Spin Doctor Claims Greenwashing Is Dying [1]
Submitted by Bob Burton [2] on
E. Bruce Harrison [3], who began his PR career by helping the pesticide industry attack Rachel Carson and her classic 1962 environmental book "Silent Spring," now proclaims that the era of corporate greenwashing [4] is almost over. In an opinion column, he writes that greenwashing in the 1990's "meant the company was painting over bad stuff with good words. It meant corporate communicators were not to be trusted when they talked green." That doesn't happen today, Harrison claims, pointing to the willingness of groups like Environmental Defense [5] to cut deals with corporations such as McDonald's [6], TXU [7] and Wal-Mart Stores [8]. He optimistically (or perhaps strategically) writes, "We've reached the place where 'greenwashing' charges no longer hold very much water." However, even Harrison was quick to attach a caveat to his sweeping proclamations. "BP [9] has become the don't-let-it-happen-to-us exemplar, where years of progressive green messaging are hollowed by evidence and events to the contrary," he conceded.