Greenwashing
Greenwashing. It gives a bad name to eco-friendly, but is it a bad thing? Greenwashing is when an entity presents themselves as being green when they really aren’t. You know them and seen them, even if you didn’t recognize them as such.
The question I have is: Is it a bad thing to greenwash? I mean, the fact that they perceive it as important is a statement in itself. Reduce, Re-use, Recycle has been around for awhile and greenwashing is just behind. And while I dislike the idea that someone presents themselves as eco friendly without walking the talk, the simple fact is they are saying it is important to be green. There isn’t such thing as bad publicity, and greenwashing does create more awareness that being green is important.
Why talk about greenwashing? Seriously, it is because I have heard some comments about how, since I sell plastic pens that are from oil and virgin oil at that, that I am not green. Green is an attitude and a perspective, a destination without an arrival. The green movement is just that, a movement. It started awhile ago and will be with us for a long time and makes efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle continues to this day and will into the future, causing improvements to be made.
The point is that I am starting from where I am at. I give my clients choices and always let the client decide what and how they want to present themselves. For me, it’s all about giving the option of being a little more eco friendly for, hopefully, very close to the same price as “regular” item. Trying to make a difference isn’t always the most popular thing to do, but it always requires the status quo to be challenged and changes to be made.
I am starting from where I am at today, having sold advertising and printing for nearly twenty years. I have clients that know I make things happen the way they need them to happen and don’t let much get in my way, but yes, I will sell the virgin plastic pen to someone who wants that kind of pen and I am likely to give them a great price. I am also likely to offer options and try to increase the marketing power of their pen/ bag/shirt/cup by going green because it says more when you do it green.