Is Earth Day Too Commercial?

If there's one thing the environmental movement learned in the past few years, it's that preachifying and austerity will not solve the most intractable problems. Ultimately, we need to recreate the way we make things and the ways we use resources to be more eco-efficient and eco-sustaianable. Business, sometimes even big business, will play a leading role in that change.

Since the environmental movement was once viewed as aligned with left-leaning politics, it attracted a lot of anti-business sentiment. Some would say rightly so — as many large corporations were among the worst polluters. That attitude led to antagonisms, though, making it hard to cooperate. Now many leading environmental groups are partnering with businesses who are realizing eco-efficiency and sustainable methods are good for long-term business.

We as consumers play an essential role, too. We make choices every day. No amount of advocacy has been able to persuade most of us to avoid cheap, plentiful stuff regardless of the eco-impacts — or the source. Thankfully, that is changing as shoppers are drawn to more sustainable manufactured goods.

In the past, we could argue that better choices were not available. Now they seem to be getting abundant. But not so fast, a number of articles are pointing out that Earth Day has become too commercial an affair, like Mother's day or Valentine's Day. They warn against a rising tide of greenwashing.

Leslie Kaufman, writing in today's New York Times: Earth Day is Now Big Business talks about the pitfalls of green consumerism. Christopher Muther, in today's Boston Globe decries The selling of Earth Day and perceives conspicuous consumption and greenwashing all around us.

This is a pitfall and can even become a conundrum. Before we had a hard time buying green due to limited choices. Now we must beware of inflated and even bogus claims. What's a shopper to do?

Consumer Reports' greenerchoices.org lists 150 different eco-related labels yet many of those are just claims not actually verified by an independent authority. Gennerchoices tries to cut through the confusion by providing a report card on each label.

Several other organizations are helping us make these choices in more transparent ways. NRDC offers an iPhone app. GoodGuide's measures both environmental impacts and social and safety records of companies for over 65,000 products on their website and through and iPhone app with barcode scanning.

The non-profit Green America* – which has long advocated socially-responsible, sustainable business – reports on hundreds of companies at their Responsible Shopper site.

Is all this advertising and commerce crushing the spirit of Earth Day? It depends. If green marketing becomes a once a year ploy similar to selling Valentine's Day candy and jewelry, we're in trouble. If companies get away with greenwashing their products and we buy them: more trouble. But, if we take this advertising as motivation to make smarter, greener choices, then perhaps we can reclaim the meaning of Earth Day after all.

*Verdant is a business member of Green America.