Greenwashing The Dangers of a False Green Message

Definitions:
“A compound word modelled on whitewash”
“Disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image”.
“a term given to marketing spin that deceptively touts a product as environmentally friendly despite offering limited or no environmental benefits”.

“Posters and ads featuring environmentally friendly imagery (leaves, green fields, farms, wind turbines, butterflies and flowers) “but the product they pitch has no scientific proof that it offers any positive effect on the environment.

I am going to cut and paste an article I found about Greenwashing. This article was written by Dr. Mercola on his site Mercola.com and I want to give him credit for the info. It’s about food, not pest control but the heart of the story applies to Greenwashing as a way to get those thinking green or natural to buy products or services. I didn’t want to dilute his story or dilute the coming blogs content on Greenwashing in the pest control field so I am going to split the content up into several postings. I just want to get you thinking about this issue. Here’s the article:
“Kashi Cereal Stirs Anger – Exposed by Small Rhode Island Grocer”

By Dr. Mercola
A simple sign on a grocery store shelf has gone viral, causing a storm of outrage among consumers who feel they’ve been misled by cereal maker Kellogg’s claims about its Kashi cereals. A Rhode Island grocer posted a note on the shelf where Kashi was supposed to be, saying he’d learned it wasn’t 100 percent natural after all, and therefore wasn’t carrying it anymore.

It turns out the soy in Kashi cereals comes from genetically modified Roundup-ready soybeans, which have a gene inserted in them that allows the crop to withstand otherwise lethal doses of the weed killer.

USA Today reported that consumers felt duped into believing that Kashi was all-natural when it’s not. Their complaints were initially brushed off by Kashi general Manager David DeSouza, who told USA Today that since the FDA doesn’t regulate the term “natural,” the cereal maker has done nothing wrong by defining “natural” as minimally-processed with no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or sweeteners.

In the pest control field this sales and marketing technique is becoming wide spread, especially in the sale of consumer pest control products and you should be aware of it when you’re looking for a pest control service or pest control products.

Wheeler’s Pest Control Servicing Orange County, Riverside, and Los Angeles.