Green Claims

Defra has just launched a new Green Claims Guidance which aims to steer companies to making their green claims accurate and understandable. This is a relatively straight forward, no nonsense, document really just articulating common sense. It suggests that companies should ensure that their claims
> have relevant and genuine content;
> are made clearly and accurately;
> and can be substantiated.

So, all well and good. What it does do, if the public become aware of it, is provide a good tool with which to tackle poor, misleading or downright inaccurate claims.

What I found fascinating, though, was some of the background research that had been done into consumers' understanding and perceptions of "green" terms. This shows that although consumers are becoming familiar with some green terms, especially the more prevelant ones such as "recycling" and "carbon footprint", they remain confused by others such as "plastic neutral" (a dreadful term I think) and "water footprint". Furthermore familiarity with a terms does not necessarily translate into the appropriate understanding or meaning. This, of course, entails a risk that marketeers' output may not be interpreted in the way they intend.

I won't expand on the report's content any further but it's worth a read if you're at all interested in the perils and pitfalls of trying to promote green ideas or products.