With all the negative talk around green marketing claims, L. Hunter Lovins, coauthor of “Natural Capitalism,” has decided to turn the concept on its head and point out the good in greenwashing. And she makes an interesting case. (Thanks to the Ecolabelling.org blog for the tip)

There’s a spectrum of change. First companies recognize the marketing benefits of going green. Then truly green businesses and posers alike try to take advantage of the trend by hyping green products and practices. The consuming public starts out by buying into the claims, but then questions the new marketing as activists cry foul. Ultimately companies have to back up their claims to avoid charges of greenwashing.

In other words, Lovins claims that greenwashing eventually leads to greener companies.

The argument sounds rational, but it doesn’t mean we should encourage greenwashing. Truly effective greenwashing can and often does go unnoticed, with companies proliferating their own ecolabels and generally adding to consumer confusion. On the other hand, substantiated green marketing is worth encouraging. The more companies can help customers make smart environmental choices, the more pressure there is on the market to make a range of environmental choices available. There may be some unavoidable greenwashing along the way to a greener market, but we should mitigate it wherever possible - with transparency, with positive reinforcement of eco-friendly practices, and with the help of trusted, accredited ecolabels.

Posted by Mari in Green products, Marketing