Greenwashing at its Best: “Even Our Store Bags are Disposable”

The Good Human spotted quite an amazing example of greenwashing this week in the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper. It seems that a pet store called Zoe & Guido’s Pet Boutique thought they’d jump on the ‘going green’ bandwagon in an attempt to drum up sales… and failed miserably.

From The Good Human:

The ad is kind of grainy, so if you cannot read it, here is what it says – “We are Going Green! Hemp and organic collars, toys, beds, disposable doggie bags…even our store bags are disposable!“. This is a great example of a company proclaiming to “go green” to sell products while not even bothering to find out what it actually means. Greenwashing at its best! This is what we all have to be on the lookout for as companies try to jump on the bandwagon without actually doing anything green at all.

The people who created this ad are clearly totally oblivious, and as ridiculous as it is to think that disposable bags are eco-friendly, the worst part is all the Sante Fe consumers who will just trust the ‘We’re going green’ and not take a critical look at what the store is actually offering. That’s why calling out greenwashers is important – ads like this totally dilute the message and people get screwed over.

The Good Human recently started up a new series called ‘Greenwash of the Week’, and they’ve found some real gems. Check out past examples including ‘biodegradable’ plastic water bottles, MTV attacking greenwashers (ironically) and plasma TVs instead of posters.

Link [The Good Human]

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