America's 10 Worst Greenwashers

Printer-friendly versionSend by emailEcoPledge.com, a coalition of environmental organizations that uses boycotts to put pressure on environment-abusing companies, has joined Earth Day Resources in putting out a report titled "Don't Be Fooled: The Top 10 Misleading Environmental Claims of the Year." The report calls attention to the companies that have made the most misleading claims about the environmental benefits of their products and industries. Examples include:

• Kraft's Post Selects Cereals, for falsely promoting them as having "natural ingredients" when, in fact, they use genetically engineered corn.
• Tyson Chicken, for promoting its products as "all natural," even though the company treats its chickens with antibiotics.
• The Audubon Nature Institute -- not to be confused with the National Audubon Society -- for falsely claiming to support the protection of natural habitats as a way to preserve animal species, while also belonging to the National Wetlands Coalition, a corporate front group that lobbies to weaken the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act.
• Americans for Balanced Energy Choices, for falsely promoting coal as a "clean fuel," even though carbon dioxide, one of the byproducts of coal burning, is the primary greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.