Greenwashing

The belief that consumer demand for “environmentally friendly” products and services will encourage industry to perform in a more sustainable manner has been much touted by both government and industry alike. The strategy is simple: place ecolabels and/or ecosymbols on products deemed environmentally superior to their counterparts to allow consumers to make more environmentally conscious purchasing decisions. Consumers face a growing selection of adverting and labeling encouraging them to buy products or services that claim to reduce their personal ecological footprint. Ecolabels and ecosymbols can be found on a plethora of products, with certain retailers claiming exclusive use of their own copyrights or trademarks. However, on closer scrutiny, it is clear that many ecolabeling schemes have more to do with greenwashing than bona fide environmental ...