Seeing through the greenwashing whiteout by Nik Blosser - 8.4.08
I am trying to find some tiny shred of existence that has not been “greened” by The Marketers. My desperation is so great that I recently turned to escapist television shows that seemed likely candidates. For example, I tuned in to Gossip Girl, the CW Television Network’s most popular show. How refreshing it was that the obscenely wealthy and attractive high schoolers at an exclusive Manhattan private school cared only about sex, clothes and money. However, during a commercial break I went to Google and typed in “Green Gossip Girl.” It turns out The Marketers have steeped even this show, my last hope, in green. For example, the divorced—from two different billionaires—mother of one of the high school stars, actress Kelly Rutherford, has a video interview on the Washington Post’s sprig.com Web site (for which the tag line is “suburban people are into green”). “Kelly Rutherford —super green star of Gossip Girl—sat down with Sprig celebrity host Jac Chebatoris to talk about her very eco-friendly lifestyle, going green on the set of her hit show and how she plans to save some cash for her next Birkin Bag. Check out the latest in energy-saving gossip here,” gushes the text accompanying the video. Watching Ms. Rutherford, sweet as she is, talk about compact fluorescent light bulbs made me want to cry. Falling further into solipsism, I typed “green bullshit” into Google and got 4.7 million results, including a multitude of blogs on how basically nothing that claims to be green really is.My situation, while perhaps extreme, is not unique. Late last year the firm Ipsos Reid did a study which said that 70 percent of Americans either strongly or somewhat agree that “when companies call a product ‘green’ (meaning better for the environment), it is usually just a marketing tactic.” A study released in mid-June of this year by the Natural Marketing Institute says that consumers are experiencing what it calls “Greenwashing whiteout.” NMI states:
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As much as we all dislike greenwashing, it works due to a simple psychological principle: All consumers perceive themselves as being environmentally responsible.
Ad agencies work for their clients, not for consumers. They can set aside their ethics and exploit the fact that many consumers want their buying decisions to reflect that green self-image to others.
Competitors' false green claims will continue. The FTC might revise Part 260, but the enforcement burden will be enormous. The secret to successfully promoting greenness is to avoid the appearance of greenwashing. The plain truth goes a long way.
Posted by Denis DuBois
on August 13, 2008 12:24 PM
Consumers increasingly care about sustainability and are pressuring companies to "go green." Naturally, companies feel compelled to have a green story. If done right, many companies should be able to build an authentic and credible story around sustainability. But too much of a good thing can make you sick. For some thoughts on greenwashing in marketing, check out the whitepaper at http://www.bitepr.com/services/cleantech/.
