Sustainable Products and Green Wash
green*wash: (n) Disinformation disseminated by an organisation so as to present an environmentally responsible public image. Derivatives greenwashing (n). Origin from green on the pattern of whitewash. The Tenth Edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary
green*wash: (gr~en-wosh) -washers, -washing, -washed 1.) The phenomenon of socially and environmentally destructive corporations attempting to preserve and expand their markets by posing as friends of the environment and leaders in the struggle to eradicate poverty. 2) Environmental whitewash. 3) Any attempt to brainwash consumers or policy makers into believing polluting mega-corporations are the key to environmentally sound sustainable development 4) Hogwash. CorpWatch Definition
The fact is that eco-friendly products are not always as advertised – As an example lets look at Fijian Natural Artesian Water promoted as green as untouched by human hand, carbon negative, saving rainforests, reducing packaging and helping by recycling. The company is also investing in “forest carbon (e.g., reforestation) and renewable energy projects that prevent the release of carbon into the atmosphere; these add up to at least 120% of our remaining product lifecycle emissions.”
While carbon-offsets are a great way to make up for green sins, the fact remains that shipping water across the world in plastic bottles is far from environmentally sound. But it is not just Fiji bottled water that is to blame. No matter which bottled water product, consider the pumping, bottling and distributing water -a major waste of resources and leads to considerable pollution.
A simple filter on your tap will often provide better water quality than you will find in a bottle of ’spring water.’
It’s much harder to decipher the true environmental value of consumer products. That’s because the claims are harder to fact check and quantify. Sure, the product might be made from Organic Cotton, but if it’s shipped it to China to be manufactured and then shipped back, then how eco-friendly could it really be? But how do you know? Many consumers, busy with jobs and families, have little choice but to take things at face value.
As the CEO of a TerraCycle, that proudly touts its products as eco-friendly,Tom Szaky is often asked by reporters, investors, and others, “How do we know you aren’t just Green Washing?”
For TerraCycle, the answer is easy. We manufacture and package most of our products entirely from waste — Including a lot of non-recyclable waste. So if weren’t making use of the waste, you can be sure it would be in a landfill somewhere.
Oddly enough, some products that seem like clear examples of green washing turn out to be truly green. After seeing many lawn mower companies claiming to be green, I wondered, “How eco-friendly could a lawn mower really be?” Then I met the founder of Neuton, Inc., who gave me a sample of his battery-operated lawn mower. I was wrong. Some battery-operated lawn mowers are in fact green.
Maybe you’ve heard of TerraCycle for their liquid plant food (worm poop!). They’re much more than worm poop now, and their brand has expanded to include, among other things, eco-friendly cleaning products. TerraCycle products are the first consumer products to carry the Zerofootprint™ seal, which means the materials and manufacturing process that go into creating the products have virtually no negative environmental effects. The cleaners are non-toxic, fragrance free, biodegradable, people and pet safe, are never tested on animals, and are packaged in waste stream products which would otherwise have ended up in a landfill. And, by all the feeback, it does seem they do work !
Companies that are genuinely trying to change their ways for the sake of the environment should be commended, even if they’re not perfectly green in the end. But consumers who are serious about reducing their footprint will soon figure out that words like “recyclable,” “biodegradable” and “natural” don’t always translate into sustainable.
