To Green, or not to Green?
Green-washing is when a company uses the appearance of being eco-friendly to promote a product even if it isn’t necessarily an environmentally friendly product. This problem is increasing in our society because consumers are attempting to become more conscious of the environment when buying products. This has made eco-friendliness a marketing point for companies, and they exaggerate “green” qualities and make up vague claims or self-certification programs to promote sales. Consumers must now be even more conscious when selecting products to determine whether companies are being truthful in their advertisements.
One company that is successfully advertising its sustainability is Steelcase. They have several products that meet cradle-to-cradle certification. They also describe all of their sustainable processes on their website, without using obscure or made-up terms. This ad does not use any flashy images or self-certification programs. It simply states the facts about the product. More information can also be found on the Steelcase website regarding their environmental processes.
A company that has obviously green-washed its advertisement is “sofa classics”. Their advertisement just says “Eco Friendly Ideas”, and does not explain how they practice environmentally sustainable processes or what third party certifications they qualify for. They used a background of green leaves to further imply their sustainable claims without having any significant information. They also lack additional information on their website to back up their eco-friendly claims.
According to the greenwash guide, advertisers should not use environmental images, give the impression that the products have qualities that they in fact do not, and they should not be vague. Sofa Classics is guilty of using all of those advertising techniques which add up to greenwashing. Steelcase on the other hand, specifically states their green qualities, have third-party certifications, and they avoid using misleading images to trick people into believing they are something they are not. Steelcase also focuses on the exact issue when it comes to their Bo Peep product. It is 100% wool, and that is what makes it sustainable. No gimmicks, just facts. That is what consumers should be provided with so that they can make educated and well-informed decisions when purchasing products.
Sofa classics: http://www.prlog.org/10745526-eco-friendly-upholstery-materials-from-sofaclassicscouk.html
Steelcase: http://www.steelcase.com/en/products/surfaces/pages/sustainability.aspx
Beth, I love your title! I think it is crazy how they can give us false advertisement on their products and decieve us people! In the "Are you Being Bamboozled" pamphlet, it also specified how there are being deceptive environmental claims and that most "bamboo" textile products are really rayon. Rayon in-fact uses toxic chemicals and results in emissions of hazardous air pollutants, not resulting in an eco-friendly way by the FTC. The FTC will have to find a way to prevent this from happening so that we are getting what we think we are buying! Glad to see that there are a few honest retailers out there though!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maegen! It's scary to think that they can substitute hazardous materials for sustainable ones and market them as environmentally friendly. Advertising is a very tricky market, because they can word things deceptively without actually lying to the consumers. This makes regulation difficult due to the infinite number of loopholes. As long as a company includes a disclaimer somewhere (fine print!), then they are off the hook legally. Consumers need to educate themselves carefully about products instead of just believing the advertisements that they read. I would assume that the easiest way for consumers to find this information would be to check the labels to verify what fibers are actually being used in the products. I found a document(URL below) that lines out the requirements of textile labeling and unlawful misleading advertising, and it seems as though this kind of thing should already be outlawed. I guess the discrepancies are in the definitions of what is "green" and what qualifies as a "sustainable" product if they are advertising it as such in order for these laws to be effective in terms of greenwashing.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/textile/textlact.htm
Beth- I did not choose this option to discuss this week but after reading your blog I feel like I can take a stance on the controversy of how lenient markets can sway their product labeling. Your post was very interesting and I gained a lot of knowledge and quality information.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Grace, I am glad I was able to raise awareness on the issue of green-washing. I did not choose the fibers blog option, but I noticed both you and Maegen discussed the reading concerning bamboo. This reading seems to tie in nicely with my topic, and is also a good example of "green washing" in the textile industry. They have advertised bamboo as "green" in vague terms, allowing the consumer to jump to the conclusion that it is good for the environment, when in fact it may not be. I feel like it's similar to the way that food companies adjust "serving sizes" to make food seem more nutritious (or at least less harmful) that it may actually be.
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