The Reason Greenwashing Works...
Posted by Timothy on 03/21/2008 at 1:53 AMUnfortunately it is hard becoming harder and harder for consumers to distinguish between products which really do what they say and those that are merely marketed with a bit of Greenwashing.
Yet the reason that Greenwashing works is that they are often telling you the truth. But just what is that truth? In reality we need to look at the words we use to define what we do. Perhaps words such as Organic and Natural really should be stricken from the green speak lexicon?
After all, technically speaking Petroleum is both Natural and Organic if we look at the definition of the words.
Natural - existing or produced by nature. Thus many toxins are considered to be natural and certainly crude oil is as we extract it from the ground. And one must not forget that even artificial can be labelled as "naturally derived."
Organic - compounds which are derivatives of carbon and this includes hydrocarbons such as petroleum.
So just because something is natural and organic, it doesn't mean its good for you.
2 Comments
Timothy wrote on 04/05/08 12:14 PM
Jane, thank you for your comment. You are completely correct in the misuse of the word organic. It is unfortunate that not more consumers challenge or question the marketing that they are presented by companies. Although of course one could argue that if all companies were forthcoming then they would not need to... a sad state of affairs.In response to your comment I felt compelled to write about about organic soy wax.
http://www.sustainableluxury.net/post.cfm/organic-soy-wax
Jane wrote on 04/04/08 11:30 PM
I wholeheartedly agree. I am absolutely disgusted that so many people are hood-winked by seeminly reputable companies who claim their products are "organic". Take another candle company - "Natural Magic", the candle of choice for wealthy celebrities because it's natural and organic. But is it? NO. Only the essential oil they put in the candle is organic, which must account for less than 1% of the total bulk of the candle. So is it an organic candle? NO it's a vegetable wax candle with organic essential oils but somewhere, somehow, someone at Natural Magic decided to lie to us. I for one will not buy from liars.