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While reading the March 2008 issue of Fast Company I came across the Green Business column by David Roberts in which he talks about why companies greenwash their products. TerraChoice Environmental Marketing defines greenwashing as “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.”
Roberts cites research by TerraChoice claiming that 99.9% of all companies’ claims that their products are sustainable are either false or misleading. Roberts said that of 1,018 products reviewed by TerraChoice that claimed to be eco-friendly, only one did not commit some form of greenwashing.
Roberts further writes that more than half of the eco-labels, according to TerraChoice, promote a narrow environmentally friendly quality, but fail to mention the not-so-friendly activities conducted by these companies to achieve this designation.
While manufacturers and retailers push their environmentally friendly products, companies are having a hard time finding employees who are trained to fill “green jobs.” A July 6, 2007, article in the San Francisco Business Times reports that companies are finding it difficult to fill positions that are being created to promote their sustainable business practices. While these companies are searching for qualified candidates, more graduates are seeking jobs with companies that have eco-friendly policies, said Lindsey Pollack, author of Getting From College to a Career.
Don’t expect this interest in eco-friendly products or companies to end anytime soon. Online retailer PriceGrabber.com reports that 71% of its surveyed customers said it was important to purchase eco-friendly products.
The full text is on the URL posted at the beginning of this message.
Online retailer PriceGrabber.com reports that 71% of its surveyed customers said it was important to purchase eco-friendly products.
and hence the green washing.
I've been doing further research on the soy fabric/soy yarn topic. It is interesting that so many sights state that the soy yarn is made from "non-GMO soy" and that it is made from conventionally grown (not organic) soy. Seems a bit of an oxymoron. Definitely looks like greenwashing to me, especially considering the country of origin buys the most GMO soy to begin with. The employees that sell these products stress the non-GMO part. When questioned further, they are often like deer in the headlights.
8. Approach new fabrics with skeptical enthusiasm
No doubt you’ve heard the hype around bamboo, soy, or even corn fabric. The idea of finding alternatives to petrochemical-based and conventionally grown options makes us all perk up and we see why many eco-conscious designers are excited about them. Bamboo, for instance, sounds great: it’s a fast-growing plant, not reliant on chemicals, and beautifully drapes the human form. Trouble is, bamboo plantations can displace native forests, and the harvesting and fiber processing are often polluting and unregulated. As with soy, corn, and Tencel (which comes from trees), the processing from plant to fabric is energy and resource intensive. For now, approach these as alternatives to poly, nylon, acrylic or conventional silk and await more info. As always, shop with a plan: don’t fill multiple shopping bags just because the labels say “eco.” Read more about fabric choices below.
I find it difficult to believe that only .1% of companies claiming to sell something green actually are. I will also tell you as a businessman that it is extremely difficult to produce something green, even if you very much want to. I have a business and have been gradually shifting over to biodegradable packaging. The biodegradable packing I buy (puckered recycled paper on big rolls) is 12 times more expensive than plastic "bubba" wrap, and it doesn't work as well. The biodegradable rigid mailers (cardboard) I buy are 8 times more expensive than bubble envelopes, and they don't protect as well. The biodegradable paper tape without fiberglass reinforcing thread is more than ten times as expensive as plastic packing tape, and it doesn't work as well. I buy 100% recycled paper to print receipts on, and it isn't as nice and costs about 30% more. I really wonder how any large company, which is owned by stockholders and so has to justify every move to people who expect to make money for doing absolutely nothing, could ever justify using biodegradable shipping materials. I am not defending big companies here, just stating my experience.
Many customers say they want organic, but only a minority is willing to pay the price. Real organic--not Wally World organic, REAL organic--is neither cheap nor easy to find. The organic you get at Wally World prices is going to be greenwashed. But as far as I am concerned, if you pay garbage prices, you deserve the garbage merchandise you get. Good products cost good money.
My mom taught me that it is cheaper in the long run to buy something of quality and take care of it. We've juggled our budgets and habits around to buy the real organics (for anything we don't grow).
When the majority are asking for the green packaging, the supply will grow and hopefully the pricing will improve. If we fined/taxed the companies for the cost of cleanup of their toxic manufacturing outputs, their products would most likely be the more expensive ones.
Or we could start by making them fork over the sales tax they collect and get to keep as a tax break. That's what goes on with Wally World and all the big box stores.
I too have gotten in the habit of buying way fewer things of much higher quality so they will last. I like to make my products with high quality ingredients because not only does it result in a better product but I personally feel better working with better things.
When I was a child, we took out toasters, blenders and other small appliances to a repair shop be fixed. Other countries still do this. I can have a blender repaired in a cost effective manner in Malaysia, but not here. Small appliance repair has dissappeared as a business in the US.
Thankfully my grandmothers Acme juicer (made of metal)is still running after 40+ years.
We absolutely do live in a throwaway society. GM, another thing that comes to mind is shoes. When I was growing up, there was a shoemaker's shop on my street. He did a good business. We always brought shoes to get new heels, have soles repaired, etc. Now people just throw their shoes away and buy new ones.
As far as small appliances, the sad fact is that it is less expensive to buy a new one than to get the old one repaired - that's if you can even find someone to repair it. And the thrift stores (around here at least) don't take broken appliances, so they end up in the landfill. I always thought the GoodWill employed people to repair these and then re-sell, but they now have notices up that they will not take broken appliances.
That's so true! I bought a pair of black shoe/boots several years and and liked them so well I bought another pair in brown... but the 1" heels were plastic and slick as can be. I was lucky enough to find a shoemaker who hand-crafted new heels by cutting and gluing up thick layers of leather. That's only been about 10 years and I'd feel comfortable saying I probably couldn't find a shoemaker now.
My TV is on the fritz (color is weird) and it's doubtful it can even BE repaired, and probably not for less than a new one. I'm fortunate that I'm able to repair most mechanical things but the TV is beyond me!
Goodwill Industries did train people in appliance repair at one time. They stopped doing that a while ago, probably because appliance repair was no longer a viable occupation for someone to earn a living. The current Goodwill in my area is very picky about what they will except. If there is a scratch on a piece of furniture, they will not accept it.
When I was in college, I bought cheap furniture at the Goodwill and threw bedspreads over the beat up sofas and painted the beat up desks. When i was through with them, they went back to the thrift in better condition.
We do actually have some real cobblers in this area, thankfully. My feet are so hard to fit that if I do find a shoe that fits well, I buy it in every colour it comes in (assuming it is not some bizarre fad shape). I take them to the cobbler to be refurbished regularly. Some of my shoes are ten year old. Some the cobbler will no longer work on as they are more patches than shoe at this point.
You know, I never really thought about why these occupations like small appliance repair or shoe repair had disappeared, but when you think about it, there is no money for corporations in such things, and what's more, they represent a loss to corporate profits. Because every time someone goes to a cobbler to get their shoes repaired, they don't buy another pair of shoes.
I don't have much choice on the cobbler. I did pick up a book on "How to Make Your Own Shoes" while I was at the knitting conference a couple of weeks ago.
The shoe manufacturers are consolidating and dropping the odd sizes. I have Zappo.com send me an automated alert whenever something shows up in my size.
If I can find two pairs in a year, I'm doing well.
May dry cleaners can glue on a sole and heel. It takes a real cobbler to patch a hole on the upper in such a way that it doesn't show.
