Localwashing in Pictures at Grist
September 8, 2009 · Print This Article
We’re always on the alert for ‘greenwashing’, but what about ‘localwashing’? It turns out, big corporations are just as eager to make money off your dedication to buying local as they are off what they see as “the green trend”. From Walmart to Citgo, huge companies are trying to lure our dollars out of our pockets using misleading and often downright deceptive ads claiming that they’re “local”.
Grist put together an amazing collection of the 12 of the most outrageous examples. Check out these three (images are at Grist):
Citgo: “Local. Loyal. Like it should be.” The crop of new billboards from the petroleum company owned by Hugo Chavez’s Venezuelan government makes sense only if the rather undemocratic president lives around the corner from you. Which he doesn’t.
Barnes & Noble: Maybe you’ve heard of this cute little bookstore around the corner. It’s got a DIY-looking video blog with the tagline, “All bookselling is local.” Except when it isn’t.
“Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, a U.S.-based subsidiary of European processed-food behemoth Unilever, has seen fit to subject Canada (Canada?) to an eat-local campaign,” reports Grist Food Editor Tom Philpott. He’s dumbfounded. Here are those locally sourced ingredients of which Hellmann’s is so proud:
WATER, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, SOYBEAN OIL, VINEGAR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, EGG WHITES, SALT, SUGAR, XANTHAN GUM, LEMON AND LIME PEEL FIBERS, COLORS ADDED, LACTIC ACID, (SODIUM BENZOATE, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA) USED TO PROTECT QUALITY, PHOSPHORIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVORS.
It’s absurd, but the sad thing is, a lot of people will fall for it. Head to Grist for the rest of the list, which includes Starbucks and Lay’s.
Link [Grist]
Related Posts:
When Kenyan Greenbeans Are Better: Why Local Food Isn’t Always The Best ChoiceGreenwashing at its Best: “Even Our Store Bags are Disposable”
Japanese Government Urges Citizens to Eat Locally
Hilarious High Fructose Corn Syrup Ad Parody
‘Clean Coal’ Group Making False Claims in Online Ads
The CITGO campaign is particularly unnerving. Let’s forget, for a moment, that Venezuela is no where near the NY Tri State area where I live – where I see these ridiculous billboards lining every major highway trying to convince the lesser-minded that the company and its oil drums are, in fact, “local”. But add to that insult the very idea of OIL being some sort of solution for the conscious-consumer? Ridiculous.