Green washing. Sounds a lot like brain washing, doesn't it?
The problem with environmentalism is that one can very easily misconstrue it as fad. Yes there are people who care about protecting our earth. Yes there are those that want to see our future secured, and the world a livable place for generations to come.
And then there are corporations. And their consumers.
I'd be lying if I said that they didn't have green initiatives. The only issue here is that said green initiatives focus on a....different form of green let's just say.
I'm talking about money. Corporations want to make money. It's just the way they are. Feudalism wants to keep the peasants in line. Communism want to make everyone equal beneath those who are more equal. And then Capitalism wants to make money.
How does one make money off of the 'green movement' without completely restructuring? Simple, all you need to do is pretend you're green without actually going through with it.
And people buy into it. After all, we Westerners have been indoctrinate within modes of consumption since we were born. I can say in my own experience that I don't often research a product before buying it. The fact is, I can't be bothered most of the time, and if the packaging says its so, it must be so. I don't think that I'm all that different from most others in this regard.
However, legitimate environmentalists take exception to the dirty tricks corporations pull with green washing. The Eco-firm TerraChoice has released several documents on what they refer to as "the 7 deadly sins of green washing."
Here, I'll post the link to there 2010 document for any of you readers who are curious and want to attempt to change your consumption habits. This link outlines the '7 sins,' and should help you spot them next time you visit the supermarket.
Presto green-o: http://sinsofgreenwashing.com/index35c6.pdf
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