ScrAPES #4

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Nora Kadas Period 7 scrAPES #4 (Photo by Lightspring/Shuttershock) Article Summary Greenwashing, a term coined in the 1980s, continues to be more and more prevalent as climate change becomes a mainstream issue. Greenwashing refers to companies bringing attention to the eco-friendly aspects of their products while ironically also performing practices that harm the environment, or the aspects marketed are stated in a way to make the impacts seem more significant than they are. An example of this includes Starbuck's new straw-less plastic
drink container that markets itself as better for the planet but actually uses more plastic than the old model. The article then explains the Federal Trade Commissions (FTC)'s ways to differentiate marketed products from genuinely sustainable ones and further provides examples of greenwashing. Opinion of Article The author of this article is clearly against greenwashing because he is trying to bring light to a problem that most consumers have fallen into at some point. He is angry that businesses are able to advertise their products to cater to those who are trying to help the planet while not genuinely helping the issue at large. His goal is to educate the public on how to avoid giving their money to companies that don't have genuine interest in climate change. My opinion of this article mirrors the anger and the desire for change that the author has. It bothers me that consumers aren't more protected. So What? What now? Personally, the greatest way that I can help as a minor is to vote with my money and only support companies that have proven to be sustainable. Anyone can research and consume thoughtfully. Individual action is not enough at this point in time because the government and corporations are major contributors and reasons as to why the world is in a climate crisis. In the larger term, we must pass marketing legislation that makes companies stand by their environmental choices and their products. We must also pass legislation that limits high carbon usage and certain single-use plastics. References
Eichler, Ryan. "What Is Greenwashing? How It Works, Examples, and Statistics." Investopedia , https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/greenwashing.asp. Accessed 13 November 2022.
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