Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

November 22, 2008 6:39:30 CST

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

'Greenwashed' Products Mostly Hype

Posted May 15, 08 11:44 CDT in Business,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – "Green" is in, and many new products being marketed as Earth-friendly are in reality only marginally less unfriendly. The Boston Globe points to hybrid SUVs that get barely better mileage than their standard brethren, water bottles that use less plastic but still require large amounts of energy to make and deliver, and "non-toxic" cleaners that have merely reduced amounts of the same toxins. "It's a marketing exercise rather than reality," says a consumer expert.

"How a 6,000-pound behemoth can be the green car of the year is beyond me," he says of the Chevy Tahoe hybrid. The marketing of dubiously eco-friendly products is known as "greenwashing," and it's on the rise. "You could have the green McMansion with energy efficiency, but, well, the house is still 6,000 square feet," says a BU professor. Consumers, meanwhile, are expected to double spending on green products next year to $500 billion.

Source Boston Globe

1 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • How to Keep Your PC Green

    Oct 3, 08 2:27 PM CDT
    How to Keep Your PC Green You’ve got the Prius and the reusable shopping bags, but did you know a PC and monitor perpetually left on use more than twice the kilowatt-hours per year consumed by a fridge? The New York Times reports what you can do to slow your computer’s energy drain:

    • Turn it off after your workday. Have it set to sleep when unused, and dump the screensaver.
    More »

  • Green Housing: From Good Idea to Good Business

    Jul 15, 08 11:56 CDT
    Green Housing: From Good Idea to Good Business With US homes on average twice as large as they were 50 years ago—and, of course, dwarfing those in all other developed countries—rethinking our idea of "home" is as crucial to cutting global warming as switching to a smaller car, says architect Edward Mazria in Fast Company. Half of all greenhouse gas emissions are building-related; residential buildings make up 21% of national energy consumption—almost as much as transportation. More »

  • Green Homes Gain Heat in Cool Housing Market

    Mar 9, 08 7:55 PM CDT
    Green Homes Gain Heat in Cool Housing Market Eco-friendly homebuilders are faring well despite the plunging US housing market, Newsweek reports. With home sales at a 15-year low, a national survey showed that buyers last year were ready to spend an extra $8,964 on a home that cuts utility bills. "It's taken almost as a fait accompli that green building is where the market is headed," a pro-green advocate said. More »

  • It's Not Easy Building Green

    Apr 6, 07 12:43 PM CDT
    Despite the hype, the cool technologies and the new cachet, building green on a big scale is a very frustrating business, developers in New York tell the Observer. Exciting projects are hobbled by slow-moving regulators and greedy utility companies, they say. Their $100K natural gas "microturbines" are idle because regulators say they violate building codes. More »

In this March 26, 2008 file photo, "Green" pest control products are displayed at the headquarters of Suburban Exterminating in Smithtown, N.Y.   (AP Photo/Ed Betz, file)
Office Depot's new "Green Book": "Featuring thousands of products for a greener office."   (AP Photo)
The Ford Escape Hybrid SUV on display in this January file photo.   (Getty Images)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 3)

Tags

environment • marketing • green building • green products


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Science & Health Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »