Greenwash = Hogswash?
Tags: Media, Services
In a recent article for the BBC, Rebecca Swift, global creative planning director for Getty Images, claimed that consumers were being overexposed to 'green' images and slogans to such an extent that advertising is experiencing a 'greenwash', making consumers immune to the deluge of green used in the media. Swift criticises the use of environmental imagery by companies cashing in on the latest commercial zeitgeist,using 'green' ad campaigns to suggest that they themselves are green. This obviously poses a huge problem for consumers who are left with the difficult task of deciphering the marketing codes to find out who really is green.
Campaigners fear that this will lead to apathy amongst consumers, who will cease to take notice of genuine promotion of green products and services, mistaking them for just another company trying to spin a green web around their products to appeal to the ever-expanding eco market. However, there are people out there to guide you through the greenwash, with new website EcoSwitch.com emerging as the most comprehensive directory of all things green, and its sister website EcoAudit which is helping companies to prove and improve their green credentials. It is sites such as these that will help to expel the greenwash from the advertising sphere and differentiate between substance and image, an ever recurring problem in modern society.
