Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice In A Time Of Climate Change

In the article “Are You Being Green Washed?” Robbins (2008) states the image of “greenwashing” which is that numerous number of companies promote their services and their products as environmentally friendly but in reality it is harmful for the environment. The author illustrates that by giving some example of companies that claim they are eco- friendly such as Palm oil and Rayon. He states the impacts of such claim on the environment and consumers in some ways. However, in order to protect the environment form the negative impacts of globalization and consumerism, government and individual must make a joint effort by enact laws and educate people and companies about the impacts of such problem.

2. Green Marketing As more and more people are aware of environmental problems which our human being are facing, most people nowadays do shopping with some degree of morality in mind, taking social or environmental issues into consideration as they select from a range of product or services. Therefore, the concept of

In the business world, companies compete for the lowest price because they want consumers to purchase their products. If consumers buy them, corporations generate money. Companies don’t care about the methods to obtain the lowest retail price for their products. They will do it even if it means that companies have to degrade working condition, paying worker less, or even ignoring regulation and unloading harmful waste straight into the environment. However, in recent times, more and more people are joining the “conscious consumerism” movement. People start to favor products and companies that are environmentally and socially friendly. This also propels the idea of “conscious capitalism”, which when companies choose to follow a path that can bring benefits to both the people and the environment. Some companies respond to conscious consumerism by producing more environmentally friendly products, while others respond by “greenwashing” their products and themselves. “Greenwashing” is when Companies start to shine their spotlight on their green side and hide their destructive and unpleasant side. Greenwashing is an easy way for the companies to associate themselves with an image of environmentally responsible and “conscious capitalism”. However, companies shouldn’t be allowed to “greenwash” their products because it prevents conscious consumerism from moving forward and harms the environment even more.

Social Responsibility and the Target Corporation Companies today are heavily influenced by the demands of customers and stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to the social and environmental responsibility policies and practices developed by an organization to increase its positive influence and reduce its negative activity towards society (Parks, 2008). The business approach and corporate philosophy of an organization is easily altered due to economic pressures, technological improvement and stakeholder needs and demands. "Going green" or being eco-friendly is one such demand. Environmental and sustainability concerns originate most often from governments, consumer activists, and the general public (Schlosser, 2008). Thus, organizations must implement sustainability into daily practices. In addition, sustainability alters the nature of competition and drives companies to think differently about products, processes, and technologies (Parks, 2008).

• Corporate reconstruction of green – in the 1990’s we saw the reconstruction of the term “green” by corporations as they flooded the airwaves

The rise of green products and the want of consumers to become more environmentally friendly has been increasing. In 10 Green Marketing Milestones, the reading mentioned how the “rise of the Toyota Prius: It may not have saved the world, but at 1 million cumulative vehicle sales the Prius became the predominant fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle” (Neff 2). This is an example of how companies are actually wanting to go green in order to make more profit and rise above their competitors. Going off the Prius example, it was also mentioned how Hummer cars, which use an excess amount of fuel, sales have plummeted. This was because this model no longer appealed to the consumers and General Motor’s had to discontinue the model and even went bankrupt. This sale tactic works and is so successful because the consumer’s mindset have evolved to seek things that are better for the environment. Many would prefer Toyota over General Motor because of their company’s reputation with being green. Although this might not work for all companies, but for some, they have become more successful than their competitors by going green and so, convincing more and more to

Max Cohen Cohen, 1 Professor Seelie September 27, 2015 English 104 Essay 1: Recycling Recycling has been the environmental crusade to reducing the human footprint, with it’s spotlight shining down on in recent years. It was the noblest of causes, recycling being a great idea for the environment and society; but it is being handled

Abstract The following report attempts to illustrate the differences between going green and greenwashing and how that affects corporate social responsibility within the City of Vancouver as an organization. Fifteen scholarly journal articles have been used to further support this discussion and provide insight into the world of greenwashing and

In response to Shiva’s “Soil, Not Oil” on page 377, from “Reduction seems to have become …… that offers the solution,” she argues humans over consumption and dependence on fossil fuels are some of the causes of climate change. She expresses her feelings and builds her arguments by using statistics to show the increased level of carbon in the atmosphere, parallelism to emphasize the fact that carbon exists everywhere, and formal tone, scholarly diction, as well as declarative syntax to portray she is knowledgeable in addressing the problems of increasing use of fossil carbon.

