In a recent survey of 1,018 so-called green products, all but one were marketed with false or misleading claims, according to TerraChoice Environmental Marketing.
With a Wild-West atmosphere surrounding the way lawn care companies name and market their natural and organic services, business owners should ask themselves one tough question: “Are we guilty of greenwashing?”
For the answer, consider TerraChoice’s “Six Sins of Greenwashing:”
- Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off – e.g. paper products that claim that come from sustainably harvest forests. What are the impacts of milling and transportation? Is the manufacturer also trying to reduce those impacts? Emphasizing one environmental issue isn’t a problem. The problem arises when hiding a trade-off between environmental issues.
- Sin of No Proof – e.g. personal care products (such as shampoos and conditioners) that claim not to have been tested on animals, but offer no evidence or certification of this claim. Company Web sites, third-party certifiers and toll-free phone numbers are easy and effective means of delivering proof.
- Sin of Vagueness – e.g. garden insecticides promoted as “chemical-free.” In fact, nothing is free of chemicals. Water is a chemical. All plants, animals, and humans are made of chemicals as are all of our products. If the marketing claim doesn’t explain itself (“here’s what we mean by ‘eco’ …”), the claim is vague and meaningless. Similarly, watch for other popular vague green terms: “non-toxic,” “all-natural,” “environmentally-friendly,” and “earth-friendly.”
- Sin of Irrelevance – e.g. CFC-free oven cleaners, CFC-free shaving gels, etc. Could all of the other products in this category make the same claim? Ask if the claim is important and relevant to the product. (If a light bulb claimed water efficiency benefits you should be suspicious.) Comparison-shop (and ask the competitive vendors).
- Sin of Fibbing – e.g. shampoos that claims to be “certified organic,” but for which there is no such certification. The most frequent examples in this study were false uses of third-party certifications. Thankfully, these are easy to confirm. Legitimate third-party certifiers – Organic Materials Review Institute, Forest Stewardship Council, Green Guard, Green Seal – all maintain publicly available lists of certified products. Some even maintain fraud advisories for products that are falsely claiming certification.
- Sin of the Lesser of Two Evils – e.g. organic tobacco. Is the claim trying to make consumers feel “green” about a product category that is of questionable environmental benefit? Consumers concerned about the pollution associated with cigarettes would be better served by quitting smoking than by buying organic cigarettes.