{"id":265,"date":"2015-04-27T02:08:59","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T02:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?p=265"},"modified":"2015-04-27T02:08:59","modified_gmt":"2015-04-27T02:08:59","slug":"greenwash-buyer-beware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?p=265","title":{"rendered":"Greenwash – Buyer Beware"},"content":{"rendered":"

We were at the toy store (Home Depot) this weekend to shop for some stains and sandpaper for finishing up a built in shelving unit project.\u00a0 I spotted an impressive bit of greenwashing on one of the products offered in the aisle caddies.<\/p>\n

So first, let me explain.\u00a0 Greenwashing is a term familiar to anyone in the green building industry, but it may not be a ubiquitous term.\u00a0 Basically it refers to any type of advertising or labeling that brags about the \u201cgreenness\u201d of a product (or sustainability, naturalness, healthiness) when those claims may be false, misleading or basically a non-factor.\u00a0 Check out this website for excellent discussion of the seven sins of greenwashing, and for tips to whack through the jungle of lies.<\/p>\n

Sins of Greenwashing<\/a><\/p>\n

One pretty clear piece of greenwashing in NY city, for example, is the label \u201czero trans\u2013fat\u201d.\u00a0 This is greenwashing because, by city law since 2005, trans-fat has been a no-go in the Big Apple (also currently the case in Albany County and Nassau County, NY, some cities in CT and MA and all of CA ) though \u201czero\u201d in this case is defined as anything lower than .5 grams. Early in the paint transition to low and no VOC (volatile organic compounds) many finish paints were low VOC, but the accompanying primer still boasted high VOC content, totally undermining the actual goal of improving indoor air quality.\u00a0 Another fabulous and long-lived food example is \u201cmade from 100% real fruit juice\u201d when this says nothing about how much of the product is truly fruit juice.\u00a0 It could be 1% that is made from 100% real fruit juices, with the rest being water, sugars and the like. You get the idea.<\/p>\n

I also know how easy it is to get sucked in by greenwashing that seems okay on the surface and I have a special hatred for greenwashing in the energy sector. \u00a0The term PZEV means “partial zero emissions vehicle” but this label does nothing to ensure excellent or even decent\u00a0gas mileage. The label speaks only to emissions controls and elimination of evaporative emissions. \u00a0Good stuff, but only part of the whole picture.<\/p>\n

My favorite piece of green bunk is \u201cThink about it\u201d, the TV and radio choking calling card of \u201cNatural Gas\u201d. \u00a0I find \u201cNatural Gas\u201c to be truly the most clever and innocuous-seeming example of greenwashing. I mean, really, it\u2019s also \u201cnatural coal\u201d \u2013 think about THAT. Unfortunately\u00a0\u201cnatural\u201d in this use is synonymous with \u201cunhealthy\u201d. For some inspiration and information on the health burdens and additional costs of fossil fuel use, I recommend you check out\u00a0The Solutions Project – 100% Renewable Energy goals<\/a>\u00a0site.<\/p>\n

\"100%<\/a>

100% “usable”? You’re kidding, right?<\/p><\/div>\n

Well, back to Home Depot.\u00a0 What do you think of \u201czero-waste,\u00a0100% usable, no scrap\u201d cloths for painting and clean up?\u00a0 There was nothing on this package that said what was in the cloths, if they were recycled or recyclable or where the materials were grown or sourced.\u00a0 The cloths were packaged in plastic (uhm, I\u2019m thinking that\u2019s waste), with no indication if the wrapping was recyclable or made from recycled content.\u00a0 No useful info, just the misleading big round label shouting ZERO-WASTE.<\/p>\n

Let me add my big round label to most of what\u2019s being sold out there.\u00a0 BUYER BEWARE<\/strong> and be-aware<\/em>.\u00a0 What is it you need?\u00a0 What makes sense for the product in discussion?\u00a0 How are you going to use it and how can you make your process<\/span> of buying, using (reusing) and disposal greener? It\u2019s really up to each of us to ask questions, educate ourselves, and make decisions based in fact, not based on the marketing hype we are fed.<\/p>\n

Think about that, and be greener.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We were at the toy store (Home Depot) this weekend to shop for some stains and sandpaper for finishing up a built in shelving unit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,2,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-critical-commentary","category-energy","category-recycling","category-products"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/greenwash-def.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p40KlT-4h","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":385,"url":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?p=385","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":0},"title":"VW, Greenwashing, and a Learning Moment","author":"greenerjsa","date":"September 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello, my name is Jodi (hi, Jodi) and I am the once-proud owner of a 2012 TDI Jetta Sportwagon named \u201cJetty\u201d.\u00a0 Prior to that I owned a 1998 TDI Beetle, in beautiful, bright blue, named \u201cBlue Jay\u201d AKA \u201cBeej\u201d. I am sad and I am embarrassed and I am here\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "community"","block_context":{"text":"community","link":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":371,"url":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?p=371","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":1},"title":"Promoting without polluting.","author":"greenerjsa","date":"September 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I was just part of a very nice little in-agency GO GREEN event to help staff understand their options regarding recycling, reuse, green building, greener business, etc. This is a wonderful notion, yet I once again find myself being critical. Mostly because of the plastic tablecloths and the give-away kitsch\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Critical commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Critical commentary","link":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Toss-away promo pens","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/2bgreener.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/promo-pens-300x239.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":298,"url":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?p=298","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":2},"title":"IKEA – is the blue and yellow…greener?","author":"greenerjsa","date":"May 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"We visited IKEA for my birthday.\u00a0 We are very engaged homeowners, always trying to make spaces more usable and more funky and more \u201cus\u201d.\u00a0 We\u2019ve had nightstands on our list for a while, and our use of our living room has recently changed to include movies on a big-screen (I\u2019ll\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Critical commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Critical commentary","link":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/2bgreener.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/IMG_9093-e1432582258599.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":282,"url":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?p=282","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":3},"title":"Bio-synergistic Design; a name for an opportunity.","author":"greenerjsa","date":"May 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cWhat\u2019s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.\u201d\u00a0 An oft-quoted phrase from Shakespeare\u2019s Romeo and Juliet, but in a fast world of near-instant communications, many a concept has been poorly defined in a title, and because of this misstep, failed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bio-synergistic design"","block_context":{"text":"Bio-synergistic design","link":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?cat=14"},"img":{"alt_text":"The cover of Terrapin Bright Green's excellent publication on Biophilia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/2bgreener.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/14-patterns-cover-221x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":100,"url":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?p=100","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":4},"title":"definition of a sustainable world","author":"greenerjsa","date":"January 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I still go back to getting past \"independence\" to \"interdependence\". 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