The 6 sins of greenwashing (http://www.terrachoice.com/Home/Six%20Sins%20of%20Greenwashing)

i have pretty much given up taking any notice of claims that products make. most people dont realise that companies don't really give a fuck about the environment, environmentally concsious consumers are just a lucrative and ever-growing niche for them to exploit with exadurated marketing campaigns. its amazing what some of these pricks get away with.

a god overview, with some case studies (http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Greenwashing)

While noting that BP was indeed the largest producer of solar energy, Bruno pointed out that was achieved by spending $45 million in 1999 to buy Solarex which was dwarfed by the $26.5 billion it spent to buy ARCO to expand its oil portfolio. As for the claim that BP was starting a journey that would reshape public energy expectations, Bruno was scathing: "Pretentious stuff for a company serving mainly oil and gas, with just a sliver of solar on the side. "

grrr.

is anyone else sick of this shit?

Similarly here a few months/weeks ago i think there was a news story regarding Easyjet - a low cost airline - cutting it's CO2. Of course it turned out to be a reduction of less than 1%.

They'll start researching renewable energy sources when it's profitable to do so. In the meantime it makes good business sense to make the customer feel better about buying their product, which will probably contribute to some Bangladeshi village being drowned 10 years from now.

I don't like it, but I can see why they do it.

it makes good business sense to make the customer feel better about buying their product

thats what i'm getting at. Its impossible to know if a company is making a genuine claim about a product, or whether they are just making some token, meaningless claim in order to make money by apealing to consumer sentiment. Sure, the customer feels better, but it doesnt necessarily promote environmentally friendly practices.

Tricking consumers with misleading marketing is a much cheaper alternative than actually making real sacrifices to change the way they operate.

Its pretty clever marketing but I hate it none the less.

Buying a hybrid car, hemp clothing, and organic pop-tarts won't save the Earth. Your still BUYING things and that in itself boosts this capitalist economy that favors money over the Earth. If you really want to change start with growing your own food.