Green is the new black. Everyone wants to be on the sustainability train. By making green claims, they are hoping to jump ahead of their competitors, or at least catch up to them. It is happening in every segment of the marketplace: retailers, wholesalers, product developers, business to business companies, energy suppliers and even information and technology companies. While consumers are raising their awareness to issues about the products that they use, all sorts of companies are making claims about what they sell. Buy how green are these companies and their products?
NY Times posted a scathing article this week about clothing stores in NYC that are destroying clothing and throwing it out, rather than something more environmentally friendly. Ironic that this happened rather shortly after the company’s press release about their new spring line that features a wide range of eco friendly fabrics. While perusing the H & M website, I found a lot of Corporate Sustainability Data. They love to talk big about their use of sustainable materials, CO2 emission reductions, and factory worker treatment. They were even given an award by PETA. So, it makes me wonder what is up. The company website says that they donate clothing to charity, with a caveat for damaged or unsafe goods. Interesting that all the goods being thrown out at the H&M store in NYC were slashed and damaged, apparently in house. I have asked H & M to comment, but have yet to receive a reply. I am left wondering if this was an isolated store practice, or a company wide issue. Given the state of affairs in greenwashing, this leaves a bad taste for H&M in my mouth. Had they not been outed by the NY Times, would we see bags of clothes made from environmentally friendly fabrics ripped to shreds and bagged up for transportation to landfill?
But H&M is not alone in its use of green claims. Samsung loves to wax poetic about its newest “green” phone. The Reclaim phone from Samsung features a casing made from 40% bioplastics that is 100% biodegradable and an Energy Star charger. A scan of the blogosphere lists other features like 80% recycled materials, recycled materials in the packaging, and less toxic chemicals in the production. Samsung, however says nothing about these features on their website. Much like the Earth Phone that was hyped in February with a built in solar panel and plastics made from bottles, I wonder just how green are their products. While a phone that uses biodegradable materials is great, it really is a waste. First off, bio plastics cannot be recycled with other materials, so they need to be separated from the other components in the phone and composted-because even organic materials will not decompose quickly in landfill. Would you take the time to tear apart your phone to separate out the 40% that can be composted? Besides, bioplastics made from corn are not the environmentally friendly material that we like to think they are. Then, what about the rest of it? Even if it were made of 100% recycled materials, what is the point if there is no program in place that can recycle the phone by taking it all apart. An Energy Star rated charger is great, but only if the consumer is educated to unplug it when not in use and if the phone itself uses less energy in between charging. Overall, more hype than substance. Check out the Greenpeace press release from the Consumer Electronics show, as it seems they agree. They unveiled their latest edition of their Guide to Greener Electronics and Samsung fell on the list due to their lack of follow through.
Now take a look at Nestle. In an effort to greenwash the company’s overall poor performance in the area of sustainability, it has announced that it will make it’s Kit-Kat bars from Fair Trade chocolate. Sounds good, until you realize that this announcement hold no weight when it is only for Kit Kat bars in the UK. They have plans to extend that promise to Canada and Australia, but no word yet about the US. While I understand that mega corporations have a commitment to their shareholders, this move does little for me but alert me to the fact that Nestle is trying to jump on the green bandwagon to diminish its loss to brands with more of a commitment to the environment and to people. A giant corporation has the ability to make a huge impact on the global cocoa market and farm production around the world, but a move like this is only to a token gesture. To read more about some of Nestle’s claims, check out Green LA Girl’s post on this topic.
In an effort to green their image, look for claims from a myriad of other corporations. Do your research and don’t be fooled. I am waiting for claims of renewable power generation coming from Ohio utility companies. While it is great that many are finding alternative sources for their energy production, state law has a mandate in place for a percentage of all electricity to come from renewable sources. While the claims that they are likely to make may be true, it holds no weight when it is merely compliance with state laws. Much like the hyped claims of several paper products being heralded as “biodegradable” these claims hold little or no value when you look below the surface. Enter the FTC who cited Kmart, Tender Corp., and Dyna-E International with making false and unsubstantiated claims. Luckily, the internet allows us to look closely at track records of companies and their claims. We can delve a little deeper, and in order to be really good consumers, we have to look beyond the hype and into the reality of claims made by corporations.
Check out the Greenwashing Index to find out more about this topic, and watch this video to see some of the ways that greenwashing is taking place.
