The Illusion of Sustainability: Unmasking Greenwashing
American Tourister uses 90% natural materials in their products. This fact was taken from a reliable and trustworthy source that is not Wikipedia or an advertisement.
What I just demonstrated to you is a common phenomenon in today’s corporate world known as Greenwashing. It’s basically what companies do to you on a daily basis, but with the environment. Everywhere around you, companies are doing this. Clothing companies stating that they use sustainable materials in their products in large quantities. Studies have shown that they aren’t really lying. Partially. While tests on certain products have shown that there are traces of biodegradable polymers such as nylon in them, these are overshadowed by the sheer amount of non-biodegradable compounds that are present in them that take centuries to break down naturally.
Hidden Truths in Food and Manufacturing
And what about food? Well, you don’t have to be a chemistry graduate to figure that out. One look at the ingredients label will tell you all you need to know. The front of the box for some fruit juice might say “100% natural fruit juice extract!” but turn around and look at the ingredients label at the bottom and you’ll most likely see a bunch of chemical jargon that literally translates to “We lied to you”.
Another great (or rather terrible) example is electric cars. These “eco-friendly cars of the future” are much worse for the environment than the fuel-powered cars that they’re replacing. Sure, they don’t cause any pollution while you’re using them, but what happens after that? That lithium-ion battery that’s the lifeline of your car isn’t going to just disappear. It’s going to sit there and all those chemicals are going to ooze out into the soil, causing it to become infertile and basically useless. If we keep this up there’s not going to be any soil left for trees to grow in. And no, those tiny little trees that companies plant in their offices when they’re being “sustainable” won’t suffice for 8 billion people.
Taking Back Control as Consumers
But what can we do? We can’t stop multimillion dollar companies from lying to us and destroying the environment. Or can we?
If you think about it, the whole reason they’re all multimillion dollar companies is because you’ve been buying from them. Customers are their life’s blood. They’ll basically collapse if nobody buys from them. So the solution is simple: just don’t buy their products. Buy the products of a company that genuinely cares about the planet and about being honest to you, the customer. And, of course, spread the word. That shouldn’t be too hard. After all, people are dying to have dirt on corporate giants anyways.
