Tony Farina (FGCU) You’ve Been Green-Washed!

5. February 2009 by student.

Everyone these days wants to do their part in saving the environment, but don’t be fooled! I often find myself asking the questions when companies advertise their products as “Environmentally Friendly”, are they really in fact beneficial to the environment? Unfortunately, the answer is probably no. Greenwashing is a term used to refer to companies who use advertisement on products that don’t live up to their claims. A great example for this is Zephyrhills water. On a 24 pack of Zephyrhills water it reads, “Eco-Shape Bottle!” “30% Less Plastic!” Hopefully after reading this, you will start asking questions like, “Is it genuinely 30% less plastic? Whata bout the plastic packaging? How much does it cost and how much energy does it take to produce all of this and sell it to me for the price of $4.99?”. I have to imagine that all the energy put into making this product, from design to transport, costs more than $4.99. Other culprits of Green Washing the people of the world is General Motors. I won’t get into too much detail, but the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid is advertised to have better fuel economy, and better emissions than any SUV on the planet. In their advertising, they fail to mention that because the vehicle is so heavy, they are not subject to any emissions testing therefore they don’t have to meet regulations. This loophole allows them to advertise the SUV as if it were a Toyota Prius, when in fact it is worse for the environment than any other SUV out there, let alone hybrid. You can learn more about green washing by visiting www.greenwashing.net, but STOP letting companies BRAINWASH you into buying their products. Ask yourself the important questions if you truly care about the environment, keeping in mind corporations main goal, is to earn your business.

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