Week 6 - Discussion 1
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The 'Six Sins of Greenwoshingtt' A Study of Environmentol Cloims in Norfh Americon C.onsumer Morkets
A'Greerr Poper' by TerroChoice Environmentol Morketing
(Novem6er 2007) I nc.
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Toble of Contents
Overview.
Reseorch Methodology... .
Defining ond Quontifying the Six Sins of Greenwoshing....
. Sin of the Hidden Trode-Of{
. Sin of No Proof
. Sin of Vogueness .....
. Sin of lrrelevonce ......
. Sin of Lesser of Two Evils...
. Sin of Fibbing
Recommendotions {or Concerned Consumers..
Recommendotions {or Morketers. . . .
Concluding Thoughts.
Appendices. . . . . .
Appendix A: Types of Products Reviewed
Appendix B: Eco-Lobels
Appendix C: References
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The'Six A Study o{ Environmentol
Greerrwosh (gren'w6sh', -w6sh') - verb: the oct o{ misleoding consumers regonding the environmeniol proctir-es of o compony or ihe environmentol benefiis of o product or servrce.
Overview
The recenl surge o{ environmentol qworeness in North Americo is unmistokoble. lt hos been documented by mony reseorchers ond widely reporterJ in ihe populor press. The rise in "green" morketing cloims hos olso been well documented. Less studied is the opporent increose in "greenwoshing" - {olse or misleoding green morketing cloims.
In on effort to describe, underslond, ond quontify the gro,rvih of greenwoshing, TerroChoice Environmenlol Morketing Inc. conducted o survey o{ six cotegory-leoding "big box" stores. Through these suryeys, we identified l,0l B consumer producis beoring I ,7 53 environmentol cloims. Of the I ,01 B producls exomined, oll but one mode cloims thoi ore demon:;trobly {olse or thot risk misleoding intended oudiences.
Bosed on the survey results, we identi{ied six pottern:; in the greenwoshing, which we now recognize os the "Six Sins of Greenwoshingr"".
O{ the l,0l B products reviewed, oll bui one committed ot leost one o{ the Six Sins of Greerrwoshino.
Sins of GreenwoshingTM' Cloims in North Americon Consumer Morkets
These iindings suggest thot greenwoshing rs pervosive, ihe consequences of which ore signi{iccrnt:
. Well-inteniioned consumers moy be misled into purchoses thot do noi deliver on their environmentol promise. This meons both thoi the individuol consumer hos been misled ond thot ihe potentiol environmentol benefit o{ his or her purchose hos been squondered.
. Compeiitive pressure from illegitimote environmentol cloims tokes mcrrket snore owoy from producis thot o{{er more legilim,rte bene{its, thus slowing the penetrotion of reol environmeniol innovoiion in ihe morkelploce.
. Greenwoshing moy creote cynicism ond doubt obout oll environmenlql cloims. Consumers - porliculorly ihose who core mosl oboui reol environmentol progress moy give up on morketers ond monu{octurers, ond give up on the hope thot their spending might be pui to good use. This would eliminote o significont morket-bosed, {inon,:iol incentive for green product innovotion ond leove committed environmentol odvocotes with government regulotions os the most lifrely olternotive.
The "Six Sins of GreenwoshingTM"
I . Sin of the Hidden Trode-Off 2. Sin of No Proof 3. Sin of Vogueness 4. Sin of lrrelevonce 5. Sin of Fibbing 6. Sin of Lesser of Two Evils
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Reseorch Methodology
ln the spring o12007, TerroChoice seni reseorch leoms irrto six cotegory-leodlng big box stores with inslructions lo record every product-bosed environmentol cloim lhey observed. We instructed the teoms thot, for eoch environmeniol cloim, they should identi{y lhe product, lhe noture of the cloim, ony supporting in{ormolion, ond ony references offered for fu rtl-rer informotion.
After recording 1,753 environmentol cloims on l,0l B products (refer to Appendix A), we tested the cloims ogoinst current best proctices in environmentol morketing. The sources for these best proctices include the Internotionol Orgonizotion for Stondordizotion (lSO)r, the U.S Federol Trooe Commission', U.S Environmentol Proteclion Agency3, Consunrers Uniona, ond the Conodion Consumer Affoirs []ronchs.
Fincrlly, we siudied the resulting list of iotse or misleoding cloims for potterns ond lessons. We hove come to coll these ootterns the "Six Sins of Greenu'oshing". O{ ihe l,0l B products thot mode environmentol cloims, oll but one committed of leost one o{ the Six Sins.
