Products Environment Weather Companies Consumers Claiming People Greenwashing

The importance of protecting and not harming the environment is an issue that more and more Americans are paying attention to, especially after Vice President Al Gore's influential 2006 "documentary" (movie based on true events) An Inconvenient Truth.

American companies are trying to "appeal to" (make themselves more attractive to) consumers by claiming that their products are "earth-friendly" or "eco-safe," when it is not clear whether they are or not. ("Eco" is short for "ecology," which is the study of how people and other living things interact with their environment.)

This "practice" (way of doing things) is called "greenwashing," since the color green is associated with nature and the environment. This new word comes from the old term "whitewashing," which means to cover up or hide a mistake, problem, or "flaw" (imperfection; weakness) by putting something appealing or correct in front of it so people can't easily see those problems. "Greenwashing," then, means that a company is trying to hide the real way it does business by saying or claiming that the way their products are made does not harm the environment.

The U.S. government "regulates" (controls; supervises) how some words are used in advertising. For example, companies must meet "minimum" (lowest acceptable) requirements before they can call their products "organic" (grown or developed naturally, without chemicals) or "recycled" (turning waste or garbage into new products). However, as of 2012, there are no regulations about who can use terms like "eco-friendly" and "environmentally-safe." So, buyers looking for "green" products have to "beware" (be careful). Consumers have to ask themselves: "Is this a product that will not harm the environment or is the company simply "greenwashing?"