases, and poor use of scientific facts.


But if you were to go to the store right now - not Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, just average Joe's store - or to flip through magazine advertisements, or to watch TV commercials, do you think that you would know who's greenness is for real? Here's a quick test to get an idea of your green IQ:

With their Ecomagination campaign, GE is claiming that

"Ecomagination puts into practice GE's belief that financial and environmental performance can work together to drive company growth, while taking on some of the world's biggest challenges. Learn about the GE commitment to products and services that are as economically advantageous as they are ecologically sound."

Are they for real?




Starbucks claims that

"Contributing positively to our communities and environment is so important to Starbucks that it’s one of the six guiding principles of our mission statement."

Are they for real?





On their website, Clorox writes,

"With Green Works cleaners, Clorox has set a new standard for natural cleaning – the products are as effective as conventional cleaners in its category but made from plant-based ingredients."

Are they for real?


How did you do? If you want more, a good website to sample some greenwashing ads is the Greenwashing Index, where people post ads and others rate them 1-5 on level of greenwashing (the only problem is a lot of the ads are car companies, oil companies, and energy companies - which is also quite ironic). For information about specific products, Coop America's Responsible Shopper guide can be helpful, and I really like the Climate Counts Scorecard site as well.