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| The Gray Area of Green |
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April 18, 2008 An article in the San Francisco Chronicle explores the gray area of green product seals and claims. Over the past two years, tags such as "earth friendly," "all natural," "sustainable," and just plain "green" have increasingly appeared on everything from soap to buildings. Meanwhile, some individual companies are creating their own seals that have the potential to confuse shoppers even further. SC Johnson announced earlier this year that it is adding a Greenlist logo to bottles of Windex. To average consumers, Greenlist might look like an independent third-party seal of approval - but it is an internal environmental protocol developed by SC Johnson itself. Environmentalists have praised SC Johnson for using its Greenlist protocol over the past decade to reduce the number of potentially harmful chemicals in its products. But they said that displaying the logo without explanation could be misleading to consumers.
Melaver | Mouchet recommends the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. LEED is an independent third-party seal of approval developed by the United States Green Building Council to provide a standardized set of environmentally responsible building practices, processes and performance criteria. You cannot fake a LEED certified building. As more and more companies get on the green bandwagon, we think it is all the more important to have a seal that actually means something.
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