Defining ond Quontifying the Six Sins of Greenwoshing
Bos,ed on our onolysis, we coiegorized the folse or misleroding environmeniol cloims into the {ollowing 'Six Sins of Greenwoshino':
! Sin o{ the Hidden Trode-Off - The Sin of the Hidden Trode-off is committed by suggesting o product is "green" bosed on o single environmentol oitribuie (the recvcled conteni of poper/ {or exomple) or on unreosonobly norrow set of qttributes (recycled content ond chlorine {ree bleoching) wiihoui otteniion to oiher impor-tonl, or perhops more imporlont, environmentol issues (such os energy, globol worming, woter, ond {orestry impocls o{ poper). Such cloims ore not usuolly {olse, but ore used io poini o "greener" picture o{ the producl ihon o more complete environmentol onolysis would suppori.
Frere ore some exornples from the reseorch:
Exomples:
o Poper (including household iissue, poper towel, ond copy poped ond lumber producis (such os froming products ond plywood) thot promote their recycled conteni or sustoinoble horvesting proctices withoui oiteniion to monufociuring impocls such os oir emissions, woler emissions, ond globol worming impocts.
r Household insulotion products (such os bott insulotion products for home renovoiion products) thot cloim indoor oir quolity bene{its without ottention io other environmentol osoecrs sucn os recycled content ond monufocturing impocts.
Sins Com m itted by Cotegory
The Sin of vogueness
I lo/a The Sin o{ Fibbing
Sin of N o Proo{ 2 67o
The Sin of the Hidden-Trode O{l
57Vo Sin o{ Lesser of Two Evils
l%The Sin oi lrrelevonce
4%
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I Office iechnology (printers, copiers, {ox mochines) ihot promote energy efficiency without ottention to hozordous moteriol conteni, indoor oir cluolity, or compolibility with recycled poper or rem f, nufociured toner co rtrid ges.
Other product cloims thot committed this sin include ink cortridges, loundry detergents, dish detergent, oir fresheners, bothroom cleoners, morkers, {loorrng lominoi:, bogs, multi-purpose cleoners, wood ponels, ond pesiicides.
fhe Sin of the Hidde n Trode-off wos lhe mosf frequently commitfed sin in lhe study, mode by 57% of oll er,tvironmentol c/oims.
tr Sin of No Prooi - Any environmentol cloim thot connot be substontioted by eosily occessible supporting informotion, or by o relioble thiro-pony certificotion, commits the "5in of No Proof". (For this reseorch, we determined there to be 'no proo{' if supporting evidence wos not occessible of either the point of purchose or oi the product websiie.)
Among others, our reseorch found these exomples of ihe Sin of No Proof: I Hor.rsehold lomps ond lights lhot promote their
energy e{{iciency wilhout ony supporting evidence or certificotion.
o Pers;onol core products (such os shompoos ond conCitioners) thot cloim not to hove been tested on onimols, but offer no evidence or certificotion of this cloim.
0 Fociol tissues ond poper towels thot cloim posi- consumer recycled conient withoul providing evidence.
We fourrd o fofo/ of 454 producls ond opproximotely 260/o of lhe environmenlol c/oims commitfed fhe "Sin of No Proo{"; moking it fhe second mosl frequently commifled sin.
! Sin of Vogueness - The Sin o{ Vogueness is committed by every cloim ihot is so poorly defined or brood thot its reol meoning is likely to be misunderstood bv the intended consumer.
This mobius loop is intended to meon
thoi the product is mode from recycled moieriol. Bui is it the whole product, or the pockoge? And is it mode o{
,l00%
recycled moteriol, or less? And is it post-
consumer woste, or post-industriol woste? Without o quolifying slotemenl, the symbol is likely to misleod the buyer, committing the Sin of Vogueness.
There ore some recurring themes within these vogue cloims. For exomple:
| "Chemicol-{ree". In {oct, noihing is free of chemicols. Woter is q chemicol. All plonis, onimols, ond humons qre mode o{ chemicols ,cs ore oll o{ our products.
o "Non-toxic". Everything is toxic in su{{icient dosoge. Woter, oxygen, ond solt ore oll poteniio lly hozordous.
o "All Noturol". Arsenic is noturol. So ore uronium, mercury, ond {ormoldehyde. All ore poisonous;.
) "Green", "Environmentolly {riendly", ond "Eco- conscious" (to nome iust o {ew) which ore utterly meon i ngless without elo borotion.
