By Jennifer Garvin, Quotes member
Wendy Cobrda and Amy Hebard, co-founders of EarthSense, LLC, illustrate the environmental, behavioral, social and public attitudes of the GREEN phenomena. They start off with the Eras of Green which are:
- Do no harm (environmentally)
- Doing well by doing green
- Using green as a strategy
Essentially, most consumers believe manufacturers are not taking enough responsibility for their harmful effects on the environment. According to data research by EarthSense, consumers choose not to participate in the green movement because they find it to be inconvenient and not accessible enough for their lives and daily occurrences. With that said, the goal is to fill the gap between consumer skepticism and confusion while enhancing a positive attitude and motivating actual behavior.
Wendy and Amy touched upon the 7 Sins of Greenwashing
- Hidden trade offs (94%)
- No proof (43%)
- Vagueness (57%)Worshipping false labels (39%)
- Irrelevance (11%)
- Lesser of 2 evils (4%)Fibbing (0%)
These are the 7 sins and the percentage of products committing each sin. Scary.
Earthsense conducted a "biz indicator" which analyzed the "the corporate reality of consumer perceptions." The top ranked companies were:
- Amazon
- Apple
- Benjamin Moore
- Burt's Bees
- Discovery
Influencing these decisions are current trends, celebrities, social media, and general "buzz."
But more importantly, what does "Green" really mean? These factors determine a product's true green-ness:
- What the product is made of (Compostable)
- How the product is made (Production)
- How the product is packaged (Packaging)
- Where the product comes from (Distribution)
- The environmental impact on the product (Consumption)
- How the product is disposed (Disposal)
Being aware of these factors can greatly influence our understanding of the green movement and can hopefully make Americans wise consumers for many years to come. To learn more about EarthSense and the research they conduct, visit www.earthsense.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment