269
See also: Crisis management 188–89 ■ Avoiding complacency 194–201 ■ Morality in business 222 ■
Creating an ethical culture 224–27 ■ The appeal of ethics 270
SUCCESSFUL SELLING
circumvented or public relations
problems to be solved. However, in
1985, news of the hole in the ozone
layer led to a successful consumer
boycott of aerosols propelled by
chlorofluerocarbons (CFCs), which
were considered one of the main
threats to the ozone layer. As the
ground swell of consumer support
for the environmental movement
grew, marketers saw an advantage
in aligning their products and
corporate identity with green issues.
The marketing world first
seemed to embrace the concept
of safeguarding the environment
after the release of the Brundtland
Report in 1987 (see box). The 1990s
were forecast as heralding a green
revolution, and businesses rushed
to associate themselves with
environmentally friendly products
and processes.Green companies
Businesses such as The Body Shop
and Volvo had already adopted
green strategies as early as the
1970s, and because the media
were looking for stories with anenvironmental angle, these
companies frequently appeared in
the press. Their publicity made the
adoption of green policies and
products even more alluring.
At the same time, there was
growing evidence that consumers
did not believe everything they
read or saw and had developed
a general scepticism about the
business world’s green intentions.
However, the corporate world still
saw a commercial advantage in
being green, and marketers began
to adopt strategies to try to connect
with eco-aware consumers.
Greenwashing has appeared
in surprising places. The nuclear
industry has tried to dispel its
reputation for being dangerous by
presenting nuclear power as a
remedy for global warming. Arms
manufacturer BAe announced in
2006 that it was making “lead-free
bullets.” Marketers need to
remember that the public is
generally able to distinguish
between policies and practices that
are genuinely eco-friendly, and those
that are simply greenwashing. ■Shades of green
In the years after the release
of the 1987 United Nations
Brundtland Report calling for
protection of the environment,
the volume of green advertising
and campaigns increased
dramatically. Between 1989
and 1990, green product
launches in the US doubled.
They continued to expand
through the early 1990s,
buoyed by market research
showing that consumers were
interested in environmentally
responsible products.By the mid-1990s, however,
several key studies revealed
that there was an inconsistency
between consumer intent and
consumer action when it came
to paying higher prices for green
products. There were also
worries over the negative effect
that green strategies might have
on the attitudes of shareholders.
These factors may have led
to a form of greenwashing where
organizations make genuine but
minor changes to products or
processes to present a green
face, but do not let environmental
issues dent the bottom line.T
he notion of “greenwashing”
emerged during the rise
of the environmental
movement in the 1990s, and it
refers to the perceived practice by
corporate and government sectors
of adopting an environmentally
friendly veneer. In the same way
that public-interest issues are
described as “whitewashed” when
they gloss over difficult aspects or
cover them up, so “greenwashing”
is defined as putting a surface
gleam over environmental topics
to detract from any serious
discussion or definitive action.
Environmental activist and New
Yorker Jay Westerveld was the first
to use the word in print, in a 1986
essay about the practice of hotels
asking guests to avoid using too
many towels, in order to reduce
laundering and help the environment.
Westerveld interpreted this as a ploy
to save money rather than the planet.
Growing movement
Until the 1980s, business managers
mostly treated environmental
issues as potential obstacles to be
The incidence of ...
greenwash—outright,
purposeful untruths ...
is probably not that high.
But there’s an awful
lot ... that gets close.
Andrew Winston
US environmental strategist