Eco Cert! (or not?)

Recently, I saw some natural products advertised….nice packaging….items that I liked to use; toner, moisturizer, etc.  and best of all…they had an eco-cert label…one of those nice circle things with their eco-friendly certification…..these little green things are ubiquitous now……and I like to see them on all kinds of products.  Clothing, household cleaning supplies, for sure a LOT of body, skin and hair care companies have this kind of branding and green washing.

What!  That’s right!  It’s BRANDING!!  In the recent ad I saw…for some reason, I actually read what the eco-cert claim was….My  thinking, “Saltspring Soapworks needs to do this.  We’ve got such great, clean and natural products, we need to shout it out!”  Baffled, I read the little circle three or four times…..it didn’t actually say anything!  Most of these logo/mark type of things tell you who is actually certifying the product as organic or whatever.

I realized that this one was…actually, FAKE!  Wow! I thought, how clever……we’ve all gotten used to seeing these little green tags….and they have become kind of invisible…while still showing us how wonderful, clean and organic the product is.

A few days later I read the latest issue of Alive Magazine…(I love their healthy recipes)…..I’ve misplaced it now, but it had a very comprehensive article about the whole eco-cert thing and how so many companies are now….yes, fibbing…..and just adding something that looks like the real thing…but is actually an in-house creation.  Also, it seems you can now go on the web and for a few dollars….buy a nice looking eco-type label that doesn’t mean anything….just sits there looking nice and green.

But, even as I tsk-tsked at the subterfuge….I had to admire how clever and creative people are!  If they would just put that creativity into making good, clean, healthy and organic products!

Bye for now,

Linda Quiring

Founder,
Saltspring Soapworks

 

About Our Author

Linda Quiring

After 30 years….I still do the fun, creative part, and invent new soaps and the other body care items. Bill has been selling for a long time now, along with Amber, our daughter-in-law who has been with Soapworks for about 15 years. Our son Gary makes soap each morning.

  • Doug Muldoon

    Hi Linda – I do like the blog… the fake eco-certification process is galled ‘greenwashing.’ This term describes the deceptive use of green PR or green marketing in order to promote a (misleading) perception that a company’s products are environmentally friendly. But in fact, they are not. Unfortunate, but true.

    • Doug Muldoon

      so much for my typing skills… it’s “called (not galled) greenwashing.”

    • Linda

      Hi Doug…glad you’re reading my blog…….last year, I wrote Eco-Fake on 04/21, Still Harping on 09/28, More HIdden Ingredients on 09/29, They’re Fibbing 11/16 and Fibbing and the Green Sheen 12/15….it seems the media is really picking up on this….Great!nnI thought the little green eco-fake circles were clever, though…and I saw another one this a.m. on some laundry soap. Who can you trust?? I know, SALTSPRING SOAPWORKS! n

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