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A Wordle for your thoughts?
Hi everyone -- I'm Jo, and I hide behind the scenes most of the time here. I've been thinking about the topics we cover on the Greenwash Brigade, and I wonder if we're getting to the things you want us to be getting to -- especially because what is "green" and what is "greenwash" is constantly evolving.
Here's a Wordle to illustrate the topics that come up most often on the blog, to prompt your thinking:
Got ideas for what you want us to write about? Use that handy little "suggest a topic" button in the upper right-hand corner of the blog, or just leave a comment here.
For Greenwash analysis:
Green overpricing - products to save energy and the planet that are priced not based on the cost of making and marketing the product but overpriced based on how much the marketer can presume that you are going to save. Example is radiant barrier sprayed onto the underside of the roof in the attic. One advertisement says 'call this week only for a $500 dollar discount.' If you can sell it with that big of a discount for a week, it must be way overpriced all the rest of the time. Someone that spends not more than an hour of labor spraying stuff under the roof does not need to overcharge by $500 to make a reasonable profit. And why won't builders install radiant barrier under the roof when they build the houses? Or at least offer it as an upgrade?
They excuse this overpricing by saying you will save so much that it will pay for itself in 10 years. Why not make a reasonable profit and let the buyer see a return of investment after 1 year? More people will buy it at a reasonable price. And the more people that buy it the more the planet is saved.
Green overpricing is exploitation of peoples' good will and hurts the cause of the planet.