Some product exomples {rom the reseorch:
I Gorden inseciicides promoted os "chemicol- Iree".
a "Noiurol" hoir mousse. o Kiichen (wox) poper thoi cloims "recycled
content" bul does nol quontify it (Would 0.1% quolify?)
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I Generol purpose household cleoners ihot cloim to be "non-toxic" without explonotion or third- porly substontiotion.
. "l OO% noturol" bothroom cleoners.
ln our reseorch somp/e, 196 individuolproducfs (or l lo/o of the environmenlol cloims commiffed the Sin of Vogueness.
tr Sin of lrrelevonce - The Sin of lrrelevonce is commiUted by moking on environmentol cloim thot moy be truth{ul but is unimportont ond unhelpful for consu mers seeki ng envi ron mento I ly prefero ble oroducts. lt is irrelevont ond there{ore distrocts the consumer from finding o iruly greener option.
The most frequent exomple of on irrelevoni cloim relotes to chlorofluorocorbons (CFCs) '- o principol conlribuior to ozone depletion. Since CFCs hove been legolly bonned for olmost 30 yeors, there ore no proclucts thot ore monu{octured with it. Nevertheless, we {ound mony individuol products thot present,:d CFC-{ree cloims os on qpporently unique environmentol odvontoge. They included:
r CFC-{reeinseclicides, r CFC-free lubriconrs, r CFC-{ree oven cleoners, r CF(l-{ree shoving gels, r CFC-free window cle0ners, r CF(l-free disinfectonts.
fhe Sin of |rrelevonce occounfed for78 products ond 4o/o of flrre environmenlol cloims
CFCs hove been legolly bonned
for olmost 30 yeors, yet mony producis still cloim CFC-iree os if it is o unique competitive odvontoge.
tr Sin of Lesser of Two Evils - These ore "green" cloims thot moy be true within the product cotegory, bui thqt risk distrqcting ihe consumer from the greoter environmentol impocts oi the cotegory os o whole. Exomples include:
I Orgonic cigorettes. a "Green" insecticides ond herbicides.
Obviously, there ore some circumstonces ond consumers ihot demond these producis. Commer<-iol inseclicides ond herbicides ore essentiol to some ogriculturol opplicolions. In those circumstonces, choosing the greenest oplion is essenliol. f-towever, insecticides ond pesiicides moy be unnecessory for mony cosmeiic opplicolions (such os lowns) . Orgonic iobocco moy be o more responsible choice for smokers, but shouldn't most consumers be discouroged {rom smoking in ihe {irst ploce?
We consider o cloim to commit ihe Sin o{ Lesser o{ Two Evils when environmeniol quolifiers such os "orgonic" or "green" ore ploced on products in whrch the entire product cotegory is o{ questionoble environmeniol volue.
ln this study, sevenleen producls ond opproximotely lo/o of environmenlol c/oims commiffed fhe Sin of Lesser of Two Evils.
tr Sin of Fibbing - The Sin o{ Fibbing is committed by moking environmentql cloims thot ore simply {olse.
In our findings, only o {ew products were found 1o
commit ihe Sin o{ Fibbing. Most o{ these were misuse or misrepresenlotion oi cerli{icotion Dy on independent outhoriiy. These coses included, {or
exomole:
Severol shompoos thot cloimed lo be "cerJi{ied orgonic", but for which our reseorch could {ind no such certificotion. A coulking product thot cloims to be "Energy Stor" registered, but the oificiol Energy Sior website suggests lhis is folse.
A dishwosher detergent thot purports io be pockoged in " 100o/o recycled poper", ond yet the conioiner is plostic.
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Ten producls (/ess thon lo/o of environmenlolcloims commifled fhe Sin of Fibbing, moking it one of the fwo leost freque ntly commifted sins.
Recommendotions for Consumers
Governments ond stondord-seiting bodies hove ottempled io discouroge greenwoshing. ln Norih Americcr, both the US Federol Trode Commission6 ond the Conodion Consumer Affoirs office7 hove issued quidelines for proper use of environmeniol cloims. Under ISO 14024, the lnternotionol Orgo ni;:otion {or Sto ndo rd izotion esio bl is hes guidelines {or proper use o{ environmenlo informotion.s But it is our observotion ihot when environmenlol interest is high, os it is todoy, greenwoshing is nevertheless proli{ic.
