I read an article the other day in Our Planet which is the newsletter put out by E Magazine.
It was titled “Greenwashing Rampant in Consumer Marketing” and was based on a recently released report from TerraChoice. This report showed that of 2219 consumer products in Canada and the USA, 98% of them committed greenwashing.
A take on the word ‘whitewashing’ to cover up the truth; ’greenwashing’ does the same with regard to environmental claims. It’s when an organization makes environmental claims that are just NOT true. Each year an award is given on-line for the companies committing the worst greenwashing offenses.
If you have a company that does this, or you work for a company that engages in greenwashing then take note:
1. Like all unethical practices – you will be sorry in the long-term. As I used to demonstrate to my business ethics students – unethical practices might have some short-term gains – indeed they often do. BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS have long-term PAIN.
Example after example demonstrates that unethical practices are just NOT WORTH the short-term benefits. Ask any of the ENRON executives what they think as they sit in their jail cells.
2. Once you’re found-out, you have then lost the trust of your customers. And once lost – trust is almost impossible to regain.
3. If you do the right thing in the beginning and do what you say you’re doing, then unless you have some sort of psychotic disorder, you’ll feel really great about doing the right thing
Tell me below if you agree or not.
