Top 10 Greenest Brands Revealed – WTF?!
July 29, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under Green Living
Sorry to go off ranting, but it’s been a terrible week of green for me. I’ve gotten lame product suggestions from well-meaning, but obviously not green PR folks, got into an argument with a close pal about how “socially responsible” is not a negative term, and then there was the whole GoodGuide issue. AND NOW I get a release about the top 10 greenest brands in the U.S., a list that seriously almost makes my head explode. So, yeah, not a great week for green round these parts.
This new list of top green brands is based on research conducted by WPP agencies Landor Associates, Cohn & Wolfe, and Penn, Schoen & Berland (PSB) and independent consulting firm Esty Environmental Partners. Besides asking people to rate brands they also asked what matters to consumers about green, to which the consumers replied…
- 3 out of 4 people care about whether a company is green
- 70% believe the most important thing a company should do to be considered green is to reduce toxins in its products and business processes
- 45% of U.S. consumers are looking for green certification marks and labels to tell them whether a product is “green”
- 77% of consumers say that buying green brands is at least somewhat important
With that said, let’s see which companies made the top 10…
Following are the Top Ten Greenest U.S. Brands for 2009 (according to this research anyhow):
- Green Works (Clorox)
- Burt’s Bees
- Tom’s of Maine
- SC Johnson
- Toyota
- Procter & Gamble
- Wal-Mart
- IKEA
- Disney
- Dove
Really? Without even having to say one word about brands 2-10, it’s already insane that a company most known for bleach made #1 AFTER people in the survey said, “The most important thing a company should do to be considered green is to reduce toxins in its products and business processes.”
I’m in shock and I know this is just one lame little study and that many consumer don’t love Clorox and think that it’s a killer green company, but after the week I’ve had, I think I’m taking it worse than I normally might. Obviously consumers want good products, safe and healthy and green products, but companies are making it hard for consumers to make the smartest choices. Fact – greenwashing is on the rise, and this list is the perfect example. Yes, some of these companies make decent eco-minded products, but there are some major baddies up there too.
I’ll post some better green consumer tips after I’ve chilled our, but if you’re looking for some ideas stat read: Be a good green consumer or look at how you can afford real green products. In my next post I promise to be more merry sunshine like and less rantish.
I’m wondering if this list is supposed to represent who consumers THINK is green, or who actually is. Perception and reality frequently have a big disconnect. And honestly, if you didn’t know that Green Works makes Clorox, it sounds like it may be a pretty nice company — an easy way to influence people into thinking that it’s a green company.
It may not be the results that are flawed, but the questions and methodology that got the data.
Now, go get out of this Washington heat. I don’t want your head to explode.
I know… it’s just ONE study – it just seems like all flipping week there have been lame green debates all over the web, people making mean comments about green, greenwashing everywhere, and I’ve just about had it. Some days it feels like why do I bother.
It might also be partly due to the heat and the fact that I’m moving in 2 days but nothing is packed. My head really might explode. I’m in Oregon now BTW not WA, I hear it’s cooler in Seattle though – lucky!
Wal Mart? Ugh! Procter and Gamble? Huh? There are tons of companies out there that are greener than most of the companies on this list.
Mary Jo is exactly right – the Green Brands study is a consumer perception study, meaning that we’re reporting on what consumers think, not necessarily what’s right or wrong. We’ve been doing this research for a lot of years now and it’s never intended to be a definitive list of green companies, but instead a list of the companies consumers perceive to be the greenest. We learn a lot about what to do and what NOT to do in helping companies we work with be authentic and transparent in their green strategy.
Sorry if this contributed to your bad day!
What bothers me is THAT this is what consumers think. Me and other green bloggers are constantly shouting out about how to choose actual green products vs. bunk greenwashing products. I get so many emails asking about “How to choose real green” yet studies and surveys like this come out all the time. Consumers in the study note they consider toxins most important, yet a company that is so well versed in toxins wins top spot by those same consumers. It’s so flippin’ frustrating. The study itself I get, I’ve got nothing against the folks who ran it or the idea behind it, it’s the consumer reactions that bother me. It’s just something green writers and real green companies have to work harder at pushing I guess. Thanks for stopping by though
The study didn’t ruin my day, the thoughts that formed it did.
Being “GREEN” is a relative term depending on who you are. I know there are a lot of debates that go on about what it really means. To some being green means eating corn stalks and to others it means cement countertops or Solar Panels.
So let me explain where I’m going with this. I sell solar panels ($2.84 per Watt manufactured by an American Company) from my company Advancing the Green which most people would agree is a phenomenal price for residential purchases. But I still have people that say it’s not green enough because it’s not made with this or that product. But as a long time advocate for Green, I have to ask are we forgetting about the points of the Green Dollar? People would rather buy a far inferior product and spend twice the price that will last half as long because someone convinced them it’s just a hair GREENER.
I don’t have a problem with debating with friends the value of reducing our carbon footprints and such, but let’s be intelligent about this and remember to look at all the factors.
In discussions with my clients I have to constantly go back to the old saying that the customer is always right, because at the end of the day, the term GREEN is absolutely a relative term. It means different things to different people. But for me, I have to admit that while I will go to great lengths to recycle, use renewable energy and things like that, the Green of the dollar still has some value also. It’s got to make sense in addition to being green.
Lets all do our Part in Advancing the Green.
This report reminds me of my high school days (90-91) when a lot of us would get summer jobs at JD Powers & Associates. Of course, we were only allowed to do the most tedious job and that was transferring the consumers’ answers from the automobile survey booklet to a scan-tron sheet. Sometimes, there would be comments written in all over the booklet, wherever the person could fit it in. But no matter, no one read those comments but us “coders”, and then they were filed away. If the car owners only knew.
Anyway, fast forward to today. I am part of a few consumer panel groups. I try very hard to make sure my opinions count. I always add comments and will include what I think of a company’s practice. I have noticed a trend in more interest in my opinion (the consumer panelist) of and use of green, earth-friendly, eco-friendly products, etc. More and more surveys are popping up with questions concerning this. I often wonder if they read my extra comments, or if they just count the bubbled answers.
We are also a Nielsen home shopping family, so I am hoping our shopping selections may make a difference somewhere, that someone will pay attention eventually.
Most importantly, I would like to add that I am irritated with this ridiculous study. What about living green for life? Like going back to our roots. Making old new again….repurposing, recycling…acknowledging those creative businesses that do that! Forget about what these BIG Corporate companies “think” about themselves. It’s a joke. Grrrr!
@Lynn agreed there needs to be a real push toward authentic green living – reuse, long-live products, recycling, etc. vs. simply products. There’s a lot that’s green that has nothing to do with new products on the market. Plus as you note there’s a back story too – such as how a company has green practices. After reading your comment I’m wondering if companies only read that little bubble too or read comments.
Green consumers have got to help themselves and other make good choices. We should be contributing product knowledge and opinions on social shopping platforms like http://www.tribesmart.com and http://www.kabodle.com – they seem tailor made to give consumers a voice.