Greenwashing is getting more subtle 6

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1. 

   mkayser Posted 11:35 am
   16 Sep 2007

   Good pointThis is what makes me especially think we need a carbon tax. It's a clear, simple policy that doesn't allow any greenwashing BS.
   I think that subpar policies (like CAFE, renewable production subsidies etc.) are mostly no better than media-hype-fueled greenwashing. Subpar policies make people feel good but do not directly solve the problem.

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2. 

   iprefertherain Posted 3:39 pm
   16 Sep 2007

   "Greenwashing Detective" nonprofits?I don't know if any are out there, but I would jsut love to see a non-profit organization that was just dedicated to giving me a complete, and totally brutal breakdown of the environmental impacts of supposedly "green" products?
   Like I want to see the impacts from start to finish, or as close as we can check that out? The more critical, the better because the purchasing choice is a relative one!
   Because I think consumers need a point of reference for products they are buying, they can actually rely on.
   "The truth will set you free!"
   Hey, that should be their motto, that would be a hot one!
   
   As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields. -Leo Tolstoy

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3. 

   iprefertherain Posted 3:46 pm
   16 Sep 2007

   Actually...That could just be a new segment in Grist! It would be different from Umbra, because it could just focus on "greenwashing".
   It could be called "A Scanner Dark-Greenishly".
   Haha.
   
   As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields. -Leo Tolstoy

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4. 

   farnishk Posted 9:25 pm
   16 Sep 2007

   Hardly SubtleTo be honest, you'd have to be pretty dumb not to see the obvious contradiction between solar panels and a carwash. The real reason such "green" efforts get the publicity the companies seek is because the media (who are also companies) and the authorities who often have a part in the "greening" are happy to demonstrate that business as usual is possible with a few minor tweaks here and there.
   Quite clearly business as usual is what got us into this mess in the first place. I can set up a truly green business : it won't make a profit; it won't consume anything it can't ensure is replaced; it won't pay salaries beyond a living wage; it won't have any investors, or invest in anything, that does not have a similar model. In short, it won't be a business as our current economy recognises it - but it will be green.
   The web sites I run do not accept any corporate sponsorship, or provide any promotion for any organisation or group that has dubious sponsors or other behaviours. It's one way I am able to stay true to myself, and to the planet.
   
   
   
   Keith Farnish
   
   www.theearthblog.org

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5. 

   sunflower Posted 11:56 pm
   16 Sep 2007

   Washing greenI know of an industry that removed a solar thermal installation financed by the DoE because they do not market directly to the public and did not want public attention.  Public vendors will pay triple for green and industrial vendors will not take it for free.

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6. 

   mistermomgoesgreen Posted 9:31 pm
   26 Sep 2007

   It's the American Way!Of course there will be greenwashing! The environment is now in the hands of the marketing and advertising industry. Can we save the impoverished by BUYING RED and the environment by BUYING GREEN? The root of our entire system is to BUY BUY BUY! Red and green are the newest tricks to entice us to buy. Most people will have no concept of what these terms means they will simply feel better about their purchase.
   Green washing is, in itself, a contradiction of the very thing it hopes to save. The root of so many of our troubles is our addiction to consumption. Our economy insists that we shop. President Bush urged us to go to the mall or on a vacation, shortly after 9/11, to save our economy. We all fear the loss of our jobs, so we buy as a civic duty. Little regard is given to the damage done to people and the environment in the entire life cycle of this CRAP we buy. All the resources used to extract raw materials, the resources used to produce them, the waste and pollution generated in this process, the resources used to distribute this stuff, to package it, to sell it, to obtain it, then to dispose of it. This is our economy in a nut shell. We MUST extract resources and generate waste in order to survive, regardless of the future. The greening of our economy simply puts a thick coat of lipstick on the same, sick pig. We must have fundamental change to help others people and the environment. The most basic is to follow a very simple mantra:
                   REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE
   To simplify our lives and jump off the buy, buy, buy hamster wheel. Think of the US during WWII. We rationed everything. Reused anything we could. Grew our own food. Engaged with our neighbors. Threw away as little as possible. We should revisit this mentality and consider it as a logical means of addressing the current issues we face.
   
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