Greenwashing

An advertisement for Mentos gum

How many ads like this one do you see on TV every day from various companies, all claiming to sell the most environmentally friendly product on the market? These marketing schemes all try to make you think that by using their product you will be making a positive difference on the planet. Well when these claims are not as true as they seem, this phenomenon is called “greenwashing”. If you’ve ever heard of “whitewashing” in a political campaign (“a coordinated attempt to hide unpleasant facts”, according to the Greenwashing Index), this is along the same premise.  Sometime a company will spend more money in their media and advertising trying to convince the public that they are environmentally friendly than they actually do implementing the business practices that would make them more green.

And this isn’t a new phenomenon either. Even at the beginning of the 20^th century, according to Maier, people "had already acknowledged that ‘mass media was likely to be of major importance in the selection, transformation and circulation of environmental meanings in modern society’” (166).  Mass media clearly has a lot of impact on the way people think, and can really influence which products the public buys. This picture below is just one from a series of posters which aim to steer customers towards more sustainable behaviors in this gallery. Do you think media tools such as these can help consumers choose an option better for the environment than they otherwise would?

An example of a poster which promotes sustainable
behaviors among consumers from a series of
media campaigns found here.

One example of a company who uses sustainability in their platform is the consumer products company, Unilever. They are one of the more reliable companies in their environmental campaigns, but definitely use “being green” in their advertising campaigns. They have an entire section of their website dedicated to sustainability. Here’s a screenshot of their “Sustainable Living” webpage:

Unilever places a lot of emphasis on their efforts to make their products green. Unlike a lot of other places which are not as reliable, their efforts have distinct goals and they are very transparent about which goals are being met and which are taking longer than they expected. It’s clear that this company, unlike many others, has made a true commitment to producing greener products which help the environment.

What about you? Do claims of sustainable products sway you when you’re trying to decide which household cleaner to use, or do you stick to a certain brand or product regardless of its effects on the environment?

Sources: 

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/gallery/role-green-marketing-inspiring-change#/?picture=413512496&index=1

http://www.unileverusa.com/sustainable-living/

http://ejournals.ebsco.com.libproxy.furman.edu/Direct.asp?AccessToken=5444Q49TRPUUQUJ9WZ4PQB64BZ9YTN4UR&Show=Object

http://www.greenwashingindex.com/about-greenwashing/#what

Read More

Sustainable Farming

Sustainable Farming

Last week, I talked about the fact that there are so many genetically modified foods out there that we are consuming on a day to day basis and don't know about! Now, there are advertisements out there, or at least are more prominent in our life to inform us about eating healthy and sustainably. But it wasn't always like that. According to this peer reviewed journal I found where an expert examined the history of food scarcity, genetic engineering of food, organic food and such and the origins - how it all started. So how prominent was this subject in social media? Turns out, not really. According to Stewie Lockie, prior to 1996, "very few articles on any aspect of sustainability found their way into any publications" despite sustainable programs and agriculture that had already been implemented. Lockie also mentions that even between 1996-2002, there were aspects of sustainability that "did not attract social media attention." 


But now it's everywhere, yet not a lot of people do anything about it.    So, this week I thought I would discuss the matter of sustainable farming. What does it mean exactly? According to the Grace Communications Foundation, have a sustainable farm is to produce "food, fiber, or other plant or animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities, and animal welfare."According to this article I found on foxnews.com, we actually as a unit, meaning the world have enough food to provide for 11 billion people! (side note: why are so many people starving! if we do in fact have enough food, we need to make this accessible to people that can't afford it!). The problem is, we aren't being sustainable about it. Here are some ways that they suggest we should try to help:

1. Eat less meat
2. Throw less food away
3. Aquaponics
4. Vertical Farming
5. Improve crop production

After being depressed reading about the fact that we have all this food that just goes to waste, I thought it may be a good idea to restore my faith in humanity by looking at people, organizations or companies that are doing the opposite and becoming more sustainable! I recently found that one of my favorite fast-food chain restaurants Chipotle Mexican Grill has been promoting the idea of sustainable farming! Like most companies, the most common form of mass communication, or sending out a message to a large number of people, is through advertisements. 

     Normally, we see this through commercials on television, in the newspapers, radio, etc. However, Chipotle has stepped it up by creating an animated puppet film, about the process of factory farming of animals and how that is bad for the environment and for people. In the end, the farmer stops using chemicals, and the last few seconds of the film show that the food being packed into Chipotle's van to be taken to the chain stores are not processed and are organic. 

Impressively, this 2 minute film will run on the Grammy Award's telecast and at the end, viewers will be encouraged to download the film to share with family and friends via iTunes. The Grammy Awards last year had more than 26 million viewers! What better way to reach a large group of audience members? It already has more than 8 million views on Youtube as well, which can be and in this case is definitely used for what Vivian calls, "viral advertising."

As Vivian states in Chapter 12: Advertising, "throughout its history, dating from the 1950s until recently, television has outpaced the growth of other media as an advertising vehicle." He even goes on to mention that although the Internet is a popular tool as means for advertising in the media, it "remains a mere blip compared to network, cable and local television." I was actually surprised to read that the Internet is "a mere blip" in comparison to the television just because I suppose I am considered a "digital native," therefore most of my own personal exposure with the media comes from there. However, Vivian has a good point stating that when companies use the Internet as their preferred tool to get their ads out there, they will have to use it more strategically because most likely they will be trying to reach the attention of a very specific audience. However, this commercial/advertisement is coming from a restaurant which is obviously catered to the entire public, not intending for any demassification or anything like that, therefore it is smart for them to put this out there for people of all ages.

Read More