Over at TreeHugger, there's a post about SC Johnson's new "GreenList" label. TreeHugger contends that this is a classic case of greenwashing -- the Greenlist Certification was developed by SC Johnson, so of course they pass with flying colors. The products are not what most people would label "green", however.
If you read through the Greenlist website, it's a decent program. Basically, all raw materials get a 0-3 rating (3 is "best", 0 is "will kill you and your dog"), and they try to make sure that all their products are using 2- and 3-rated products. So, for example, Windex has been reformulated so that it no longer uses a 0-rated solvent, so it spews fewer VOCs into the air. And the company made the radical move of using brown instead of bleached-white paperboard for packaging. (And who rates the ingredients? Why, they do!)
However, a pretty leaf label does not magically turn "Toilet Duck" into an earth-friendly cleanser. Glade Plugins will never be anything less than completely foul. It should be a crime to call that smell "vanilla".
I started out writing this post thinking, "I dunno, TreeHugger was a little harsh. At least they're doing something". And then I got to the "Get the Facts" page on SC Johnson's site, where, in response to a question about whether Glade Plugins have ever started house fires, I read:
No. It's an example of the kind of irresponsible urban legend that gets forwarded around the Internet and disparages brands.
Oh, CRY ME A RIVER, SC Johnson. Poor you and your poor disparaged brands. Those kooky internet forwards sure are hurting your business. (It did not help that the next page I read was how they're so green they've received awards... from the President!)
That is, frankly, not a great reason for me to conclude that they are only greenwashing with this silly label, as opposed to actually committing to real change. GreenList may be a fine program, but it's not fine enough to convince me.
