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205 Comments
- LBobRife, on 06/22/2009, -2/+182That doesn't shock me at all. Additional profits likely outweigh any penalties obtained (if there are even any fines).
- pingveno, on 06/22/2009, -3/+141What?! Companies use greenwashing to sell products! Who woulda thunk?
More seriously, I would love to have meaningful labels. - Contradictions, on 06/22/2009, -1/+67When a product says "Energy Star" you know that it actually means something. 'Green" is just a cool marketing tool that has nothing behind it to show that it means anything. Why are you surprised that store packages are sometimes misleading?
- DeadBabyFloat, on 06/22/2009, -2/+57"Green" is a marketing term, not a technical term. Means about as much as "male enhancement" on late night TV.
- WMurderface, on 06/22/2009, -8/+55The only "green" products are birth control.
- brodimus, on 06/22/2009, -8/+48Save the planet?
Not quite.
This is how it works:
My house gets its water from a nearby river.
Anything that goes into my lawn, down the driveway into the storm drain or even down the sink drain ends up back in that river.
My house gets its water from a nearby river.
See the logic? - stutimandal, on 06/22/2009, -2/+34Advertisements are vague and useless now. There was a time when advertisements would tell about the products, but now it is just brainwash.
People also need to understand that products can only be less black. They cannot be green. Conservation is better than consumption. Reuse is better than recycling. And no use (if possible) is better than re-use. - borez, on 06/22/2009, -1/+32The whole green thing is completely out of control, companies are slapping green labels on everything and anything they can justify for profit.
My personal favourite at the moment ( being a touring sound engineer ) is the green festival, I mean what the ***** is that about? Just because you're using a few recycled paper cups, some on-site recycling bins and a poxy little wind turbine running the fridges at one of the bars.... it does not detract from the fact you've got massive diesel generators running the main stages and 100,000+ punters in wellies smashing up the countryside for the weekend. - govsucks, on 06/22/2009, -9/+40Come on everyone, jump on the green bandwagon, fools a plenty to be had.
- alanconnor, on 06/22/2009, -2/+30Not surprising to see companies jump on the "green" bandwagon and make false claim.
- dienaked, on 06/22/2009, -2/+2998% of products make false claims. Not just the green ones.
- SpoonMSU, on 06/22/2009, -2/+29Companies trying to relate their products to the latest fad in America, business as usual. Too bad there's little or no honesty in marketing and advertising.
- JinxCrow, on 06/22/2009, -4/+25People often think they're doing more good for the world than they actually are.
- mgraves81, on 06/22/2009, -3/+24Very true. I had a moron "green" professor who remodeled her entire home to make it "green." Never once did she think about the waste created during the proceess, plus the waste created to actually create "green" products that might have otherwise not been needed.
I had to bite my toungue to keep from laughing when she was explaining how green she was and how "green" her home had become. She even made a test question revolving around the changes she made to her home to make it more "green." I am sure the linoleum floors she used to have in her bathroom are doing the world wonders in a trash heap somewhere. - Ellipsys, on 06/22/2009, -0/+20Go to the OrganicConsumers webpage and mailing list for updates on what is legit and what is not. Quick run down, RoHS and Energy Star are real. The USDA Organic seal means something - if you put one of these on a product that isn't 98% organic (leaving room for stuff like water or vitamins), you're in deep ***** (Ask Horizon Dairies, they sold normal milk as organic for awhile and got slammed so badly they nearly went out of business - USDA doesn't pull punches with this) "Made with Organic..." means it has to have certain organic ingredients but not enough to get the seal. "Natural" is complete *****. In the case of beauty products/bath stuff, you can say 'Organic" (without the seal) if it has ONE organic ingredient. Be on the lookout for this scam. Most of those seals that are not given by governments (ie. UK Soil Conservancy, Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries) are complete *****. Now, the "Certified By" thing which is usually something like Oregon Tilth, is fine - it just means that is who is ensuring it meats the USDA Organic quality, and these companies typically don't lie or else there are serious penalties.
Governments are pretty much the only entities that you can trust in this situation. Forget any other seals - they're often dreamed up by a consortium of companies that want to give the illusion of a "green" product and charge 10 times as much for it. Don't forget to read the labels on everything, especially if you're buying something like a cleaning product for which there are very few legal standards. - ehaugan, on 06/22/2009, -9/+29Green products are such a scam. The one I hate the most is the "green billing statements" which allow companies to email you a bill, rather than snail mailing it to you. The only thing that does is save that company money on what it WOULD have spent to mail a bill instead. Bastards!
