Greenwashing Deceptive eco-advertising and its prevalence in the home appliance industry.
Jun 26, 2015
Greenwashing
Deceptive eco-advertising and its prevalence in the home appliance
industry.
Sin of Vagueness
• A claim that is too broad or not legally defined
• Example: “All-Natural” products
Sin of Worshipping False Labels
• Companies that create fake 3rd-Part endorsements
• Example: Magazines paid to evaluate products
Sin of Irrelevance
• A claim that may be truthful but is unhelpful
• Example: “CFC-Free”
Sin of the Lesser of Two Evils
• A product that is only green in comparison to other products in the category
• Example: Organic Cigarettes
Sin of Fibbing
• Outright lies• Example:
Companies falsely claiming to be energy-star certified
Genuine Green Labels
Home Appliances
• Refrigerators, Washers, Toaster, Air Conditioners.....
• We all have them
• Hard/Impossible to Realize Greenwashing
Example 1: Samsung
• Read everything carefully
• Don't believe everything you read or see
• Symbols don't always mean something
• Every Award is different
Example 2: LG
• Research
• Compare Multiple Tests
• Don't believe what they say
• Look into the history of the company, were they caught before?
Example 3: GE
• Promises are promises, nothing more
• Money means nothing, I can markup anything
• Companies don't need to give you the whole story. They can leave parts out that make huge differences.
Lowe’s-- Improving Homes?
• Selling Greenwashed products is only fueling the Greenwashing epidemic
• Needs to Re-think Objectives
Honest AND Eco-Friendly
• Adopt policy of honesty
• Share information on true green appliances and their companies
• Focus advertising on just those products
Benefits
• Reassure customers
• Improve sales
• Better the image of the company for the future