By Andrew Winston
This week is the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day. The hype is unbelievably high as companies step all over themselves to share their latest sustainability accomplishments. In general, this is a good thing and it's wonderful to see companies competing on green.
But there is a high risk of saying something that isn't quite true, or of overstating the truth. Because this is the time of year for somewhat self-important pronouncements of changing the world, it's also a time for greenwash.
The incidence of actual, pure greenwash -- outright, purposeful untruths about the environmental attributes or impacts of products -- is probably not that high. (I DON"T KNOW IF I AGREE WITH ANDREW ON THIS POINT?) But there's an awful lot out there that gets close (for a truly excellent review of the key missteps that would qualify, see the Seven Sins of Greenwashing from Terrachoice).
To finish reading Andrew's post, you can find it here AndrewWinston.com:
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