BioDegrading
Jun 10, 2009
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I love Absolutely Fabulous, a British sitcom that has had a larger effect on current American TV than we realize. In one episode, Edina praises her latest client, disposable sunglasses called “PopSpecs.” Her daughter, Saffie, attacks the product for littering the planet, and Edina points out the “kind to trees” label. When Saffie asks, “How are they kind to trees,” the retort is: “Well they ain’t made of wood, how kind do you want?”
This attitude applies to many consumer packaged goods. Take “Biodegradable,” a buzzword that’s been around for a while . . . I make sure I use house cleaning products that are safe and non-toxic . . . and I’ve often made my own household cleaners with often great results!
I talked about greenwashing in an earlier post . . . unfortunately some companies think they can still slap a “green” label on them and therefore the product is kind to polar bears.
But some companies recently got nailed. Kmart, Tender, and Dyna-E were slammed by the FTC for making false claims about the “green-ness” about their products. Two of the companies settled out of court and another is still in litigation. But not everyone gets caught, so what’s a consumer to do?
There are plenty of sites where you can sort out how green your favorite products are. www.thegreenguide.com, Greenopia, and GreenerDesign.com are a few sites that can help you sort out the frauds from the friendlier companies.
It’s bad enough companies spend many advertising dollars on brainwashing you. So don’t let them greenwash you! 