The poem by Joyce Kilmer says “only God can make a tree “, but apparently anyone can improve their bottom line by portraying trees in their advertising. Or ocean-fresh scents or flower petal softness. I knew that many products have changed their colors to green or blue and some have even gone ‘unscented’ to prove their commitment to the health and welfare of Mother Earth and its dwellers. What I didn’t know was there is a name for this marketing tactic: greenwashing. My cynicism meter needs to be recalibrated.
Definition : Greenwashing (a compound word modelled on "whitewash"), also called "green sheen", is a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that an organization's products, aims or policies are environmentally friendly. Evidence that an organization is greenwashing often comes from pointing out the spending differences: when significantly more money or time has been spent advertising being "green" (that is, operating with consideration for the environment), than is actually spent on environmentally sound practices. Greenwashing efforts can range from changing the name or label of a product to evoke the natural environment on a product that contains harmful chemicals to multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns portraying highly polluting energy companies as eco-friendly. Publicized accusations of greenwashing have contributed to the term's increasing use.
Photo: Composite Tree VS Battles Wikia - Fandom
Definition: Wikipedia
