In the past five years, there's been an explosion of products marketed as "green" & good for the environment. But some of these green claims are far from accurate. Critics call the marketing practice "greenwashing" - a way to attract customers by labeling products as eco-friendly when they may not be. Examples include 1. Hyping what has been taken out of a product eg. One shaving cream product, for example, claims it has no CFCs -- chlorofluorocarbons. But CFCs were actually banned in 1978; if the product did contain CFCs, it would be illegal; 2. Not providing proof eg. a brand of drinking glasses claims recycled content - but fails to explain how much , or what the source is; 3. Environmental trade-offs, eg. One type of water bottle does use 30% less plastic than other bottles but the product is imported from overseas; 4. Self-made seals, from companies that put their own stamps on their packages instead of one awarded by a neutral third party eg.brand of cleaner has a green leaf seal but all it means is that the symbol has been put there by the company; 5. Products that are not up to environmental standards eg. One company advertised a refrigerator as Energy Star compliant, but then acknowledged it was not.
