It’s Not Easy Being Green…
By Loren on Nov 6, 2008 in Uncategorized
…but it is way too easy to tell people you’re green, and that’s the problem. Green sells, so businesses understandably want to sell their green-ness. Advertisers know many of you as consumers want to have less impact on the environment, so they tell you they are green. They spend millions creating that image of a company so in tune to the environment; Mother Nature herself wants what they are selling. As a result we have “clean” coal, happy cows, flowers flowing from smoke stacks, and cars which decompose as fast and harmlessly as my backyard compost heap. Sadly, the truth is rarely as green as the advertising execs want us to believe.
My favorite example is the ad for cotton which reads: “Cotton: responsible, natural, renewable.” Natural and renewable without a doubt, but responsible?…well, if they aren’t breaking laws I guess so, but the ad asks what could be better than a fiber mother nature made?
WHAT? Cotton is sadly susceptible to many insect pests, so even though it accounts for only 2 % of the world’s agricultural acreage, 11% of the world’s pesticides are used to make into the shirts on our backs. 1/3 of a pound of chemicals are used to make a single tee shirt, and ground water in cotton growing regions is badly polluted as a result. In our own back yard, the New River, the Alamo River and the Salton Sea are recipients of incredible amounts of organophosphates from farms in the Imperial Valley and in Mexico. Cotton is heavily grown in the Valley. Want to learn more? Polluted Rivers Study
Anyway the point is simple, we need a place where we can rate the commercials we see based on a company’s real record on environmental stewardship versus its advertising message. Oh wait! There is just such a place. It’s pretty cool, although I think a few company execs have been on the site rating their own ads. Check it out and add your own favorite commercials. It’s called the Greenwashing Index… get it? Sort of like brainwashing. Here’s a link greenwashingindex.com
So what do you think? Am I too cynical or are advertisers coming off as way more green than they are? What should we do about it? Do you buy from a company which appears green over another selling the same product or service?
Anyone who bases their green choices on a 30 second commercial is a dope. Go online, read, get informed! Don’t let the companies themselves tell you how green they are. Thanks Loren for the link to the website. I hope people use it!
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In response, on November 11, 2008, Juan said:
I think George Carlin has a lot to say on this subject, “lets save the planet.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw
Jaimie M. | Nov 9, 2008
“Green” is like “organic”…unless the public studies and accurately informs themself of what true green-ness is, they will likely be confused what to look for or accept as green in their product and service choices. And since true green is not regulated at present, it’s easy for charletans, truth-stretchers and clever marketing campaigns to pass green off on anyone…same as organic. It will likely take a, or lot of, grassroots groups springing forth with a clear set of guidelines on what true green is to establish a set of standards consumers can relate to, or a logo to look for. But then groups such as that often develop in-fighting as far as standard setting…much like certified organic groups have.
It’s a dilemma…but at least a step-forward that people are seeking this information at all….
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Carol Ochs | Nov 10, 2008
In this post, I assume the following definitions:
Greenness: adj. a quality reflecting the extent to which the creation, operation, and disposal of something, or the taking of an action, is free of harm to the natural environment
Green: adj. an action or object exhibiting a high level of greenness.
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Loren’s questions, and my answers:
Q: Am I too cynical or are advertisers coming off as way more green than they are?
A: That depends on how you and they are defining “green”. Advocacy by industry groups sometimes isn’t the most authoritative source for information about quantifiable product “greenness”. Words and slogans used by these groups, even some labels on garments, are not necessarily recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as being meaningful.
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Q: What should we do about it?
A: Learn about what “green” means to the industries and manufacturers that claim to be. All environmentally conscious consumers should be skeptical of slick advertising and favor belief in what they can corroborate through credible and unbiased sources, then go on to actually select the greener alternatives.
Informed consumers are the foot-soldiers in the battle for a cleaner environment. Individual choices ultimately aggregate into most of the human impact on Nature, which makes it the responsibility of environmentally conscious consumers to understand what phrases like “ecologically friendly”, “environmentally responsible”, or “Green” actually mean.
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Q: (Paraphrased) When comparing products and services, do you buy the “Greener” one?
A: Yes, when I can verify what makes competing products more or less “green” by comparison.
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Debunking the Green Hype for Some Classes of Products.
It can be challenging to learn by what process a particular product is produced, relate that to the claims of “greenness” for that product, and meaningfully compare its remaining interesting quality dimensions to inform our choices. Though it requires a little effort, such evaluations have become easier for some classes of products due in large part to regulatory and standardization efforts made by government and followed by industry in the interest of competing on the basis of environmental considerations.
Most of us have a basic grasp of energy consumption from experience with our utility and fuel bills. Things become a little harder when we need to consider the selection of, say, a computer monitor. For instance, flat panel displays use backlights, commonly cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL’s) which contain mercury, but some newer displays which use light emitting diodes (LED’s) don’t require mercury and are thus “greener”.
The role of government in the management of the environment has not been limited to setting the safe environmental levels for thousands of compounds, radiation, and other emissions. It has also required labeling on products that will guide consumers when making choices that affect the environment. Regulation is unlikely to reach the stage of controlling what industry groups and individual corporations do to “spin” their greenness for consumers. For now, that leaves it up to us to decide, and to some extent by those choices control, the green priorities of the industries and individual businesses our product purchases support.
Certainly in the past, and it’s still true today, the layers of complex federal regulation have been, and continue to be at least in their raw form, hard for the typical consumer to penetrate and apply when choosing a product. This is why clear, easy to understand product energy usage labeling for certain classes of appliances, home heating and air conditioning equipment, water heaters, and automobiles has been standardized for some time.
With the advent and strong consumer uptake of technology intensive products such as computers, HDTV’s, and other electronic devices, it became clear to environmental advocacy groups and regulators that more standardization and dissemination of information about product environmental impact was needed. In response to this need, Government, institutions such as the IEEE, and yes, even some industry groups, have partnered to establish criteria by which products can be compared on the basis of their environmental impact.
One of the most well known of these programs is Energy Star, which one can learn about at http://www.energystar.gov. Energy Star is described as a “government-backed program helping businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency”. The growth of technology products in the home and workplace motivated Energy Star, in July of 2007, to update their qualification requirements for computers and called the new standard Energy Star 4.0.
Building on Energy Star 4.0 compliance is EPEAT, Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. EPEAT is actually a standard, specifically IEEE-1680. EPEAT goes beyond energy conservation to embrace standards for reduction of toxic compounds and other pollutants as well as recyclability. EPEAT currently defines three rating levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. This standard requires that “All EPEAT Bronze, Silver and Gold registered products must be ENERGY STAR qualified”. Consumers can learn about EPEAT at http://www.epeat.net and also become familiar with the ratings that actually appear on products they may be considering.
Energy Star and EPEAT are trustworthy, EPA recognized rating systems and standards by which industry may measure and consumers may compare the environmental performance of electrical and electronic products. The Federal Government uses both of these to manage it’s own environmental stewardship through a program called the Federal Electronics Challenge, which you can learn about at the Energy Star website.
Besides these sources and standards, there are other resources available to inform green choices. A trusted consumer group, Consumers Union, provides information about green alternatives through GreenerChoices, http://www.greenerchoices.org, a linked site of http://www.consumerreports.org. GreenerChoices offers objective green advice and learning material that can help consumers to make informed choices.
The bottom line: The EPA, through standardization of labeling and environmental impact assessment methodologies embodied in such programs as Energy Star and furthered in standards like EPEAT, has eased the burden on consumers that want to cut through the hype and learn what products are actually “green”. If we want to be environmentally conscious consumers, we must seek out available and trustworthy information for study when making buying decisions, then go on to actually purchase those products which exhibit the most “greenness”.
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David L. Caster | Nov 10, 2008
PS:
If activism is more to your liking or you are not quite ready to trust what you hear from government agencies or industry, visit http://www.consumersunion.org where you can also participate in the political process. Here you can influence the green policies your elected officials are considering along with organizationssuch as the National Organics Standards Board that advise government agencies such as the USDA.
DLC
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David L. Caster | Nov 12, 2008