Prudent Avoidance:
Beware Greenwashing
July/August 2006

By Linda Mason Hunter

© 2007 Linda Mason Hunter.  May not be reprinted without written permission of the author.

The  Oxford English Dictionary defines greenwash as a noun meaning, "Disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image."

The organization Corporate Watch goes further to define the term as:

1. "The phenomenon of socially and environmentally destructive corporations attempting to preserve and expand their markets by posing as friends of the environment and leaders in the struggle to eradicate poverty."

2. "Environmental whitewash"

3. "Any attempt to brainwash consumers or policy makers into believing polluting mega-corporations are the key to environmentally sound sustainable development."

4. "Hogwash"

Greenwashing techniques include:

	Seduce with image ads
	Impress with environmental projects
	Distract from destructive products
	Gain sympathy by focusing on solutions
	Avoid regulations by claiming they will solve the problem themselves
	Tug at heart strings with their concern for the world's poorest people
	Misuse the word "sustainable" in corporate responsibility reports

Ten Worst Corporate Greenwashers

Don't be fooled.  Study actions, not words.  Here are the ten worst corporate greenwashers, compiled by "The Green Life" (www.thegreenlife.org)

	Ford Motor Company
	BP
	United States Forest Service
	Chevron Texaco
	General Motors
	Nuclear Energy Institute
	Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
	TruGreen ChemLawn
	Xcel Energy
	National Ski Areas Association

Walk Softly

How can you know whether a product or action is sustainable or not?  Follow these three basic rules:

1. Does the product use a renewable resource?

2. Can it be disposed of in a safe ecological manner, without polluting the environment?

3. Does it employ appropriate technology.  Such technologies tend to be inexpensive, readily available to all members of a community, and capable of being produced locally.  They are labor intensive rather than energy intensive, and minimally harmful to the environment, and do no violate the humanity of those that use them.