Mu lti-,Attri bute Versus Si n g le-Attri bute Cl o i ms When seeking environmentolly pre{eroble
products, il is importont to look ot mulliple environmentol considerotions rother thon iust single environmentol issues.
As on on,ology, when oftempting to identify heolthier {ood choices, it con be use{ul to look ot colorie content. lt is more help{ul, however, io olso exomine f,ct, sugor, ond vitomin content.
The mosl respected environmentol cloims incorporote multiple environmentol considerotions lhroughoul every phose of o product's li{e-cycle, which includes ihe environmenlol impocts of the row moteriols, monufocturing process, the produci itself, ond its ultimote disposol.
Single-oHribute cloims look ot only o single environmentol issue such os recycled-content or energy-efl:iciency. Wh i le i m porto nt, si n g le ottri bute cloims corr hide importont odditionql environmentql considerotions.
l{ the good intentions of consumers ond the environmentol bene{iis of their choices ore not to be squondered, consumers themselves will hove io ploy o role. Here ore some suggesiions thoi orise from this study.
I . Look for Eco-lobels. Eco-lobelling - stondordized by ISO 14024 ond recognized oround the world - orose os on onswer to eorlier e{forts ol greenwoshing. They remoin one o{ ihe most useful lools to ovoid greenwoshing. Look for products thot hove been certi{ied by o quolifiecl ond independent third-porty such os EcologocM or Green Seol. Both EcologocM ond Green Seol develop stondords for environmentol leodership in on open, tronsporent consensus-bosed process thot considers multlple environmeniol issues throughouri o produci's li{ecycle ({rom resource extroction to encl- o{-life). These progroms deliver o shortcul to " greener" producls ihrough :
. Cleor public stondords {or environmentol leodership in eoch produci cotegory;
. fhird-porty verificotion thol eoch certified product meets ihe opplicoble stondoros;
. Ongoing surveillonce ouditing to ensure continued complionce;
. Public listings o{ certi[ied producls.
Additionol informotion on other environmentol stondords is included in Aooendix B.
Exomple of Multi-Attribute Eco-lobels:
a^iEcologo'* Green Seol www.ecologo.org www.g reenseol.org
Keml"ogo.
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t'S€rr. \*]F The Six Sins Of GreenwqshingrM)t'<?a,
Look For Evidence of Any of the "Six Sins" By Asking the Following Questions:
ls the "green" cloim restricted to iusi one, or o norrow set of environmentol issue(s)? (The Sin of the Hidden Trode-Off.) lf so, you might look {or olhr:r in{ormotion thot gives o more compleie picture o{ ihe environmentol impoct o{ the pro,Cuct. "Okoy, this product comes {rom o sustoinobly horvested forest, but whot ore ihe impocts of its milling ond tronsporiotion? ls the morrufoclurer olso trying to reduce those i mpocts?" Empho sizi ng one envi ron mento I iss ue isn't o problem (indeed, ii often mokes {or better communicotions). Hiding o trode-off between environmentol issues is o problem.
Doers the cloim help me find more informotion ond evidence? (The Sin of No Proof.) lt moy not be reosonoble to expect o product lobel or o poi nt-of-pu rchose broch u re lo provide deto i led scienti{ic explonotions o{ o green cloim. lt is reos;onoble to expect o product lobel or brochure io direcl you to where you con find further evidence. Good green morkeiing helps the consumer {ind the evidence ond leorn more. Cornpony websiles, third-porty certifiers, ond toll- free phone numbers ore eosy ond effective meons of delivering proof.
ls ihe environmentol ond scientific meoning of the cloirn specific ond self-evident? lf not, is the sper:ific meoning given? (The Sin of Vogueness.) Pro<Jucts with nomes like "eco-godget" ond "notur-widget" oren't necessorily moking folse or misleoding cloims, but they should couse you to be s;uspicious. lf the morkeling cloim doesn't exploin itself ("here's whot we meon by 'eco' ..."), the cloim is vogue ond meoningless. Similorly, wotch for other populor vogue green lerms: "non-ioxic", "oll-notu rol", "en,ri ron mento I ly-{riend ly", o nd "eo rth -friend ly. " Without odequote explonotion, such cloims ore so vogue os to be meoningless.
b)
Could oll of the other products in this cotegory moke the some cloim? fl-he Sin of lrrelevonce.) The most common exomple is eosy to detect: "CFC-free" is o meoningless cloim. lt is irrelevoni becouse no products ore mon ufoctu red with ch lorofl uoroco rbons. Other coses moy be horder to detect. Ask yourself i{ the cloim is importoni ond relevont to the product. (lf o light bulb cloimed woter efficiency benefits you should be suspicious.) Comporison-shop (ond osk the competitive vendors). l{ the cloim seems illogicol ond dis-connecied from the product, ii moy very well be irrelevoni.
