Are you falling victim of product greenwashing? Unless fully educated on the matter, the answer to this question is probably yes. Unfortunately, many consumers around the globe are seemingly buying eco-friendly products. While the package and manufacturer claim the item is in fact eco-friendly, this may just be a marketing ploy to draw in uneducated, "do-gooder" consumers who would like to think they are helping their environment.
Some typical ploys used by manufacturers included pictures on packaging that result in false advertisement. For a mommy-on-the-go, when going grocery shopping, seeing a box of dishwashing detergent or laundry detergent claiming, "Made with 20% more recyclable materials than before" may seem like a good idea in theory. Little does that mommy-on-the-go know that the manufacturer may have just gone from using 2% recyclable materials to 3%. While the ad is true, the environmental impact is not as helpful as it seems on the packaging thus, resulting in false advertisement.
Companies also use advertising strategies that use fluffy eco-friendly terms which also make the consumer feel like they are doing their part to become more sustainable. The use of these terms make the product look eco-friendly while their product is hardly that. By using vague vocabulary that gives no credibility, it is not hard to see that these claims are just clever marketing tools being utilized by companies to get consumers to buy their product over another. Because companies realize that becoming more environmentally friendly, lying to customers and using false advertisements is a sneaky strategy companies are using today to capitalize.
Some companies are just flat our lying to consumers. In order to keep from falling victim to these advertising ploys, here are a few examples of good and bad marketing strategies:
The Essentials
PRANCING LEOPARD ORGANICS is a sustainable, multidimensional and philanthropic apparel company dedicated to eco-conscious living. With fashion-forward styles inspired by Yoga, Pilates, Dance and Fitness as well as luxury organic cotton fabrics, Prancing Leopard Organics represents the ultimate in exclusive apparel for fitness and leisure.
Ethic-Chic
To benefit both the wearer and the world, Prancing Leopard choses organic fabrics. Their goal has been to find the most beautiful fabrics, combining natural organic fibers with comfort and performance. Prancing Leopard apparel is made with sustainable fibers to support organic farmers and sustainable farming practices.
This company, found from ecouterre.com, Prancing Leopard, may seem like it is producing an eco-friendly product. The company uses words fluffy words and vagueness to draw in the customer. By saying that they are creating a product geared for those who practice yoga and Pilates, they are already conveying to the consumers to believe they are eco-friendly. Because most perceive yoga and Pilates to be a holistic way to work-out, this is simply not the truth. The company also uses words and phrases like "most beautiful" "organic" and "natural" that paints a picture in the consumers mind that the product they are buying is eco-friendly. By saying that they are a philanthropic company, that also gives consumers the idea that they are geared for environmental friendliness. They are also very vague in how they portray their "organic" and "natural" products. Cultivating fibers that are organic and natural are sometime just as bad for the environment as cultivating conventional fibers. Their use of fluffy words and vagueness lets me know that this product is also using a clever advertising strategy to gain customer loyalty.
GOOD:
Melissa shoes from Brazil are 100% recyclable, made of a special material, MeliFlex, a mono-material which can be disassembled and recycled. These adorable ones, designed by Italian Gaetano Pesce, are made of a series of plastic discs, joined only at their edges. In the past Melissa has had shoes designed by Zaha Hadid, and the Campana Brothers.
This ad, found from TreeHugger.com, is very credible. Here, what you see is what you get. They give specific examples how the materials used are sustainable. They do not use clever word choice to draw the consumer in. By utilizing a product that is bought and used by most; this product, which will be heavily utilized, is in fact trying to help our environment.
I believe that the standardization of environmental claims will improve true transparency of companies. I feel that companies are wrongly capitalizing on consumers who are not educated on sustainability. The consumers who think they are doing good for the environment are actually being tricked and lied to. If standardization were to be fully utilized, consumers who actually care about our environment would be rightfully served
This company, found from ecouterre.com, Prancing Leopard, may seem like it is producing an eco-friendly product. The company uses words fluffy words and vagueness to draw in the customer. By saying that they are creating a product geared for those who practice yoga and Pilates, they are already conveying to the consumers to believe they are eco-friendly. Because most perceive yoga and Pilates to be a holistic way to work-out, this is simply not the truth. The company also uses words and phrases like "most beautiful" "organic" and "natural" that paints a picture in the consumers mind that the product they are buying is eco-friendly. By saying that they are a philanthropic company, that also gives consumers the idea that they are geared for environmental friendliness. They are also very vague in how they portray their "organic" and "natural" products. Cultivating fibers that are organic and natural are sometime just as bad for the environment as cultivating conventional fibers. Their use of fluffy words and vagueness lets me know that this product is also using a clever advertising strategy to gain customer loyalty.
GOOD:
Melissa shoes from Brazil are 100% recyclable, made of a special material, MeliFlex, a mono-material which can be disassembled and recycled. These adorable ones, designed by Italian Gaetano Pesce, are made of a series of plastic discs, joined only at their edges. In the past Melissa has had shoes designed by Zaha Hadid, and the Campana Brothers.
This ad, found from TreeHugger.com, is very credible. Here, what you see is what you get. They give specific examples how the materials used are sustainable. They do not use clever word choice to draw the consumer in. By utilizing a product that is bought and used by most; this product, which will be heavily utilized, is in fact trying to help our environment.
I believe that the standardization of environmental claims will improve true transparency of companies. I feel that companies are wrongly capitalizing on consumers who are not educated on sustainability. The consumers who think they are doing good for the environment are actually being tricked and lied to. If standardization were to be fully utilized, consumers who actually care about our environment would be rightfully served
CUTE BLOG THIS WEEK, LINDSEY!!I love how you started it off with examples from busy moms and grocery shopping. I also like how you gave the good and bad! It looks liek you really researched the material and comprehended what you were writing about. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHi Lindsey! Great blog this week! As a consumer myself, I would have liked to see some examples of how and where we can become more educated of this issue.
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