When I envisioned the transportation plan for the Climate Change conference currently taking place in Copenhagen, I immediately thought of carpooling, bicycles, and hybrid buses. The self-stated City of Cyclists would stand for no less, right? Sadly, I could not have been more wrong. It turns out limos and private jets will be transporting many of the delegates to the conference, with demand exceeding the supply available in Copenhagen. Not to fear, delegates! You’ll be happy to hear that you will not be left Limo- or jet-less as you make your way to discuss how to reduce greenhouse gases: limos will be drive hundreds of miles from Germany and Sweden to meet demand (reaching upwards of 1,200 limos in the city), and the extra 140 private jets expected during the peak period of the conference will be flown off to regional airports – or to Sweden – to park, returning to Copenhagen to pick up their VIP passengers. Are delegates – many of whom do not even need to be at the Conference – attempting to make a statement and bring attention to the irresponsible and excessive use of vehicles and, more generally, unnecessary travel? Sadly, I don’t think this is the case. In a world awash in greenwash, it seems even the largest Climate Change conference in the decade isn’t immune.

Greenwashing is not a new concept – it’s been around since environmental products and services started hitting the market in the 70s. However, as ‘going green’ has become big business – sales of organic products alone went from $10 billion in 2003 to more than $20 billion in 2007 – organizations, in their bid to capitalize on the green movement, have become more shrewd in their claims-making. A recent survey by Terra Choice Environmental Marketing found that out of 1,018 products, all but one failed to live up fully to their green boasts. Take, for example, McDonalds. McDonalds is very keen on being seen as green, and what better way to do this than to re-paint your signage with the color green? Pair this with some vague claims about the environmental action you’re taking, and your golden! Green! To be fair, the Fast Food giant has been making some important strides to becoming more environmentally friendly – like converting used oil to biodiesel – but this does not negate the impact of the very un-green factory farms McD relies on for their supplies.

Which of the six sins of Greenwashing is this ad committing?

Another favorite is Huggies disposable diapers. Adding approximately 3.5 million tons of waste to America’s landfills every year, disposable diapers are about as un-green as you can get. When Huggies debuted their ‘Pure & Natural’ line of diapers, one would think, perhaps, they’re made out of biodegradable material? Have re-usable properties? Made out of a thinner material which produces less waste? Although these are noble suggestions, it seems they’re just too … green. The ‘Pure and Natural’ line, in fact, boasts a small piece of organic cotton on the outside of the diaper that does not even come into contact with the baby’s skin. Check out this article for some more frightening examples. On the opposite side of the spectrum there’s Norway, who have banned all car ads from using the terms ‘green’, ‘environmentally friendly’ and ‘clean’ on the grounds that all cars contribute to global warming.

So what is a consumer to do? With such vague and misleading claims permeating the market, how can one make wise and responsible decisions? First, I’d encourage you to check out the Greenwashing Index. This website allows consumers to post ads that might be examples of greenwashing and rate them on a scale of 1 – 5 –with one being a little green lie, and 5 being an outright falsehood. In addition, you might want to become familiar with the ‘six sins of greenwashing’, which include the sins of irrelevance, no proof, vagueness, lesser of two evils, hidden trade-off, and fibbing. The sin of vagueness, for example, is when a product trumpets the fact that it is ‘chlorofluorocarbon free’, even though these chemicals have been banned for years. A pat of the back for following the law, company X!  This Montreal Gazette article discusses some ways of avoiding these traps – for example, making sure the “green” product you’re thinking about purchasing has independent certification, like Environment Canada’s EcoLogo seal, and not just house-brand environmental logos.

How do you evaluate claims of Green-ness in the products and services you use? What ridiculous and unwarranted allegations have you come across? Have you been duped? Share your stories here on The Daily Gumboot!