Alternative Fuels as “Green” Solutions

One of the most notable examples of greenwashing in advertising is the promotion of alternative fuels as being a solution to environmental problems. There are numerous companies promoting many types of fuel, such as ethanol and natural gas. Many companies advertise these fuels as being environmentally friendly products, which may be true in comparison to regular gasoline, but is not true in a broader sense. For example, Honda has vehicles that are able to run on natural gas as fuel, and they advertise these cars as being very ‘green’ or environmentally friendly. However, these ads also ignore the dangers and problems of natural gas production like fracking when describing these Eco-friendly vehicles. Instead, the ads focus on how these vehicles are an improvement over gas powered cars. While that specific claim may be true, it is still very misleading to advertise the natural gas vehicles as being completely eco friendly. The same can be said about ethanol fuel, which also has a list of pros and cons. Many companies promote ethanol as a great improvement in the fuel industry, while still ignoring any drawbacks that ethanol production has. Just because a fuel is less harmful than gasoline does not necessarily make it a green solution to fuel problems.

This greenwashing by so many corporations and companies is leading to a marketplace where it seems like every item has some ‘claim’ to green awareness. Companies go out of their way to promote their products as eco friendly in order to appease costumers that want to help the environment, but many companies do so under false pretenses. In their desire to appear green, companies tend to cherry pick data and stats to make their product seem helpful, while not noting any cons associated with their product. That’s why it is important for consumers to truly pay attention to advertising and be aware that advertising does not always tell the full story, usually it only tells the specific story that a company wants to tell.

Gregor Bundy