Greenwashing is the new price chopping. Underhanded, unethical practices meant to increase sales. Walmart has been there, done that when they cut prices so low in the 90s that smaller businesses simply could not keep up. They closed, and Walmart raised its prices.Now, every company and their brother is determined to get on the green bandwagon. Things they didn't care about 5 years ago (recycling), things people were laughed out of boardrooms for even mentioning (less packaging), these are now things entire departments are dedicated to promoting.
Green product packaging - and I mean the color green, not the make-up of the packaging itself - is a proven way to convince us that whatever is inside is good for the planet. Slap an "all-natural" or "eco-friendly" tag on that and you'll have us salivating for more.
To illustrate:
The Amazing Dryer Ball of infomercial fame
becomes Nellie's Dryer Balls. Same product, same plastic, still made in China.
The fact is, there are no regulatory bodies to approve these claims (such as the ones that monitor and enforce nutritional labels on packaging). Anyone can claim their product is somehow "green," and the worst part is, it takes away from businesses that are actually offering honest eco-friendly products and packaging.
So be careful out there.
Thanks to Andrew Kinnear and his post Green, Leafy, Eco, Enviro, logo design for the great compilation of logos.
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