When lcheck up on it, is the cloim true? (The Sin of Fibbing.) This sin con be difficult to detect. The mosi frequent exomples in this study were folse uses o{ third-porty cedificotions. Thonkfully, these ore eosy to con{irm. Legitimote third-porty certifiers - EcologocM, Chlorine Free Products Associoiion (CFPA), Foresi Stewordship Council (FSC), Green Guord, Green Seol (for exomple) - oll moinloin publicly ovoiloble lists o{ certi{ied producls. Some even mointoin {roud odvisories for products ihot ore folsely cloiming certi{icotion.
ls the cloim trying to moke consumers feel 'green' obout o product cotegory thot is o{ questionoble environmentol benefit? (The Sin of the Lesser of Two Evils.) Consumers concerned obout the odverse effecls of tobocco qnd cigorettes would be better served by quitting smoking thon by buying orgonic cigoreties. Similorly, consumers concerned obout the humon heolth ond environmentol risks of excessive use o{ lown chemicols might creote r:r bigger environmentol benefit by reducing their use thon by looking {or greener ohernotives.
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['S€1. \*]t The Six Sins Of GreenwqshingrM
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Recom mendotions for Mo rketers
Green rnorketing is o vost commerciol opportunity, ond shouid be. When it works - when it is scientificolly sound ond commerciolly successful - it is qn importont occelerotor toword environmentol sustoinobiliiy. The purpose o{ this study is nol lo discouroge green morkeling, nor to indict porticulor morketers. Our purpose is to help morketers improve their cloims so thot:
. Genuinely "greener" producls excel;
. Cornpetiiive pressure {rom illegitimote green cloims is diminished;
. Consumers do not become ioded ond unduly skepticol of green cloims; ond,
. Morkelers employ environmentol concerns io estoblish honest, trustworthy, ond long-losting diologue with their customers.
Green morketers ond consumers ore leorning oboui the pitfcrlls o{ greenwoshing together. This is o shored problem ond opportuniiy.
The Six Sins of Greenwoshing does NOT suggest thoi only perfecily "green" products should be morketed os environmentolly preferoble. First of oll, there is no such thing os o perfectly 'green' product. Environmentolly preferoble producis ore 'greener' not 'green', ond morketing them os such is enlirely foir. Second, environmentol progress is necessorily stepwise. Not only should incrementolly 'greener'
innovotions ond products be encouroged, consumers should ond will reword stepwise progress.
Avoiding greenwoshing does noi require woiting for o perfect product. lt does meqn thot sound science, honesly, ond tronsporency ore poromounl .
Green morketers ond consumers ore leorning obout the pitfolls o{ greenwoshing together. This is o shored problem ond opportunity.
The Six Srns suggest o number o{ speci{ic guidelines for morketers, outlined below.
I ) Avoiding lhe Sin oi the Hidden Trode-Off o) Do undersiond oll o{ the environmeniol
impocls of your produci ocross ils entire li{ecycle.
b) Do emphosize specific messoges (porliculcrrly when you know your oudiences core obout those issues) but don't use single issues lo distroct {rom oiher impocts.
c) Do pursue continuol improvement o{ your environmentol footprint (ocross the eniire lifecycle), ond encouroge your customers to
ioin you on thot iourney. d) Do drow on multi-ottribute eco-lobeling
stondord ond cerfificoiion progroms, such os EcologocM ond Green Seol for legitimocy of environmeniol cloims.
e) Don't moke cloims oboul o single environmentol impoct or benefit, withoui knowing how your producl performs in terrns of its other impocts, ond without shoring thot informotion with your cusiomers.
2) Avoiding the Sin of No Proof o) Do underslond ond confirm ihe scienti{ic
cose behind eoch green morketing cloim. b) Do provide evidence to onyone thot osks,
OR rely on ihird-porty cerlificotions such os Ecologot'" ond Green Seol (since those stondords ore public).
