The “Six Sins of Greenwashing”

TerraChoice Environmental Marketing Inc. published a 'Green Paper' in November 2007 titled The “Six Sins of Greenwashing”.

Most of us are aware of all the greenwashing that is occurring across all industry today in light of the growing demand for environmentally conscious products. Terra Choice conducted a survey of big box stores and identified over 1,000 products making over 1,700 environmental claims. They found six consistent misleading patterns - The "Six Sins of Greenwashing"

1. Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off - Is the "green" claim restricted to just one, or a narrow set of environmental issue(s)?

2. Sin of No Proof - Does the claim help me find more information and evidence?

3. Sin of Vagueness - Is the environmental and scientific meaning of the claim specific and self-evident? If not, is the specific meaning given?

4. Sin of Irrelevance - Could all of the other products in this category make the same claim?

5. Sin of Fibbing - When I check up on it, is the claim true?

6. Sin of Lesser of Two Evils - Is the claim trying to make consumers feel "green" about a product category that is of questionable environmental benefit?

This paper is a very interesting read and does a good job classifying many of the things we often see in the market place. The paper also offers insight into how to market your product correctly and offers many resources and links.

CLICK HERE to view The "Six Sins of Greenwashing"