Green Clean or Marketing Greenwash?

12 by Becky Striepe on January 6, 2010

Banksy Street Cleaner. CC Photo by Flickr user djbrady

Let's be honest here: everyone is "green" these days. Marketers have co-opted that word to sell us everything from clothing to cleaning supplies, and they've managed to obscure the word's real intention in doing so.

Through deceptive packaging and vague claims, large companies are after well-intentioned consumer dollars. It's buyer beware when looking for truly eco-friendly cleaning supplies, and unfortunately diligent label-reading and research seems to be the best way to really keep toxic chemicals out of our homes.

In fact, it's this

Below are a couple of cleaning products that I've run across recently that strike me as greenwashed, but we want to hear from you! If we want to stand up to corporations, we need to communicate and stay informed. In the comments, we'd love if you'd tell us about phony "green" claims that you've seen!

Palmolive Eco+

Someone recently was telling me about this dish soap, and my kneejerk reaction was not to trust a huge chemical company like Palmolive. Still, I thought it was worth at least looking into, right? My first move is always to read the ingredients. Unfortunately, the Eco+ bottle doesn't list ingredients! That set off some alarm bells for sure.

A little digging turned up some more less than stellar information on the stuff. It apparantly contains chlorine bleach, which is harmful for folks with health problems like emphysema and asthma.

It also seems that companies can make claims like "phosphate free," which Palmolve's Eco+ touts on its label, without much to back them up. There is no third party, either governmental or private, verifying that claim.

Holy Cow

Holy Cow. Photo via Nikolas Schiller at Organic Consumers Association Nice try, Holy Cow, but the Organic Consumers Association has totally busted your misleading label. Along with touting that it's biodegradable and ammonia free, the bottle contains a ripoff of the USDA organic seal.

Share With Us

Have you run across any blatant greenwashing from a cleaning product company? I'm a little wary of Clorox Greenworks but had a hard time finding any specifics about what is in those products. Many folks argue that a company can't call itself green just by launching a green line, when it maintains production of so many toxic chemicals. What do you think?

I'm also uncertain about Method. They do list ingredients on the bottle, but they seem sort of vague to me. Does anyone know more about Method products that cares to share? Is it green or greenwashed?

Need help?

The FTC has a handy document on sorting out "green" marketing claims. You might also check out the Seven Sins of Greenwashing. Both have helpful hints for spotting manipulative marketing and keeping greenwashed products out of your home.

If you're looking for companies that make green cleaning supplies, you might check out Seventh Generation or Ecover. Of course, the best way to ensure that your cleaning products are really green is probably to make your own!

Image Credits:
Banksy Cleaner. Creative Commons photo by djbrady
Holy Cow. Photo by Nikolas Schiller for Organic Consumers Association

http://www.pragmaticenvironmentalism.com Brenda Pike

I kind of feel like attacking a large corporation for improving (even just a little) is nonproductive. It would be like me attacking Janet Evanovich books. They’re may be brainless reading for me, but for the woman I’m tutoring in English, they’re an accomplishment. The people who are going to buy this aren’t the hard-core environmentalists; they’re regular people who won’t go much out of the way to look for better products, but might make the switch if it’s a familiar label. My own first “green” dishwasher detergent was Cascade. Now I use Seventh Generation. It’s all a progression, and I think we should be encouraging any improvement.

http://glueandglitter.com Becky

That’s totally fair, Brenda – baby steps! I can totally see how a green version from a conventional brand might help someone who was a bit skeptical try something new.

Loren

If you want true environmentaly friendly products made by an environmentaly conscience company e-mail me at: bethandloren@wedeliverwellness.com or call my office at 712-260-6571
Ben.

I have many an issue with “Green”, from both a consumer and a supplier point of view.

Firstly, let me discuss a particular pet peeve of mine. “Green” concepts. Some undergrad design student re-invents a widely accepted product, puts a green spin on it and claims it will make the world a better place. These are becoming all too common now-a-days.

One particular example would be the “embossed coke can”, which replaces the ink with an embossed logo. Great, reduce the amount of ink that goes into this can, must be green, right? What designers and Joe Public seem to forget is the proccess that produces such items. To create the new embossed can, Coke would need to invest in new equipment to emboss the can that will still feed into the rest of the canning facility, not such a green idea afterall!!

From a consumer point of view, anything that can be considered better than the standard product generally always. The same is seen with “Organic”, although there are strict guidelines and regulations behind that claim.

I think a generally consumer awareness of what this percieved green-ness actually is, and more legislative restrictions on what claims can and cannot be made!

http://glueandglitter.com Becky

I totally agree. Words like “green” and “natural” are so abused, the meaning has been watered down to mean pretty much whatever marketers want it to mean. Without some solid parameters to define what makes a product “green,” it’s pretty much up to us as consumers to do our homework,

Ben.

Sorry, that last sentence should be “an increase in consumer awareness”.
http://www.squidoo.com/groups/internet-banking Internet Banking

Hey, I just hopped over to your site via StumbleUpon. Not somthing I would normally read, but I liked your thoughts none the less. Thanks for making something worth reading.
http://www.wecleanyourblinds.com/ Kristy Beu

Hi there, I found your blog via Yahoo and google while trying to find a company that did new blind sales and your post caught my interest
http://www.ecokaren.com karen

“green”, “natural” and anything “eco” (as in ecokaren – *sheepishly grinning*) is probably overused. But, as someone suggested, layperson who is taking baby steps to being environmentally responsible gets pulled into those words when buying products. It’s the big corps that abuse that power of green marketing that is at fault for diluting it.

I bought that Palmolive +Eco dishwasher detergent without reading the fine prints. Brought it home, opened it to use it and almost passed out from the smell of chlorine. Took it back to the store and exchanged it for a Seventh Generation. I was trying to give a big corp a chance. But it failed me, yet again.

We just have to send messages out like this to the world to educate as many people as possible via blogs like yours and mine. Keep up the great work you are doing! I’m glad I’m in good company.

http://glueandglitter.com/ Becky Striepe

Karen, I totally agree! The more companies misuse the term, the more it gets watered down. I think small companies like yours do a lot to combat that, you know what I mean?

http://www.builtindishwasher.org/ 18 inch built in dishwasher

I was wondering what is up with that weird gravatar??? I know 5am is early and also I’m not looking my best at that hour, but I hope I don’t look like this! I may however make that face if I’m asked to do 100 pushups. lol
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