- jemka, on 06/22/2009, -17/+34What's shocking is that people think they can save the planet by buying "green" products.
- serif69, on 06/22/2009, -0/+15You mean that certain part of the male anatomy?
- p0op, on 06/22/2009, -0/+13It's almost as bad as the, "In this rough economy, we can't be sure of all our financial expenditures, even the important ones, including life insurance, but you can rely on us, because we're an insurance company that actually cares about you, not your money."
Pisses me off everytime I see a commercial that talks about how bad the economy is, and how they actually feel our economic pain. *****. - foundingbrother, on 06/22/2009, -1/+13I've wondered the same thing ever time I see a show where they rip out a room to make it "green". I mean why rip out perfectly good existing hardwood floors to replace it with bamboo? Why?
- Snoogs, on 06/22/2009, -0/+11See also: Organic.
- strad2, on 06/22/2009, -1/+11RobotBuddha is right - she says she is green; you say she made the problem worse - and the rest of us have no data at all to determine who was right.
For example, say she re-did all her walls to improve insulation or what not. One could easily look at the old building materials in the landfill, and at the energy it took to create the new building materials, and conclude that she wasted energy. But what if over the her lifespan those walls end up reducing her heating and cooling requirements, providing a net benefit in energy savings? What if she installed solar panels and is now living (at least partially) off the grid?
Data, please... - Girlzilla, on 06/22/2009, -2/+11While the motivation for companies is definitely a financial one, you can hardly claim that the only thing it saves is money for the company. Besides the obvious tree-hugger mantra of saving the tree, the energy and resource requirements it takes to get a tree to become a bill in your mailbox are quite extensive.
I certainly have no love, respect or trust for any of the companies I receive bills from but I still take full responsibility for my impact on this earth and do whatever I can to lessen it.
Green is just an advertising term ,so yes I agree, most green products are a scam. It helps to look for regulated terms like Energy Star and LEED Certified and to buy locally. - mgraves81, on 06/22/2009, -3/+12So as opposed to bashing me why don't you try and refute my point. How is creating more waste actually "greening" one's home. And for your information I received a B+. Nothing to write home about, but not a failing grade by any means.
If you are so enlightened why dont you tell me how the world is better off with her linoleum, old refridgerator, old washer, old dryer, old dishwasher, all sitting in a dumpster? Do you know how frickin long it will take for her to cover her "footprint" just by replacing some of these products? Also factor in the manufacturing and shipping of her new "energy efficient" crap and she has done more damage than a gas guzzling semi pulling 500 farting cows across the country could do in a year. - VitriolAndAngst, on 06/22/2009, -4/+13Before clicking on the responses I knew what they were going to be;
50%: Not surprised -- we need effective labeling.
38%: Duh! Green anything is a scam (and so I've got no alternative in life other than being a selfish douche).
1%: Al Gore! See -- I told you! The man makes a living and he supports the environment -- wake up Sheeple!
.9%: Some vague reference to an anatomical joke.
.1%: A comment like mine that ironically points out some self-referential Digg platitude *shrug*
>> To be honest, I pulled the percentages out of a hat. But 90% of us do that anyway. - manlyandy, on 06/22/2009, -0/+8I just assume scrotum and become confused.
- VigRoco, on 06/22/2009, -0/+8Paperless is awesome! Now I don't have to go to the mailbox anymore!
- Vaiper, on 06/22/2009, -0/+8Okay, here is what I don't understand. You hit "save reply" and it posts your comment. There is then a period of time where you can reread your comment and then make any changes necessary so that other people can understand you. I mean, essentially, that's what you wanted right? People to read your comment and then understand it? Is this really the kind of trash that is coming out of our school system? I hope not.
- OoO3xOoO, on 06/22/2009, -2/+10This is not at all surprising....."green" has become hip and companies want to do everything they can to fit this trend w/o making fundamental changes, so greenwashing is rampant.
I'm convinced, however, that things will change soon, for the better. With sites like http://www.goodguide.com the concept of "radical transparency" is increasing all the time, and the majority of consumers do care about the ingredients in their shampoos and snack crackers.
You will know we've made progress when "green" is no longer a marketing term and is in fact a norm up and down the supply chain for the majority of products.
"Ecological Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman is a great read discussing the concept of radical transparency. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385527829?ie=UTF ... - inactive, on 06/22/2009, -0/+8Leave No Trace is a better mantra.
Jussayin. - Killbot2015, on 06/22/2009, -1/+8For false advertising? Yeah there's a fine for that but most of these companies see paying those fines and having to tweak the wording on their products as just the cost of doing business.
