Current Topic Thursday: Greenwashing

Now that everyone understands a decent basic understanding of sustainability, sustainable business, and all that encompass it's time to move onto what will now be labeled as "Current Topic Thursday". On Thursdays now I will link all you lovely people an article currently published online that relates to the many, many topics that deal with either the broader sustainability, as well as the more narrow sustainable busienss.

It could also simply be an interesting article I want  to share.

Onto the first Topic Thursday article!

This comes from Grist.org, a site I browse through frequently. It's not long, so take a moment to read though it.

http://grist.org/food/is-the-natural-label-100-percent-misleading/

So... how do you feel about your food being 'all natural'? Annoyed, foolish, enraged, hopeless, depressed... I could go on but I think we all know how we feel.

100% Eco FALSE

Cheated.

The ploy you have just read about is a term called greenwashing. Green-washing is not regulated or controlled. Anyone can slap the label of 'natural' 'eco- friendly' 'planet friendly' on it, add some smiling flowers, green leaves or plants, fresh looking air - anything that would lead you to believe it was sustainable - good for you, having no or little harmful effects, healthy, better for the planet, etc.

But it's not.

That's greenwashing.

But it can be even sneaker... How you ask?

Pick up an aerosol can and it will probably say "NO CFC'S! (CFCs = chlorofluorocarbons, an ozone destructive material). You would say, "That's great!" But did you know CFCs have been banned from use in the United States since the year of 1978? No aerosol cans in the United States have CFCs in them anyways. So why advertise it? CFCs may not there in to begin with, but having that stamp of NO CFCs makes their product look better and therefore more people purchase their product. Told you they were sneaky.

Google greenwashing if you wish to learn more. Yes, tons more information will come up and it is overwhelming and depressing. But important to know and understand. My hope is that I spurred enough thought in your head and gave you enough basic information that you will think before blindly believing facts printed on a package or in an advertisement.