What a load of Greenwash

You have to feel sorry for marketers. It's tough trying to place your company's product in an ameliorating light when you know the environmental impact of those same products may be more than your company's as a whole. 

The situation reaches its peak in the apparel industry where cut-throat competition necessitates expert juggling of advertising, promotion and price - not to mention preoccupations with product quality, and how that can be made more appealing by way of the simplest methods, such as packaging, to more elaborate ones like celebrity endorsements.The fact that it's a tough industry out there is really no secret. What's more covert are some of the ways these companies attempt to lessen the pressure.

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Greenwashing: the use of PR and/or marketing to imply that a company prioritizes eco-friendly practices in its operations when, in fact, the aim remains to cut costs or maximize profits. These days, you'd be hard-pressed to find a company that doesn't have some kind of environmental impact policy (when the mining and oil companies start jumping on the bandwagon, you know it's become a staple). But, consumers are becoming equally adept in assessing their own environmental impact, the first point of which involves their patronization or lack thereof when it comes to certain products. Together, we're making retailers, like H&M more accountable and questioning the waste managment practices of Gap Inc.'s factories in Lesotho; but some companies continue to buckle under the pressure.

The Federal Trade Commission recently highlighted 78 apparel companies believed to be falsely advertising their clothing as bamboo. The list includes popular retailers such as Hanes, REI and Target, but also points out the more unlikely brands of Bamboo Eco Wear and Footprint Bamboo. The practice often involves the use of a bamboo derivative such as rayon and viscose, whose processing uses harsh chemicals with negative environmental consequences. Those companies are now being asked to correct their labels or face up to $16,000 per violation in fines. 
As always, the challenge goes both ways. It's all well and good to say you're green consumer, but it really means nothing unless you commit to it completely . Being green is not the new black; in fact there's no sense of 'coolness' that comes along with it. More like getting angry at yourself for forgetting your coffee mug, but not being able to run into Starbucks because paper cups are 'bad for the environment' and then your entire morning is ruined and you miss your stop because you dosed a little on the subway and - well, you get the point. Nobody's perfect; I'd be hard-pressed to find someone who is 100% green (and chances are, if they did exist, they would probably be very very annoying). More importantly, choosing to live a greener lifestyle isn't something that takes place overnight. In order for it to be the long-term, lifechanging process I assume you're seeking, it has to be something that you ease into slowly and carefully. Both consumers and companies need to start being honest with themselves. Maybe after that, we can work on being honest with each other.
Lottie Ntim

photos courtesy of thoughtscream; thenewgay.net