Greenwashing
Lately, everybody’s going green. I’ve been awash in green news about FSC/SFI certification, wind powered paper mills, carbon setoffs, and sustainable printing. From what I can tell, the printing industry has been pretty good about greenwashing. Most green claims seem to have at least some merit. That can’t be said for other industries.
I live in a state with an economy largely dependent on coal. My home state bears the ugly scars of so-called mountaintop removal mining, but coal is still king despite the ravaged landscape. Adding insult to injury, billboards and ad campaigns are promoting “Clean, carbon neutral coal.” As ABC’s John Stossel says: “Give me a break!”
Despite the fact that I haven’t hugged any trees lately, I am an environmentalist of sorts. I believe in doing something about global warming. I’m in favor of energy efficiency. I support sustainability. I buy shade-grown, fair trade coffee. I recycle. I appreciate the efforts of such outfits as the Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Federation. What I don’t appreciate is being greenwashed.
From talking to other folks, I gather that they don’t appreciate it either. That’s why I thought I’d share with you two resources that can help you cut through the green hype. At www.greenwashingindex.com contributors post and rate green advertising claims. At www.terrachoice.com you can find out “The Six Sins of Greenwashing.” You might also want to check out www.us.heidelberg.com/eco which has info on sustainable solutions for the printing industry “minus the greenwashing and marketing hype.” Paying attention to the environment is a good thing. Putting out misleading information on environmental efforts is not.