Reflecting on WK 2 Reading: A History of Greenwashing: How Dirty Towels Impacted the Green Movement by J. Motavalli

Greenwashing!... Finally I have a name to put to all these ‘so-called’ sustainable, apparently energy reducing systems and products that are bombarding the market. I have noticed these now suddenly ‘green’ companies flood the market in recent years with the heightened awareness of global warming.  However, to be seen to be green does not mean they are actually any better than any other competing product on the market. However, ‘seeming green,’ appears to have won over the general public.  I believe society is not given the true reality into what makes a product truely more sustainable.  For instance, the embodied energy that goes into some ‘green’ products could actually be just as/ more damaging to the environment than other so called ‘land-fill products.’  Large energy consuming companies like BP have also scrambled to revitalise their look by evolving their logo into a green and yellow flower in the hopes it will blend with the trend (BBC 2012).

 

BP revitalised its logo in the hopes of ‘looking’ more sustainable (BBC 2012).

However, in the effort to look more ‘green,’ BP has still been criticised for their emissions and the disastrous oil leak last year left little to admire (ABC 2012).  I believe that the only way to really reduce greenhouse emissions is if large global companies reduce their dependency on finite resources. We as users should not buy their products if we do not agree with their green stance but the problem herein is that we have all become so dependent on their products/ services, eg. our dependency on fuel and the lack of a suitable replacement.  Like in this reading, I do not believe small things will reverse global warming but I do agree that we have been too wasteful in the past and that it is beneficial for our environment to be more purposeful with what we do use.  People need to be more aware that just because something has a sticker on it saying its ‘green’ does not mean that it is in the sense they might be thinking.  I encourage articles such as Motavalli’s as it helps to unveil the truth about the ‘green movement’ that we are currently experiencing. I feel the majority of companies are exploiting this trend and acting superficially ‘green’ as a marketing ploy to increase revenue.

 As future designers we have been left with a heavily burdon... how can we design practical, aestheticly pleaseing and environmentally friendly developments that actively work for its users? Can this challenge be used to spur needed change within the future industry?