3) Avoiding the Sin o{ Vogueness o) Do use longuoge thoi resonqtes with your
cuslomer, os long os lhot longuoge is truthfu l.
b) Do use coution in your use o{ ihe recycling/recycloble symbol (the mobius loop). lts use is so widespreod ond confused thot it hos become lorgely meoningless.
c) Don'l use vogue nomes ond terms (such crs envi ron mento I ly-{riend ly) withoui provid i ncl precise explonotions o{ your meoning.
d) Don't use the terms "chemicol-free" ond "oll-noiu rol".
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The Six Sins Of GreenwoshingrM
Avciding the Sin of lrrelevonce o) Don't cloim CFC-{ree, unless it is o legitimote
point of competitive differentiqtion. b) Don't cloim ony environmentol benefit thot is
shored by oll or mosi of your competitors.
Avciding the Sin of the Lesser o{ Two Evils
o) Do help eoch cuslomer find the product thot is right {or lhem, bqsed on their needs ond wont.
b) Don't try to moke o cusiomer feel 'green' obout o choice thot is bosicolly hormful or unnecessory.
Avoiding the Sin of Fibbing o) Do tell the truth. Alwoys. b) Alwoys tell ihe truth.
4)
s)
6)
fhe "Six Sins of GreenwoshingrM"
L Sin o{ the Hidden Trode-Off 2. Sin o{ No Proof 3. Sin o{Vogueness 4. Sin of lrrelevonce 5. Sin oi Fibbing 6. Sin o{ Lesser of Two Evils
Concluding Thoughts
Green morketing is o powerful convergence between green buyers ond sellers . More ond more consumers expect to use their spending os on expression of thei r envi ron mentol com mitment. More ond more businesses ore estoblishing environmentol performonce os o point o{ competilive distinction qnd sociol responsibility. When genurne environmentol leodership is rewqrded in the morketploce (with morkei shore, price premiums, public respect, ond increosed visibility), it motivotes oll products to improve. lt uses competition ond free enterprise to pull the economy toword sustoinobility.
With thot in mind, the purpose o{thls study is not to discouroge green morketing, nor to indict poriiculor morketers. li is nol intended io score consumers owoy from green cloims. Our purpose is to ossist morketers ond consumers io build o more honesi ond effective diologue oboui ihe environmentol impocts of products.
Although our iindings - ihe Six Sins of Greenwoshing moy seem bleok, green morketers ond consumers
ore leorning obout ihe pitfolls of greenwoshing togeiher. This is o shored problem ond opporlunity. When green morketing overcomes ihese chollenges, consumers will be better oble to trust green cloims ond genuinely environmentolly preferoble producis will penetrote their morkeis more ropidly ond deeply. This will be greot {or consumers, greol {or business, ond greoi for the plonei.
We expect to repeot ihis reseorch onnuolly, ond look forword to these posiiive developmenls.
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This "Green Poper" wos prepored by TerroChoice Errvironmentol Morketing. Are you curious oboui the results? lnterested in leorning more? Would you like to speok lo onyone of TerroChoice? Pleose visii www.terro choi ce. co m f sixsinsofgreenwoshin g fo r m o re i n{ormoti on.
APPEl'.lDlCES
APPENDIX A - Product Cotegories ln Which Environmentol Cloims Were Found
Air Fresheners Applionces
Automotive Cleoner Bogs
Bothroom Cleoner Body Lotion (-^r^ol (-lo^^o'
Coulking CondilioZner Degreoser Deodoroni Dish Detergent Disinfectoni Sproys Envelopes
Envelopes Fobric Softener Fociol Tissues Floor Cleoner Flooring
Foom Bolh Furniture Polish Uel Gloss Cleoner Green Product Section Hoirsproy Hond Lotion Hond Soop Herbicides
lnk Cortridges Insect/Pesticides Insu lotion | .,,^.1^, Delornani Light Bulbs Lighling Lubricqnt Mousse Mouth Wosh Multi Purpose Cleoner Oven Cleoner Pockoging Moteriols Point
Poper Porrfolios Printers/copiers Scrub Pods Servietles
Shompoo Shoving Gel Shipping Boxes Stoinless Steel Polish Televisions Toilet Tissue Tooth poste
Wood (ponels) Wrops Writing Instrumenis
A 2007. TerroChoice Environmeniol Morketing lnc. All Rights Rese,rved.
APPENDIX B _- ECO-LABELS
Consurners con ovoid greenwoshing by seeking products lhol ore certi{ied to meel legiiimote environmentol stondords such os Ecologoc" or Green Seol. There ore, however, o growrng numoer o{ odditionol envrronmentol stondqrds qnd cloims being rnode.