This is similar to the use of the word organic on produce. Companies would just put the word on anything and when they got sued for it their response was to lobby to get the definition of organic as outlined by the FDA changed. - askantik, on 06/22/2009, -0/+7What annoys me is that this greenwashing ***** is doing pretty well at dismantling the whole idea of environmentalism, which is certainly a legitimate cause. And unfortunately, many people's only exposure to any sort of environmentalist stuff is what they read on packages or see in stores, and since it's *****, they think the entire idea of being environmentally friendly is *****. But anyone with half a brain knows that most companies (especially in America) will jump on ANY bandwagon in an effort to make more money. They'll claim to support ANY cause to earn greater profits.
- inactive, on 06/22/2009, -1/+8Yes. Jinxcrow, it's from the article, did you read it?
- RobotBuddha, on 06/22/2009, -1/+8I don't find it all depressing that companies are doing this. I do find it depressing that so many people fall for it. Worse, actual environmentally sound things often fail because they need to have higher prices to justify actually doing what they claim.
- CrazyEddie041, on 06/22/2009, -0/+7FTA: "Case told the Congress hearing he bought his LG Electronics refrigerator in 2007, reassured by its Energy Star rating. The seal, from the department of energy, is supposed to be awarded to appliances that consume at least 20% less electricity than a standard appliance.
This spring, he got a letter saying that his fridge did not, after all, qualify for Energy Star status because LG, in its process of "self-certification", had strayed from the efficiency guidelines set by the department of energy."
Exactly how meaningful is that Energy Star rating again? - Logicexe, on 06/22/2009, -0/+6Without any information as to what she actually did and how much waste she generated there is no way to determine whether what she did was better or worse than doing nothing.
What's the source of her electricity? Coal? Hydroelectric? Nuclear?
How much electricity does she save with the renovations?
How much waste did she generate in tons?
What was in the waste that she generated?
Too many variables with too little information to make any sort of determination. - TheDeuce, on 06/22/2009, -0/+6Duh!
- inactive, on 06/22/2009, -0/+6I always wondered to myself how it all happened so fast. One day I woke up and went to the grocery store to see just about every single product I buy suddenly having these labels on them..
- RobotBuddha, on 06/22/2009, -1/+7The problem there is that both she and you are going by guesses and estimates from emotional reaction. You could be right, or she could be, without actual data it's impossible to tell.
- drmangrum, on 06/22/2009, -1/+7This is news? Seriously, with the amount of FUD that goes into the marketing of "Greening," would you really expect this NOT to happen?
My office recently moved to a new office building. It's been "greened." We have toilets that take two and three flushes to complete the job, flushless urinal that smell like a sewer, water that is perpetually brown, lights that turn off if you don't move enough (don't read something!), I could go on and on. Why do we have to put up with all this crap? Because the company gets a discount for using green technologies, never mind that they never work or make things very uncomfortable or inconvenient. - arpad, on 06/22/2009, -3/+9Looks like P.T. Barnum would've done pretty well in our sophisticated, enlightened age. He was a past master at selling ***** to the rubes but he'd definitely think he was born to early what with the mobs of self-involved twits who like to think of themselves as superior because of their vast exertion in buying consumer goods with the word "green" plastered somewhere on the packaging.
This way to the Egress you boobs! - GREEDOnvrFIRED, on 06/22/2009, -3/+8LIes! Deceit! Reminds me of a post I saw on digg once that said "98% of "Green" Products in US Supermarkets Make False Claims" then it turned out IN ITS DESCRIPTION that many of the "False Claims" were actually only "potentially false or misleading claims."
- JessieBovana, on 06/22/2009, -0/+5So... companies have caught on to the "green" trend and adjusted their marketing... who woulda thunk, we've been duped.
Doesn't this contradict the purpose of green living? I mean companies claiming their products are green without any actual green-ness? Honestly.... - pingveno, on 06/22/2009, -0/+5It's also a very common word. I'm sorry, I have no originality. :(
- andytronic, on 06/22/2009, -0/+5That's a good point.
- ghatid, on 06/22/2009, -0/+5Organic at least has some kind of private company you have to pay to put it on.
All natural is the real ***** one:). You can call anything you want "All Natural" and it's completely legal. Lol, but people still believe it. - nicc, on 06/22/2009, -0/+5morons in crocs
- TheUngod, on 06/22/2009, -0/+5Bob wouldn't lie to me!
- Altanar, on 06/22/2009, -0/+498% of all statistics quoted on Digg are full of *****.
- atroxodisse, on 06/22/2009, -0/+4Your comment is recursive and is crashing everyone's brain.
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