Green Options

“The phenomena of socially and environmentally destructive corporations, attempting to preserve and expand their markets or power by posing as friends of the environment.”- Definition of Greenwashing according to CorpWatch.

Perhaps a more consumer friendly definition is the one provided by the Stop Greenwash site, “Used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.”

The site goes on to explain,

“The average citizen is finding it more and more difficult to tell the difference between those companies genuinely dedicated to making a difference and those that are using a green curtain to conceal dark motives.”

Examples of greenwashing highlighted on the Greenpeace site are: GM’s Save Gas Ad Campaign and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.

One of the first “green” cleaning products I ever used was Simple Green.  I would clean carpets, cars, bathtubs, floors, etc. with this green liquid.  I even converted my mother to a Simple Green user.  As I became “greener”, I switched to homemade cleaning products and greener labels.

It is only recently that I began to wonder if Simple Green really is as ecologically friendly and safe as the name of this cleaning product implies.