Greenwashing

Green marketing is all the rage. People like to feel good about what they're buying, and are often willing to pay a little extra if they believe their purchase will help the earth. Marketers caught on to this trend pretty quickly, and false advertising has always been an unfortunate part of consumer culture. The result is that companies lie in their advertisements to make you believe your favorite brand has gone green.

(There is nothing green about 7Up! What are they playing at?!)

The term "greenwashing" technically relates to the idea that a marketing campaign is spending more money and effort to make you believe they are environmentally friendly rather than actually putting the thought into creating more sustainable practices. Norway has been the first to really crack down on greenwashing practices, in 1973 they appointed a marketing expert to ensure that green marketing laws are adhered to, and that no one runs falsified campaigns. The current official said of eco-friendly car ads: "Cars cannot do anything good for the environment except less damage than others." Compare this to car advertising in the United States that have us practically believing that driving a Smartcar will save five polar bears per year. 

What bothers me about greenwashing is that it takes focus off of the companies that really have initiated  environmentally-friendly policies into their work, when it isn't cheap or easy to do. Greenwashing analysts remind us to "stay vigilant" and always be suspicious of vague claims. Notoriously pollution-heavy industries have been trying to put a green spin on their marketing and public relations lately; the term "clean coal" comes to mind. I want to see numbers, I want to see distinct sources of proof that your product is really eco-friendly. The problem is that this is not the only factor I care about when making a purchase, and a too-large rise in price will stop me from buying a product, green or otherwise (and green products almost always cost a bit more). It's a tricky field that is barely 40 years old, and only really becoming popular with the younger generations. Environmentally-friendly practices are undoubtedly a good thing for our world, by lying about it is undoubtedly not.