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Revision as of 02:00, 21 September 2007
Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term that is used to describe the actions of a company, government, or other organization which advertises positive environmental practices while acting in the opposite way. The term came into use in the early 1990s, most notably as the title of an article in the 1991 March/April issue of Mother Jones magazine.
The term is generally used when significantly more money or time has been spent advertising being green (that is, operating with consideration for the environment), rather than spending resources on environmentally sound practices. This is often portrayed by changing the name or label of a product, to give the feeling of nature, for example putting an image of a forest on a bottle of harmful chemicals. Environmentalists often use greenwashing to describe energy companies, which are traditionally the largest polluters. [1]
A commonly cited example of greenwashing is the George W. Bush Clear Skies Initiative, which environmentalists have argued actually weakens air pollution laws. [2]
References
- ^ Karliner, Joshua. "A Brief History of Greenwash", CorpWatch, March 22 2001. Accessed May 23 2007.
- ^ US Senator Patrick Leahy, on the Senate Floor, "The Greenwashing of the Bush Anti-Environmental Record on the President's Earth Day Visits to Maine and Florida", April 26, 2004 http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200404/042604a.html Accessed June 29, 2007
- Monbiot, George. Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning. Allen Lane. ISBN 0713999233.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|Year=ignored (|year=suggested) (help) - New Scientist - Aid to disaster 07/08/89, late 80's use of the term.
External links
- Beware of Greenwashing: Not All Environmental Claims are Meaningful - Greenwashing has gotten more pervasive and more subtle. Article outlines the six sins of greenwashing and how to avoid being fooled
- Questioning "corporate social responsibility" - a greenwashing article from London's Southern OnTrack magazine
- Channel 4 Dispatches - Greenwash - documentary Presented by George Monbiot transmitted 06/03/07
- Greenwashing Junk Food an article from lime.com
- Turn Up The Heat - George Monbiot criticizes greenwash
- What is Greenwashing, and Why is it a Problem?" by Chris MacDonald & Melissa Whellams
- [http://www.hudsondredging.com/ "Current GE efforts to clean the Hudson".
- "Rewarding genuine green companies and shaming greenwashers"