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| Greenwashing: eco-friendly green labeling can be misleading |
I think Millennials should always be printed in Green, the brightest shade, the most intense hue and if possible, against a background that also has a semblance of Greenish colors. Why? Just look around you - from anything that can be stacked on a retail shelf, from cars to their fuels, from breads to cookies, and the visual interpretation of anything that is contemporary - Green is the chosen path. By buying supposedly healthier breads, paints that have green footprints, and electrically powered appliances that promise to be highly Earth-friendly, we are swimming in a cesspool of misdirected buyer enthusiasm. Retailers have been rather busy. Quickly branding anything that can be priced higher with a sweet-coated Green story. The script is out for everyone to see but nobody is really reading.
Green consumerism was about making smarter, better-informed choices. Is this really happening? How do you know that anything with the label of being an artisanal item has actually led to eco-friendly manufacturing processes? Is handmade always good? Is there any assurance that grass-fed meats and humanely-raised poultry produce always deliver what they promise? I am not so sure...absolutely not! The most basic online research will tell you that already there are words like Greenwashing being used to lay bare the truth about green labels that are highly misleading. For instance, there are many green brands that talk loudly about organic contents only. We are good with the organic-ness of the packaged food but does this mean the the food item was not processed? There is a huge difference between:
- straight from the farm
- from the farm to market with minimal time
- from the farm to processing unit to the consumer
- from neighboring, organically-managed farm to consumers with negligible miles or processing
...with the last option perhaps being the best!
Please note that the organic value of any green labeled food can deteriorate if there is substantial processing involved, even if at the packaging stage only. Again, what if your green food has considerable transportation miles on it, being distributed via fuel-swallowing vehicles? Does this mean that your dietary choice is really green, i.e. with minimal chemicals or processing but substantial carbon footprints that were needed to deliver it to you?!!
Green consumerism was about making smarter, better-informed choices. Is this really happening? How do you know that anything with the label of being an artisanal item has actually led to eco-friendly manufacturing processes? Is handmade always good? Is there any assurance that grass-fed meats and humanely-raised poultry produce always deliver what they promise? I am not so sure...absolutely not! The most basic online research will tell you that already there are words like Greenwashing being used to lay bare the truth about green labels that are highly misleading. For instance, there are many green brands that talk loudly about organic contents only. We are good with the organic-ness of the packaged food but does this mean the the food item was not processed? There is a huge difference between:
- straight from the farm
- from the farm to market with minimal time
- from the farm to processing unit to the consumer
- from neighboring, organically-managed farm to consumers with negligible miles or processing
...with the last option perhaps being the best!
Please note that the organic value of any green labeled food can deteriorate if there is substantial processing involved, even if at the packaging stage only. Again, what if your green food has considerable transportation miles on it, being distributed via fuel-swallowing vehicles? Does this mean that your dietary choice is really green, i.e. with minimal chemicals or processing but substantial carbon footprints that were needed to deliver it to you?!!
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