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"Green" rhetoric is everywhere, political
speeches, articles touting "green" initiatives by various cities and states, movies and television, and yes, even
in marketing and advertising.
While a more environmentally conscious society is certainly desirable,
the push of this rhetoric can be overwhelming and may even have the opposite effect: Desensitization.
In business,
going green clearly offers potential benefits for your corporate culture, community relations, and of course, the environment.
But if your primary motive is profit well, it's far from a proven strategy. Vagueness occurs when a marketing claim is so lacking in specifics as to be meaningless and happens when environmental
assertions are not backed up by evidence or third-party certification and create False Labels. False Labels are when marketers create a false suggestion or certification-like image to mislead consumers into thinking
that a product has been through a legitimate green certification process. The
bad news is that in a survey of 335 cleaning products in the U.S. and Canada shows that 98% of marketers are exploiting the
demand for third-party certification by creating fake labels or false suggestions of third-party endorsement. Despite the
number of legitimate eco-labels out there, buyers will still have to remain vigilant in their green purchasing decisions.
Further, if your company is perceived as "geenwashing",
talking the green talk in an effort to boost sales but not necessarily walking the green walk, your brand value, and ultimately
your profits, may actually suffer.
In the first case, this isn't just an ethical question,
again and again companies that promise more than they can deliver end up undermining their brand value, damaging market perceptions
and alienating the very audiences they had hoped to win.
Point blank,
false or misleading messages almost always hurt your business, if you claim that your product or service is environmentally
friendly, but know that the claim is only partially true.
What is "Greenwashing" ?
Greenwashing is a term that is
used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits
of a product or service.
Greenwashing is a practice where companies attempt
to make their products or services appear to be environmentally friendly by using unregulated environmental
buzzwords and terms, as well as other marketing techniques.
Consumers are duped into
believing they are helping the environment when in truth, they are becoming a victim of "greenwashing". In a recent article Clark
Howard wrote the following: Beware of Greenwashed products.
Have you been paying extra for supposed "green" products in the cleaning aisle at the supermarket?
Consumer Reports has found that such labels don't really have any meaning.
In fact, the conversion
of familiar, "non-green" products to eco-friendly ones has become known as "greewashing". So beware
the next time you see an old product that's been repackaged as an earth-friendly choice, with a higher price tag.
Likewise, "natural" is just another marketing term, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. There's no
government definition of the term. Some tests have even revealed that petroleum-based products are being called "natural". Sure, fossil fuels are "natural"
because they came from dinosaurs, but isn't that a bit of a stretch?
The following words are commonly used by greenwashers because they are neither defined or regulated.
Green
Natural
Reclaimed/Recovered
Recyclable
Recycled
Reusable
Used
Stopping Greenwashers
Greenwashers
take advantage of the public by using unregulated and undefined buzzwords. How can you protect
yourself from these dishonest marketing attempts? Knowledge. The more you research a product, and it's potential
green benefits the easier it will be for you to detect "greenwashing".
Clean
Environment Janitorial Services relies on a couple of safe and effective cleaning products for the majority
of their cleaning.
The first, is a Disinfectant Germicidal Detergent and Deodorant recommended
for use in: hospitals, nursing homes, schools, colleges, commercial and industrial institutions, office buildings, veterinary
clinics, animal life science laboratories, zoos, federally inspected meat and poultry establishments, tack shops, pet shops,
airports, kennels, hotels, motels, breeding establishments, grooming establishments, and households.
The second
is a, Non Toxic, Biodegradable, All Purpose Cleaner.
These
products are both safe and effective.
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