When comporing environmentol stondords, consurrlers would be wise to osk the followinq q ueslions:
(1) Whot type of environmentol cloim is being mode?
ls the monufocturer moking o cloim obout o single ernvironmentol ottribute such os energy efficiency or recycled-content or is lhe monu{octurer moking o brooder multi-otiribuie cloim thot ihe product meets on environmentol leodership stondord ? While incredibly voluoble, single-ottri buie environmentol cloims do not oddress other ooteniiollv importcrnl humon heolth ond environmentol issues.
Environmeniol leodershio stondords sucn os EcologocM ond Green Seol exomine oll of the relevont environmenlol impocts of o product cotegory olong with the products currently ovoiloble in ihe morket when developing o stondord. Leodership slondords generolly ore designed so ihoi only the iop 20 percent of products in o cotegory con meei it. This ollows sufficient competition within the leodership cotegory to help keep prices competitive while still being prrotective of humon heolth ond the environment.
(2) ls o copy of the environmentol stondord or tesiing protocol ovoiloble for review?
l{ o monu{octurer con not or refuses to orovide q copy o{ the environmentol stondord or testing protocol, one might suspect thoi the cloim is only o morketing ploy. When they do provide o copy of ihe stondord, review it corefully to determine if it referen,ces o ppropriote notiono I or i nternotiono I environmentol ond performonce stondqrds.
t0
Stondord ond iesting protocols should hove o cleor ond consistent meoning. They should be meoningful ond verifioble. Good siondords ond prolocols ore designed so thot onyone unoffilioted with the stondord should be oble to reod ii. inleroret it, ond know how io evoluote products ogoinst it. They should olso be designed to ensure consistent evoluotion results, meoning thot di{{erent reviewers would llkely reoch ihe some conclusion obout wheiher o product meets the stondord or noi.
In oddition, multi-ottribute environmentol leodership stondords should be bosed on humon heolth ond environmentol considerolions throughr:ut the lifecycle of the product from row moteriol extrociion, monu{octure, use, ond uliimoie disposol o{ the product. The li{ecycle stoges considered ond covered by the slondord should be explicitly sioted.
(3) How wos the environmentol stondord or testing protocol developed?
It is pre{eroble thoi stondords ond testing protocols be developed in on open, public, tronsporent process similor io the woy ANSI, ASTM, ISO 14024 or other oublic stondords ore developed. The stondord setting orgonizotion should moke records of the stondord development process ovoiloble {or review.
(a) Who developed the environmentol stondord or tesiing protocol?
The mosl trusted stondords ore those develooed in o consensus-bosed process by brood stokeholder groups. Stondords developed consistently with ISO 14024 protocols will moke o list o{ stokeholder groups ovoiloble upon request. Consumers should be less trustful of stondords developed by on individuol monu{octurer or trode ossociotion becouse of potentiolly unmitigoted con{licts of inierest.
A 2007 . TerroChoice Environmentol Morketin3 Inc All Riqhts Reserved.
(5) Whot process is used to verify thot products octuolly meet the stondord or possed the testing requiremenis?
There ore o voriety of procedures to verify thoi o product meeis o stqndord. Some ore more rigorous (ond con be more expensive for the monufocturer), but prcvide o greoier degree of ossuronce. The stondord verificotion procedures ronge (from mosf rigorous to leost rigorous) os {ollows:
. lndependent third-porty cedi{icotion with on-site ouclits - An independent orgonizqiion verifies the products meet fhe siondords bosed on o review o{ the producl, oddiiionol informoiion provided by the monu{ociurer, ond ofier on onsite visit to veri{y the occurocy of the in{ormotion provided by the monufocturer.
. Independent third-porly cedificotion An i nd,:pen j gnt orgon izotion verifies the prod u cts me,:l the slqndord bosed on o review oi ihe product ond odditionol in{ormotion provided by the monufoclurer.
. Sel{ registrotion with rondom oudiis - Individuol connponies idenii{y producls meeting the environmentol stondord on their own wilhout ony preliminory review, but the stondord setting orgonizotion or other independent ouditors conrduct rondom oudils ofter oroducts ore registered to ensure complionce.
. Sel{ registrotion - Individuol componies identify products meeting the environmentol siondord on their own without ony ouiside review.
It is importont io nole thoi o stringent verificotion procesri is relotively meoningless if the siondord itself is not nreonino{ul.
