‘Go Green Expo’ was an inaugural green show aimed at helping New Yorkers learn about the ways in which to adopt a greener lifestyle. There were over two hundred exhibitors ranging from Hybrid car manufacturers to recycled paper made from elephant dung!
Was it all really eco-friendly or in some cases just clever ‘green-washing’?
by Natasha Ruckel
© Green Log Home 2008
Most people left the expo with a huge bag, filled with: pamphlets, brochures, magazines and a wide variety of product samples. There is a certain irony here; this is an eco-friendly show, and you could easy pick-up more paper than you would receive from four months junk mail. Did some people miss the point of the expo?
To be fair, many of the printed materials were produced using a combination of recycled paper stock, soy-based inks or chlorine-free materials, which does show an awareness of the impact of different printing processes and the need for reusing post-consumer waste. Sadly, many of the products samples and paper-based handouts given out were not printed on recycled content.
Consumers also need to be aware that, although a company may promote their products on recycled paper, their products and the processes used to produce them may be far from eco-friendly, they could be bad for you and certainly not organic. Beware of the ‘green-washers’.
Many products shown at the Go Green Expo were not sourced nor produced locally. Criteria suggested by the US Green Building Council (for building a green home) recommend using building materials or products that have been extracted, harvested or recovered, as well as manufactured, within five hundred miles. This is good green advice, which we should adopt in everyday living, not just when building a green home. Looking and purchasing products that haven’t required transportation across many miles (and even different continents), will ensure less carbon dioxide emissions.
That being said, products created using materials harvested via fair-trade practices are worthy of consideration. Fair-trade programs aid sustainability and help alleviate global poverty. Several fair-trade programs help developing communities understand the importance of preserving their eco-systems, and often contribute to educational programs that prevent mass deforestation and the depletion of different species.
All attendees received a re-usable bag, (I wonder how many recipients will use it again?) It’s made from polypropylene, which is an unnatural non-woven material. I’m thinking that this isn’t the most recycled material known to man – NOTE to Expo organizers, next time opt for a more eco-friendly recycled and sustainable material!
There was plenty to see, assimilate and digest, a lot of products and services would need further investigation, as many were definitely using ‘green-washing’ to position themselves favorably. Many products were also genuinely green.
There was some interesting marketing too. Notably one alcoholic beverage company used clever marketing to promote their use of recycled packaging; such as the creation of a coaster, that when dissolved in water, and planted, would sprout into blooms! Is this a case of ‘green-washing’ to sell product? I will be following their progress closely to watch if they develop an organic product that is produced using 100% sustainable, clean energy. (They currently use energy efficient distilling equipment, a portion of their electricity comes from renewable energy, and they source locally grown grain - steps in the right direction. They also use a carbon off-setting scheme for 100% of all their carbon emissions).***
A couple of green publications caught my eye, namely, ‘Green Guide’ (A National Geographic publication), ‘E’ – the environmental magazine and the ‘All Green’ magazine. All contain interesting and valuable content.
Interesting areas that I plan to investigate further and will provide future reports are:
⇒ ‘Green’ dry-cleaners, (as I did hear one person complain about the expensive nature of this option).
⇒ A new, domestic vertical axis wind technology that claims to be very efficient and very quite.
⇒ Organic fair-trade chocolate, which are supposedly rich in antioxidants, vegan and soy-free.
⇒ Biodegradable kitchen bags, that apparently breakdown within 24 months.
⇒ Completely recycled materials for clothes
⇒ A project to safeguard the drinking water supply in New York
The Go Green Expo was an excellent start. Many of the attendees were educated eco-conscious individuals. This expo will need to find ways of luring in the not-so eco-educated.
Although many of the exhibitors did have valuable products and services, consumers need to be aware of clever marketing. Consumers need to look past the ‘eco-messages’ at not only the real products and their packaging, but also how the raw materials were extracted and produced.
While I haven’t named any specific ‘green-washers’ out there, maybe their presence at this event, will help them reconsider their current way of working to develop a truly sustainable existance.
*** COMING SOON - Our next blog covers carbon offsets - do these really work?