CES 2009: Greenwashing - Silicon Valley Sleuth

Silicon Valley Sleuth, an insider's view from Silicon Valley
A blog from V3.co.uk





Other blogs
Download Junkie
Your daily dose of download discussion

IT Sneak
V3.co.uk's under cover reporter offers odds and ends from the odd end of the technology

Mac Inspector
Drills to the core of the latest Mac rumours and news

Security Watchdog
Sniffing out IT security issues

The Frontline
Insight into the latest tech news from V3.co.uk's team of reporters

V3.co.uk Labs
The latest UK business technology: quick reviews and first impressions




« Where in the world is Steve Jobs? | Main | CES 2009: Downturn? What downturn? »

CES 2009: Greenwashing

If I hear one more company at CES talk about how committed they are to the environment I think I'm going to scream.


Everyone's at it. Panasonic even printed part of their press kit on paper that had seeds embedded in it so that we could plant them later.


The thing is it's all rubbish. All this supposed 'green' focus is nothing more than an attempt to sell us products. What these companies have recognised is that consumers want to buy green products so that they can feel better about themselves.


I'm willing to bet some of these companies would cheerfully club seals or burn rainforest if people liked the idea and it got them more sales.


With businesses the hypocrisy is even more acute. If an IT director suggested buying a product because it was environmentally friendly he'd be looking for a new job very quickly. But if he says they save power and will cost less to recycle then s/he's golden.


Still, never let a good marketing slogan pass unquoted. But by the end of the show the only way I'm going to look forward to meeting a green businessman is if there's a high powered rifle, a postal tower and a bad Monday involved.

Comments

Post a comment







Useful links: About | Privacy policy | Terms & conditions | Top of the page
© Incisive Media Investments Limited 2010, Published by Incisive Financial Publishing Limited, Haymarket House, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, are companies registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 04252091 & 04252093