Green Washing Ads

Green ads from Chevrolet, Ozarka and Toyota Prius are among the first to be scrutinized by consumers on a new Web site launched by EnviroMedia Social Marketing,along with the school of Journalism of the University of Oregon. The online forum allows consumers to judge for themselves the green claims made by major advertisers. The Web site http://www.greenwashingindex.com debuts from the nation's capital one day before the Federal Trade Commission kicks off its first in a series of public workshops addressing environmental marketing claims. Ultimately, the FTC may update its "Green Guides," which were originally established in 1992 as guidelines to avoid action by the agency against advertising that is unfair or deceptive. Launched on Dec. 11, the groups called on consumers to submit ads. The first posts of real ads are now on the Web site, and consumers are invited to score those ads and post others.
  What's Greenwashing?
    It's a term that has been around for years, used to describe a company or organization that spends more time and money claiming to be green through advertising than actually implementing business practices that minimize environmental impact. When an ad is posted and ranked on the Greenwashing Index site, it doesn't necessarily mean a company or organization is not doing a good job with its environmental marketing claims. It simply provides a venue that educates consumers on what to look for in green ads. Scores will range from 'good,' to 'pushing it,' to 'total greenwashing.'" Criteria were developed by the University of Oregon's SOJC Advertising program.
     They weighted five criteria consumers can use to scrutinize advertisements and determine whether they believe ads are greenwashing by doing any of the following: - Misleading with words - Misleading with visuals and/or graphics - Making a green claim that is vague or seemingly unprovable.