Good Chemistry: Green Tips for Better Health, from Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

Are you washing with green products or is it all just a greenwash?

sevens-sins-of-greenwashingIt is easy to fall into the trap of greenwashing since “being green” is the latest craze these days. What exactly is “greenwashing?”  It’s defined as “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service,” according to TerraChoice Environmental Marketing.

As you’ve hopefully learned by now, there are little industry standards and regulations when it comes to chemicals in this country. This means companies could define their product as “natural” or “eco-friendly” and not be held to any sort of accountability.   Most products on the market contain “trade secrets” or fragrances.  Even a company like SC Johnson, which is entering the green market with its Nature’s Source cleaning products, labels their products on the bottles and on their websites, but fails to list what is actually in their “fragrances.”

To arm yourself and fight greenwashing, check out TerraChoice’s 2009 report - 7 Sins of Greenwashing.  It will not only help companies from committing these sins, but will help consumers look for these sins so they are not stuck with a less than green product.  You can be aware of greenwashing as long as you are equipped with the right information and these helpful hints from http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Consumerism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

 

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