Watch out, green paint

Organic products are becoming increasingly popular among Czechs.

The ranks of environmentally-conscious consumers are growing and so is the selection of ecologically-sound products and green-themed ad slogans. All that environmentalism can lead to greenwashing – the brainwashing of gullible brains.

This rabbit didn't eat meat! This grass is green! It's all backed by scientific research! True enough, none of this means anything. But that's exactly the type of information that some ad slogans give consumers about the products they're promoting. Products that claim to be „natural“, „green“, „recyclable“ or „eco“. Consumers are starting to notice that ad writers are making fun of them. This sort of eco-babble has been dubbed „greenwashing“, and consumer protection groups and organisations that regulate ads are starting to take note. Because there is no reason to believe nonsense just because it's green.

Pavel Hrubý from the Czech Environmental Information Agency (CENIA) has a decent collection of green slogans. On his office table, he spreads the contents of two dossiers. He has, for example, the wrapping of Tento toilet paper, which suggests that it can be used in an incredibly natural way: It's covered with leaves and butterflies and carries the vague label „eco“. Then there is an ad for Mary Cohr cosmetics, with its slogan „clean nature“, but which…