Green Label

06 July 2009
How far can we go in our branding and advertising with this “green thing”? Here's a possible sales, brand or marketing strategy: We think we will appeal more to customers if we: put “Eco” into some of our product brand names, say our products are eco-friendly or eco-safe in our advertising and use New Zealand motifs that trade on our clean, green image. But how far can we take it?

ANSWER

Using eco branding and advertising should be done with care.  Make sure that your branding, package and advertising does not imply something which is not true.  Any claims you make need to be accurate and are able to be supported by evidence. 


Green Washing

Greening your brands and marketing is the new push.  It usually claims or implies that you are “green” in relation to your:

  • Product or service
  • Packaging
  • Production process
  • Sales and distribution channel

But saying that you are “green” and actually being “green” can be two different things.  Making misleading and unsubstantiated eco claims is called “green washing”.  If you get caught making these claims, you could face serious legal action.


A few examples:

In Australia, an advertising campaign by the V8 Super Cars Australia Pty Limited said that 15,000 native trees would be planted to fully off-set the carbon emissions created by the V8 Series.

The wording of the claim was considered to suggest that the trees would quickly absorb the carbon emissions when, it fact, it would take several decades to absorb the emissions from that year’s racing. The Commission forced significant changes and undertaking from V8 Supercars.

Also in Australia, GM Holden came under fire for its advertising campaign promoting certain vehicles in the Saab range using terms like “grrrrrreen”, “every Saab is green”, “shift to Neutral”, and “Saab will plant 17 native trees on your behalf in the first year as a carbon off-set”.

During proceedings, GM Holden said that no vehicle in the Saab range was carbon neutral over the life of that vehicle.  Planting 17 native trees would not off-set more than one year’s carbon dioxide emissions of any Saab vehicle.

The Commission felt that these claims could mislead consumers about the carbon neutrality of vehicles in the Saab range. 

Closer to home, a Wellington taxi company was recently warned by the Commerce Commission for publishing false and misleading information on its website in its “Going Green” campaign.

The company claimed that its LPG cars “reduce CO2 pollution by up to 25%”.  As this claim could not be supported, the company agreed to change this claim.

Being caught “green washing” can be expensive.  If your claims are found to breach the Fair Trading Act, you could face a fine of up to $60,000 for an individual and $200,000 for a company.

Even more importantly, if you have built a business on the back of a “green” platform, the adverse publicity you will face if found to have engaged in “green washing” could be disastrous to your business.

If you are thinking about any green marketing, make sure that anything that could be viewed as a “green” or “eco” claim is:

  • Accurate.
  • Transparent.
  • Factually based.
  • Not overstated.
  • Able to be substantiated.


More specifically:

  • Brands using words or logos that imply you care for the environment can be deceptive if you cannot substantiate those claims.
  • Claims should be in plain language and should be specific. General statements can lead to trouble.
  • Any claimed benefit should be real ones.  A claimed eco benefit that also applies to all products of that type is not a real benefit.
  • Claims based on tests or surveys must not be based on misleading testing or distorted to make them appear more favourable than they are.
  • Pictures can also be deceptive.  Pictures should not be used if they imply the products are of New Zealand origin or have particular characteristics, when they do not.
  • It should be clear whether a claimed benefit refers to packaging or content.
  • Claims should cover the whole lifecycle of a product.
  • Vague words in brands or promotions can be problematic eg “green”,  “eco”, “energy efficient”, “recycled”, recyclable”, “environmentally friendly”, or “environmentally safe”.

The Commerce Commission has published guidelines for green marketing.  For further information and checklists for marketers, see the Commerce for Green Marketing, available at www.comcom.govt.nz.

An edited version of this article was published in ProDesign, June/July 2009.

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