How often do you trust a product’s claim to be ALL true, especially when it comes to green marketing?
Many companies can dye their products green, make their packages green, or use the word “green” or “natural” on their label. They’ll do so to persuade consumers and critics such as NGOs that they are well-intentioned, or to attract potential investors interested in social responsibility, or of course to increase profit by expanding their market share to rival those not participating in greenwashing.
This seems to be a touchy subject for some folks because according to Suzanne Shelton, the head of market research firm, The Shelton Group, “Shoppers want green products, but they don’t know how to define what green product is. They don’t trust manufacturers to tell them the truth about how green their products are, but they’re turning to manufacturers because they don’t have anyone else to turn to.”
Yet they’re ready to slam a company for lying to them.
GREEN EYED CHALLENGES
Stephen Wenc, the president of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Environment, sums up four basic challenges to effective green marketing:
• Lack of credibility or trust by consumers and end-users
• Confusion regarding green or sustainable product claims
• Reputational risk from “misleading claims”
• Liability risk from “greenwashing” under Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Green Guides
GETTING CLEAR
Brooks Beard, a partner at law firm Morrison Foerster, showed how the FTC offered four steps to avoid claims — and possible legal charges — of “greenwashing”:
• Pick the products or services you promote on green grounds with care
• Be specific with word choices (focus on the specifics rather than the
broad)
• Be specific about what part of your product or packaging is green
• Substantiate, substantiate, substantiate — always back up your claims
By following these simple procedures, manufacturers will gain integrity and customer loyalty, all while trying to reduce their carbon footprint in producing goods that are genuinely environmentally-friendly.
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