When Green Secretly Means Greedy

I was in Boston a few years back with my family for my brother-in-law’s college graduation. When we got to our hotel room, in the bathroom, I noticed the most emotionally moving corporate sign I had ever seen.  Picture this: a small sign propped in clear plastic on the counter, mother dolphin swimming with her pups in a calm aquamarine sea, coral on the seafloor, bubbles of life-giving oxygen rising through the water - looking closely, the animals almost seemed to be smiling.  Hooked by the image, I started to read the text.  Apparently, I could save the earth (or something to that overly dramatic effect) if I just didn’t launder my towels each day of my stay.  Wow - save the earth?.  I had to read on.  Less detergent spent, less water used, less fuel wasted transporting towels.  Just hang those towels on the hook so the maid won’t take them, and the dolphins will be free to roam the sea.  What an environmentally responsible corporate entity!  Overcome by emotion, fighting a sob, I reached for the complimentary box of tissues to dab my now moist eyes.  

But of course, it was easy to see through that not-so-clever pale blue/green seascape of marketing jargon.  If the company really wanted to do its part, it would go further and credit me the cost of a day’s towel laundry upon checkout.  By passing on the savings there would be a tangible incentive for the customer to hang up that towel, and by proxy, save Flipper from impending doom. No, this company was not being green, it was being greedy.  Less laundering equals less cost, which equals a better quarterly statement.  But, Marketing 101 states you can’t just overtly say that. Instead, they played the (gasp) environment card.  

Suspicious of their intent, upon my return home, I sent a follow-up email outlining my theory.  (“Dear Sir or Madam, put your money where your mouth is or be exposed for the fraud that you are...”).  Not a peep in reply.  Apparently, part of their green corporate culture involves saving energy by not emailing customers back - or maybe just the ones who see through the subterfuge.  Or, could be they were busy designing a sign asking me to order room service in the name of the environment (Don’t drive, dial number five, wait for your food to arrive!).  

You’ve probably noticed ploys like the one described above.  That’s because corporations are taking notice of the sustainability movement.  According to a study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, many companies are seeing increasing profits from implementing sustainability policies.  And that’s great.  But when you see corporate claims that don’t pass the environmental sniff test, greenwashing as it's called, challenge the company on their bluff.  What’s really in that spray cleaner with the flowers and rainbows on the label?  Does that Flex Fuel vehicle running on ethanol really save any energy?  What does “all natural” chicken even mean?  Because remember, the arsenic found in some chicken feeds is “all natural” too.

In Boston, later that afternoon, I hung my towel on the hook for another day’s use and went out for sandwiches.  I had tuna fish.  But I couldn’t help but wonder if the environmentally responsible dolphin-safe label on the deli’s tuna can was trustworthy, or was I lunching on that playful porpoise pictured on the hotel room sign.