In a recent article and marketing tip we cautioned against greenwashing, the practice of overstating a product’s or company’s positive impact on the environment. Here’s more on the subject from a piece in the New York Times:
“With everyone from oil companies to dishwasher makers to banks trotting out their environmental credentials, complaints about greenwashing, or misleading consumers about a product’s environmental benefits, have risen.
The Advertising Standards Authority, an industry-financed group that monitors ad content in Britain, said it had received 561 complaints from consumers about green claims in 410 ads in 2007, up from 117 complaints about 83 ads the year before.
As regulators work out their response, bloggers and other Internet critics have already started to expose what they see as greenwash advertising.
According to Mike Lawrence, executive vice president for corporate responsibility at Cone, a brand strategy agency in Boston, the problem occurs when marketers make exaggerated claims about a product’s attributes, which may be fine when selling toothpaste or vacations. Most people probably know that the toothpaste will not actually make their teeth sparkle or help them get a date.
But when a company says its product will improve the environment, consumers can sense if the claim is puffed up, Mr. Lawrence said. “This can really backfire with environmental advertising,” he said.
To address this problem, agencies are advising marketers to avoid vague and unsubstantiated claims — the kind that bloggers and other critics are quick to pounce on. Instead, they suggest pointing to a specific step the advertiser has taken or asking consumers to take a small but concrete action.
For example, Procter & Gamble, which makes laundry detergent, has been running a campaign in Britain that urges consumers to conserve energy by washing clothing at 86 degrees Fahrenheit rather than at higher temperatures.”
