Getting the word out about green methods takes a special approach

June 11, 2008 | By hempsister In Greenthinkers, How To - DIY, Green Facts, Green Living |

You may have a green message to share with your customers, but be careful. Many consumers — as many as 70 percent, according to one study — consider environmentally friendly, eco-green claims as marketing scams.

And with astonishingly good reason, according to TerraChoice Environmental Marketing, which analyzed 1,018 consumer products making 1,753 environmental claims in six categories of goods found in big-box retailers. Of the 1,018 products analyzed, all but one made claims that were, at worst, demonstrably false to, at the very least, misleading.

From that study, TerraChoice developed a list of what it calls the six sins of “greenwashing” — a relatively new term for the practice of misleading consumers regarding the environmental benefits or friendliness of products or services.

Those six sins are the hidden trade-off, no proof, vagueness, irrelevance, fibbing and the lesser of two evils, which is defined as a green claim that may be true but distracts from a greater environmental risk, i.e. “organic cigarettes.”

But honest and effective eco-messaging can happen. It starts with knowing your audience and speaking to them with honesty.

A study by TNS, “The Green Life,” categorized consumers along an eco-spectrum. Eco-Centrics (13 percent of population) are highly educated, high-income urbanites who take pride in doing their part to protect and nurture the environment. On the other end of the spectrum, Eco-Villains (7 percent) are Midwestern, middle-income men in small and midsize metro areas who have dismissed environmental concerns.

That just means businesses must figure out levels of knowledge and layers of concerns for their target audience.

For instance, Eco-Centrics want to know how products are made, is there animal testing and does the company make sure overseas workers aren’t exploited. But for the Frugal Earth Mother (17 percent of the population, characterized as practical prudent women in lower income, rural households), the focus should be on dependability and safety.

For Kansas City-based Indigo Wild, getting out the word on its environmentally friendly soaps, candles and lotions did not mean climbing the mountaintop and shouting “We’re green, green, green!”

Instead, Indigo Wild lets its products speak for itself.

“When people scream ‘green this, green that,’ that becomes their sole focus, and that’s not who we are,” said Sally Nielsen, vice president of public relations. “We’re very particular about our ingredients — it’s a culture that we’ve lived instead of a label we’re putting out there.”

But for Weston-based McCormick Distilling Co., nothing less than going to proverbial marketing mountaintop — Times Square — would do when it came to trumpeting a new eco-friendly 360 Vodka.

And vitally important, said Robert Tomei of TNS, is walking the talk, which for 360 Vodka means a number of initiatives, including bottles made of 85 percent recycled glass, labels made from recycled paper and printed with soy ink, and vinyl billboards that are repurposed into purses, handbags and totes.

3 ideas

•When developing an eco-friendly marketing message: Be honest. Be accurate. Be transparent.

•Learn more about the six sins of greenwashing at www.terrachoice.com.

•Know your audience — most marketers agree there’s no point in wasting time or money targeting Eco-Villains.