EASY, OH SO EASY...
I'm usually one for good news. Last month the New York Times ran "The Business of Green" special. On the whole an impressive array of topics were covered (from architecture to Zilkha, a renewables co. bought by Goldman Sachs). But...

The problem was that I got stuck on two articles that take a look at green marketing. The first, a rather tacky exercise in name dropping, achieves little other than consumption of column inches (I assume it went to print). When a reporter uses a whole lot of big names to conclude that a green image helps sell product, you start to wonder who reads the NYT these days (kinda like those NZ Army ads in busses at the moment - talk about "lowest common denominator").

With the second of the troublesome articles comes the SLAP! Environmental standards is a subject close to my heart. This article approaches sustainable building from a certification perspective, and mentions that property developers often market standards with little substance. The reporter then endorses an architect laying claim to having recently coined the term "greenwash". Either NYT ran these two pieces as training for some newbies, or the general readership is indeed daft.

The term "greenwash" is clearly not new. To falsely claim an environmental ethic through press or marketing. The Wikipedia entry has a link to a 2005 publication precis by The Green Life which names the top10 US greenwashers. The usual lineup of motor and oil industry names plus a few surprises. One surprise, the National Ski Area Assn, calls for a closer look. I think I'll have to have a wee local dig before the season kicks off...

I'm rambling now. All I wanted to say was that here we are, we're not silly, and despite what NYT may espouse, it can be easy being green. Especially with a tool like ShoppingFix!