Sustainability has achieved a more ecological tone in the past few decades in terms of a business model, but it originally derives from the concept that a business is successful due to the interconnected areas of economics, culture and ecology. Sustainability is now becoming a somewhat fad and thus it is understandable that it could be misconstrued by some as a form of “greenwashing”. Greenwashing is the idea that a company markets their “green” or environmentally friendly changes in policy and values, despite no actual concrete changes in these areas, for example some argue that Fiji Water greenwasher in terms of their marketing as an environmentally friendly water company despite their little effort to actually go carbon-neutral. Many companies are seeing the

Greenwashing It is now popular to be environmentally conscious in American society. It is completely acknowledged by the populace that oil will, indeed, run out within a lifetime, leaving a demand for a different kind of energy source. Hybrid cars, such as the Prius are now mainstream, recycling is day-to-day, finding organic fruits, vegetables, and meat is as easy as walking to the nearest grocery store, and using plastic bags has been deemed unacceptable. Global warming, while debated and questioned by conservative policymakers has generally been accepted as fact by the population. With any movement, fad, or great change, a great number of people –including corporate media -- want to jump on board the Green Revolution. This is a

In today’s day and age, everyone is concerned about the environment. Our society is increasingly encouraged to “go green,” to do our part in making the world a cleaner, more eco-friendly place. Green marketing is one major strategy being used to promote such efforts, but is it effective? There is some debate about this concept, including the history of green marketing, the problems with green marketing so far, the effectiveness of marketing schemes like Sunchips and Toyota, and the strategies that could be used to increase the ability of green marketing. While protecting our planet is a noble concept, its execution seems to be a little vague. Of all the aspects concerning green marketing, one thing is clear: our planet still has a long

Additionally, on a socio-cultural level, many consumers feel that restaurants partaking in green initiatives and operations are doing their part to not only help sustain the earth but also to conserving natural resources (Hu, Parsa & Self, 2010). “Going green” is not simply a trend in the food service industry but around the world and in all forms of business. Corporate companies consider “going green” as a sensible business strategy in building recognition for corporate social responsibility among consumers concerned with environmental conservation efforts. Lastly, technological initiatives such as Energy Star appliances (dishwashers, refrigerators, ice machines, etc.) and faucets that use less water must also be analyzed in their ecological conservation capability and weighed against their financial costs (University of Notre Dame, 2014).

The economy today runs on an antiquated ritual of exploiting, plundering, devastation, and manipulation of land for material wealth, profiting the wealthy and condemning the poor. This mindset is no more sophisticated than feudalism, a system so bad it had to be outlawed along with witchcraft. The idea that exploitation of land is justified has brought plastics to the ocean and leveled rainforests. Large corporations have grown larger by manufacturing and production, depleting the planet’s resources in the process. Now, companies must make a combined effort to put the environment first, before profit. Because of their harmful practices, consumers have the right to know where products come from, how they’re made, and the impact on the environment. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the large corporations to change their harmful practices, to make strides towards ending climate change and use clean, sustainable methods.

On your weekly trip to the supermarket it’s easy to find a number of products, from coffee to dishwashing soap, that flaunt their green attributes” (American Psychological Association, 2010). With such rumors of greenwashing, consumers are more confused than ever. However, some consumers know the tricks and are coming to find that there are companies whose marketing practices are legit, not exaggerated or deceiving. APA also found that, “people are willing to spend more of their hard-earned green on green products, according to a 2008 survey of 9,000 adults performed by the global business firm Boston Consulting Group” (American Psychological Association, 2010). Consumers who are willing to pay more for a product or service are assuming that they are purchasing a healthier, safer, and better quality product or service for the environment.