Greenwash in the Second Degree
Because it is above all this profit motive which is the driver of corporate action, most trespasses of greenwashing occur in the domain of marketing, advertising and promotion. This is, in our definition, greenwashing of the second degree to "sell a product or a policy".
Earlier this month I wrote of an encounter with a young man who was opposed to use of the word "green", and we agreed that it is in danger of becoming a hollow buzzword of popular culture. Ever aware of the changing desires and perceptions of the consumer, marketing operations have built entire campaigns to cash in on the public's growing need to be "green".
Predictably this has often transpired into a public that isn't so green at all. Sadly this is indicative of only one thing: that we live in a culture in which collectively conceived images of trend and fashion all too often trump reality.
We here find Lululemon Athletica GUILTY of greenwash in the second degree. The Vancouver-based outfit has emerged as something of a success story in the retail trade, particulary after its share prices soared following a public offering last summer. Lululemon meets the demand of consumers who spend in excess of fifty dollars for articles of active gear, some, they claim, produced from "organic" inputs.
See one myth debunked by the NY Times.
Posted by on 03/20 at 02:39 PM