The greenwashing trend
The greenwashing trend is unfortunately flourishing. Greenwashing is when companies (or governments) spend more money or time advertising being green, than on investing in environmentally sound practices. Marketers and business executives suddenly understand that green is selling. But sustainability is not about marketing. Sustainability is about design. It means that designers around the world have a big responsibility because there are already to much bad design out there. We need smarter and better products.
I would like to see more products that are ecologically healthy and with better quality (concerning material and usability). Products that have humanistic understandable values at the same time as they are pushing the boundaries of material innovation. Products that are totally adorable because of their sensorial and emotional values and timeless iconic look. That’s much better than cynical greenwashing.
John Thackara from Doors of Perception recently wrote this about greenwashing:
“In business, greenwashing often means changing the name and/or label. Early warning signs that a product is probably toxic include images of trees, birds, or dew drops. If all three are on the box, the product will probably make your skin peel off in seconds”.
Andra bloggar om: miljö, design, klimat, hållbar utveckling, greenwashing
Tuesday 24 November 2009, 03:54
Great article, i totally agree, some times perception become more important than actions and that’s just terrible. We’re always hungry for green news, but some business just try to trick us. Very good food for though to read your article, let’s hope we’ll be able to put enough pressure on these companies to make thing change.