What Is Greenwashing?
Tara Paterson
January 22, 2009
Cynergreen prides itself on their commitment to being a green company, educating others about what it means to be green, and encouraging others in the industry to go green which is why the practice of "greenwashing" has become a source of frustration for many companies who truly are using eco-friendly materials and practices.
So what is greenwashing?
According to Wikipedia, the term greenwash is used to describe the practice of companies spinning their product lines as being environmentally friendly as a means to appeal to consumers, persuading them to buy that product rather than another or accept a change in a product. This can mean misleading a customer into thinking an aspect of the product is good for the environment when in reality it is merely a cost cutting method for the company, such as insisting people use less toilet paper in order to save trees when in reality the company does not want to buy as much toilet paper.[1] It is a deceptive use of green PR or green marketing. The term green sheen has similarly been used to describe organizations that attempt to appear that they are adopting practices beneficial to the environment.[2] See more about greenwashing at Wikipedia.com.
As a long time consumer of green products, I can attest to this method being used by companies jumping on the environmental bandwagon.
While shopping at Wal-mart one day, I was looking for an eco-friendly cleaning product and saw a new line of so called "green" products manufactured by a company we are all familiar with. I picked up the all purpose cleaner and checked the ingredients to see if in fact they were environmentally safe and as with so many other products on the market, I confirmed my suspicions that in fact the product was NOT environmentally friendly. I was disappointed, because if the bigger company´s would start manufacturing eco- friendly products it would encourage more people to use them at more affordable prices. Oh well, one major shift at a time.
Make sure you check product labels and if they contain ingredients you can´t pronounce or have never heard of before, chances are it is not a "green" product.
So what is greenwashing?
According to Wikipedia, the term greenwash is used to describe the practice of companies spinning their product lines as being environmentally friendly as a means to appeal to consumers, persuading them to buy that product rather than another or accept a change in a product. This can mean misleading a customer into thinking an aspect of the product is good for the environment when in reality it is merely a cost cutting method for the company, such as insisting people use less toilet paper in order to save trees when in reality the company does not want to buy as much toilet paper.[1] It is a deceptive use of green PR or green marketing. The term green sheen has similarly been used to describe organizations that attempt to appear that they are adopting practices beneficial to the environment.[2] See more about greenwashing at Wikipedia.com.
As a long time consumer of green products, I can attest to this method being used by companies jumping on the environmental bandwagon.
While shopping at Wal-mart one day, I was looking for an eco-friendly cleaning product and saw a new line of so called "green" products manufactured by a company we are all familiar with. I picked up the all purpose cleaner and checked the ingredients to see if in fact they were environmentally safe and as with so many other products on the market, I confirmed my suspicions that in fact the product was NOT environmentally friendly. I was disappointed, because if the bigger company´s would start manufacturing eco- friendly products it would encourage more people to use them at more affordable prices. Oh well, one major shift at a time.
Make sure you check product labels and if they contain ingredients you can´t pronounce or have never heard of before, chances are it is not a "green" product.