It's a wash

Nothing annoys me more than when I am on the internet and I have to fight off a million pop-up windows containing “hidden diet secrets revealed!” or “lose 10lbs in 1 hour guaranteed!”, ok so maybe I bluffed a bit with that last one. My point is all of these are radical claims and we (most of us) know they are not true.

The same rules apply for the green product industry. As consumers we need to make smart conscious decisions and research what we are buying. Just because something has a green label does not mean that it is environmentally friendly.

Greenwashing was defined at the MiBiz Review forum as
“giving consumers and policy makers the impression that the company/organization is taking the necessary steps to manage its ecological footprint. Evidenced by a company spending more time and money on claiming to be “green” through advertising and marketing than actually implementing business practices that minimize environmental impact.”

Need some examples of greenwashing?

1. An energy company that promotes its efforts to develop “green” technology, when in reality it represents a minute portion of its overall business.

2. Hotel chains that refer to itself as “green” merely because guests may reuse sheets and towels during their stay, yet does nothing to reduce water and energy usage.

3. A bank may advertise “green banking” because you can access your account on-line.

If you are concerned about greenwashing, Greenwashing Index gives criteria for determining if a product or service you are using is faux green.

1. The ad misleads with words

2. The ad misleads with visuals or graphics

3. The ad makes a green claim that is vague or seemingly improvable

4. The ad overstates or exaggerates how green the product/company/service actually is

5. The ad leaves out or masks important information, making the green claim sound better than it really is

If you are concerned that a product or service you are using or producing might violate the laws of greenwashing check out these resources from Warner Norcross & Judd. I had the opportunity to sit at a roundtable discussion with Janet Ramsey who specializes in the legal side of Green Marketing and she passed on these awesome resources.

1. "Greening Your Products" by Environmental Protection Agency

2. "Green Certification and Ecolabeling" by U.S. Government

3. "Guides for Use of Environmental Marketing Claims" by Federal Trade Commission

4. "How to Comply with Environmental Marketing Guidelines" by Federal Trade Commission

5. "Green Marketing" by United States Government

6. "Greener Choices" by Consumer Reports

7. "Sins of Greenwashing" by TerraChoice