Greenwashing is defined as the practice where a business tries to make it seem like it’s greener than it really is. For consumers to post and rank environmental advertisements in the hope of differentiating the misleading ones from the honest, we suggest The Greenwashing Index which recently refreshed it’s website.

Site Goal #1: Help consumers become more savvy about evaluating environmental marketing claims of advertisers. Site Goal #2: Hold businesses accountable to their environmental marketing claims. Site Goal #3:Stimulate the market and demand for sustainable business practices that truly reduce the impact on the environment.

For a one-year anniversary, on February 6^th, Portland will host a workshop called “The Greenwashing Forum: Crafting Honest Messages in a Green World,” consisting of journalists, marketing leaders, educators and consumer advocates. “Our objective here is to push on the greenwashing issue and, by doing that, set an example for the world to see,” said Deborah Morrison, University of Oregon professor, site developer and forum organizer. “Portland is certainly the thought-leader capital of best practices for a green economy. We want to use that energy and make a statement through what’s accomplished at the forum.”

Last year we actually threw a daily tip about Larry David and water conservation to the fate of their Greenwashing index scale. Scoring a 2.91, the comments ranged from “this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen” to “makes a good case for being bald I guess?”

See, they’re hard to fool. Consumers and the planet are better off for it.

(Side note: DTE loves Larry David, a peculiar sentiment for an environmentalist. David, the co-creator of “Seinfeld,” found relatable humor in selfishness and “nothingness,” obsessing over the trivial minutiae of everyday life. He is either funny or annoying. But there’s a little Larry in all of us, and we couldn't help but laugh when he said “the bald have been pioneers in water conservation” in the ad.)

---

---