'Greenwashed' Products Mostly Hype

Some 'Earth-friendly' products are more about marketing than reality
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted May 15, 2008 11:44 AM CDT
'Greenwashed' Products Mostly Hype
In this March 26, 2008 file photo, "Green" pest control products are displayed at the headquarters of Suburban Exterminating in Smithtown, N.Y.   (AP Photo/Ed Betz, file)

"Green" is in, and many new products being marketed as Earth-friendly are in reality only marginally less unfriendly. The Boston Globe points to hybrid SUVs that get barely better mileage than their standard brethren, water bottles that use less plastic but still require large amounts of energy to make and deliver, and "non-toxic" cleaners that have merely reduced amounts of the same toxins. "It's a marketing exercise rather than reality," says a consumer expert.

"How a 6,000-pound behemoth can be the green car of the year is beyond me," he says of the Chevy Tahoe hybrid. The marketing of dubiously eco-friendly products is known as "greenwashing," and it's on the rise. "You could have the green McMansion with energy efficiency, but, well, the house is still 6,000 square feet," says a BU professor. Consumers, meanwhile, are expected to double spending on green products next year to $500 billion. (More green products stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X