Widely Accepted Environmentol Stondords :
Multi-Attribuie Sfondord Seffing ond Cerfificolion Organizotions
These progroms exqmine multiple environmentol issues throughout the entire lifecycle o{ o product,, which includes the environmentol impocis ossocioted wiih the colleciion of row moteriols, the monu{octuring process, the impocts o{ the product during its use, ond the impocts when lhe product is ultimotely recycled or disposed of. Be{ore eorning cedi{icotion, on independent third-porty ouditor must verify ihot products octuolly meel the publicry- ovoiloble siondord.
. EcoLogo <www.ecologo.org >
EcoLogocM is North Americo's oldest ond most widely known environmeniol leodership siondord. The EcologocM website includes more thon I 20 environmeniol stondords ond olmost 7,000 certified producls (stock-keeping units r:r SKUs) . Purchosers ore using the siie io reseorch or develop purchosing specificotions ond to put togeiher potentiol bidder lists. EcoLogocM is the only progrom in North Americo to hove been occredited by the Globol Eco-Lobelling Network. It is o Type I eco-lobel occording to lSO, ond oddresses oll of the environmentol ottributes of ihe product.
. Chlorine Free Products Associotion < www.ch lori neireeprod ucts. org >
CFPA cert'ifies poper ond tissue products meeting ils multi-otiribute stondord.
. Qf"en Seqlsrulrry.gle9lqeql.org>
Green Seol slqndqrds provide leodership criterio {or the development of mony types of products ond services. The Green Seol websiie includes o list o{ oll o{ the Green Seol-certi{ied products ond services with links to ihe monufocrurers ono providers.
il O 2007. TerroChoice Environmentol Morketing Inc.
All Righls i{ese,rved.
Sing/e t\ttribute Environmento/ Stondord Setting ond Ce rtif i c<tti o n O rg o n izoti o n
These prrogroms focus on o single environmentol issue su,ch os indoor oir quolity or recycied content. Before eorning certificotion, on independent third- porty ouditor must verify thot products meel the publicly-ovoiloble sto ndord.
Forest Stewordship Council <www.fscus.org >
The Forest Stewordship Council certifies wood products obtoined from sustoinobly horvested forests. ll olso certifies environmentolly pre{eroble popers bosed on o muhi-ottribute o pproocn.
Green-e <www. green-e.org >
Greren-e certifies sources of renewoble electricity ond renewoble energy credits generoted {rom clecrn energy sources such crs wind, solor, or smcrll-scole hydro-electric. lt olso certifies products lhot were monufoctured in {ocilities using renewoble energy.
G reen Gu o rd < www. g ree nSq-srd.,org->-
Green Guord focuses exclusively on indoor oir qucrlity issues. lts website includes certified producis in more thon l5 di{ferent cotegories, mony of which focus on building moteriols ond interriors.
Addiiiono/ Envi ronme nlo/ Sfondords
Other progroms ollow monu{ociurers to declore their products meet o publicly ovoilqble stondord. They then conduct rqndom oudiis to mointoin the integrity o{ ihe environmeniol declorolions. The existence of the oublic stondords olso ollows others lo independently verify the occurocy o{ the cloims.
Energy Stor Progro m < www.energystqr.gov >
The U.S. Federol Government's Energy Stor prog ro m esto bl ishes energy-efficiency crite ri o for o wide voriety of products in more thon 40 product coiegories. The site lists oll o{ the products meeting ihe efficiency requiremenis. lt olso includes recommended purchosing speci{icoiions ond online iroining resources.
E P EAT S.ryryrv, egeS1491>
EPEAT ronks compuler desktops, loptops, ond monitors into EPEAT Bronze, Silver, or Gold cotegories bosed on more thon 50 environmentol criterio. There ore currently more thon 600 products from 23 monufociurers on the EPEAT registry.
Environmenlol Morketir g Inc All Rights Resr:rved
1aIL O 2007 . TerroChoice
APPEI\DIX C - References thtlp://www'iso'org,/iso/iso-coiologue/cotologue_ic,/coiologue
deioiJ.him?cs number=23145 2,6
htt p : / / www .ftc. gov / be / v9 ZOOO3. s htm 3 http: / /www.epo. govlepplpubs/clo ims htm o
htt p : / / www. g reenerchoices. org/eco- lo bels/eco- hc,me. c{m 5'7
http : / / consu mer. ic. gc. c o / epic/ site / oco _ bc. ns{/en /h coO23O2 e.ht ml
O 2007. TerroChoice Environmentol Morketing nc All P;^L+^ P^..^^,^,J
