Greenwashing

If you are not familiar with this term, you need to be, and QUICK! According to Wikipedia: Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term that is used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.[1]

If you are just starting to be a green consumer, one who wants to make a difference with their dollars, then greenwashing can really fool you, it's around every corner! Most companies now know that "greening" their image is starting to make economic sense and gain them loyal customers.

I found a perfect example this week on the Ellen show. She has All Small & Mighty as a "green" sponsor, claiming that their product helps to save the environment because it is concentrated. Granted, concentrated is a great first step to helping reduce plastic and waste. As consumers, it's smarter to buy concentrated for our wallets, because we are not paying for water. However, the glaring gorilla that nobody is pointing out is that All is still Toxic, and not very eco-friendly in its chemical makeup. Moms wanting to go green may see this advertisement and promotion and just assume that All is green, it's not!

So what alternatives do we have? I reviewed Mountain Green Laundry Detergent and found it to be eco-friendly, and a great cleaner. However, it is not as concentrated as I would like, and is tough on the pocketbook. The cleaner I finally settled on is Shaklee's HE compatible Laundry Liquid. It is super concentrated, you only use 1oz per load, and it works fabulously! Even better than the Gain HE I was used to and swore by before. Many products are now certified green by third parties to prevent consumer confusion. Read labels carefully, and don't let greenwashing tactics hoodwink you!