We’re continuing our discussion on some of the themes I saw after looking through about 30 consumer-oriented magazines from travel to beauty to health to the environment.
As I mentioned in my last post, greenwashing is something that is continuing to happen to companies everywhere and greenwashing lists are one of the newer things that have emerged.
It’s really no surprise when you have some companies and manufacturers such as the car manufacturers claiming to be green when they are not. Granted, there are leaders in this industry and definitely laggards. The laggards know it and are trying to catch up, but unfortunately they are greenwashing sometimes without knowing it.
How?
They are claiming to have the lowest emissions to use ethanol fuel, etc. while polluting the environment in other endeavors.
Really, competition drives this greenwashing trend. Companies are trying to keep up with their nearest competitor and be the one to say, “we have the cleanest, lowest emission, gas-free, vehicles on the market.”
Some industries and businesses do not want to believe that greenwashing exists. They want to pull the covers up or totally ignore it saying it’s wrong. Whether it is or isn’t is not the real issue. The issue is how do you handle it?
Here are some quick ways to handle getting greenwashed:
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Determine what’s being said
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Identify who said it
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Determine accuracy of statement and group
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Inform staff what happened and what you are doing
Prepare a statement – do not ignore
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Address what happened
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How it happened
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What you’re doing to remedy the situation
Address
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Customers
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Website
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Public
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Create a plan/strategy to ensure it doesn’t happen in the future
Helping You Understand and Profit from Consumer Health and Green Trends
Colette Chandler
