Now, you too can avoid greenwashing (in only six easy installments of…)

Environmentalism – it’s now available in a variety of sizes, styles and shades of green, depending on your mood. It can be canned, boxed or bagged – or vacuum packed into bite-sized pieces for the small G’s among us. If it’s not organic, it’s biodegradable or recycled and if it’s not any of those things, proceeds go toward planting a tree. And it’s likely being launched on Earth Day.

From Flat Tire Footwear made from recycled tires to Monopoly with renewable energy utilities to wine that offsets your carbon emissions by planting a tree, every company and its mascot has some green claim to fame. One could almost say that the threat of climate change has been a real boon to companies and marketers. A 2007 study revealed Americans are more likely to base their purchasing decisions and product referrals to friends around their knowledge of a company’s environmental practices. Today, 35 million Americans are said to regularly purchase environmentally friendly products.

And marketers are catching on.

So, thanks to a surge in green marketing, so called “eco-friendly” products are being churned out like sausage, which leaves many of us wondering which ones contain the real meat.

While the term “greenwashing” has been around for decades it has only recently become the term du jour in media. This may be attributed in part to the November 2007 study conducted by TerraChoice (90 KB PDF), an environmental marketing firm that also certifies companies for use of Environment Canada’s EcoLogo. The Six Sins of Greenwashing study found 99 per cent of 1018 products surveyed were guilty of making at least one of six types of misleading environmental claims.

In recent months there has been what almost seems like unprecedented use of the term. With it comes a new era that takes the existing environmental consciousness and combines it with a more critical eye toward any green claim. A 2007 Ipsos Reid survey reveals some 70 per cent of Americans view such claims as mere marketing gimmicks. Some people are even saying overabundance of green marketing can lead to consumer complacency as they start to think industry is already solving the world’s environmental woes.

But not everyone sees greenwashing as a bad thing. L. Hunter Lovins, co-author of the book, Natural Capitalism says “Hypocrisy is the first step to real change.” In a recent interview, the cowgirl cum Rocky Mountain Institute founder cum professor cum CEO of Natural Capitalism Inc. said she actually thinks greenwashing can be a good step to change.

“If a company makes a claim about something, then you can hold them accountable,” says Lovins, citing General Electric’s “ecoimagination” campaign as an example. “As they make small steps to bring their performance in line with what they’re marketing, to avoid a backlash for greenwashing, they actually see the benefit of that improved performance, and it becomes something they integrate into their business for real.”

Scott McDougall, Canadian CEO and president of TerraChoice doesn’t completely agree however. As his marketing firm works to standardize and legitimize green claims, McDougall believes it is important greenwashers get spotted before consumers lose trust in the industry. Ultimately, he believes Lovins’ theory only works if the greenwashers get busted in the act.

“If the greenwashing is, in itself, successful, there would be no reason to do anything other than the greenwashing,” explains McDougall who believes his company’s Six Sins of Greenwashing study should help educate consumers in spotting the lemons among the good fruits of true environmental responsibility.

“There’s a fine balance we hope to achieve with this study, which includes intervening constructively enough so that consumers don’t give up on trying to find green products and not so much that marketers don’t give up on trying to make and sell green products,” explains McDougall, adding consumers are a powerful vehicle for change and they require some level of trust in the claims being made.

“If their skepticism becomes outright distrust, they’ll simply give up and we will lose this very powerful movement for change.”

At the end of the day, however, it seems the onus is on us as a society to choose which companies to patronize, and also to make our own internal inventory of what truly motivates our purchasing decisions. In other words – let’s get real with ourselves. Are you refusing to purchase that bottle of biodegradable soap because you’re skeptical, or because it costs slightly more?

As well, it is important to reflect on our criticisms of eco-marketing as a society. It seems that anyone with a soapbox and an axe to grind is rearing to chop someone’s claim to pieces. You could virtually nit-pick any green claim until there’s nothing left. Face it – life leaves a footprint.

But now you too can take actions to reduce yours and support companies that make genuine attempts to do the same. But you’ve likely already read about that, maybe on a flashy banner ad, or in a colourful high-gloss flyer… made from recycled paper of course.