It’s Not Easy Shopping Green

We here at Boston Daily have had our faith in the capitalist system tested today. It seems that companies may be exaggerating the benefits of their green products. For profit!

Oh, the humanity.

It’s like finding out there isn’t an Easter Bunny all over again.

Few products have raised more objections than Nestlé’s new single-use “eco-shape” water bottle. The bottle, which uses 30 percent less plastic than similar products, is touted by Nestlé-owned Poland Spring as “doing our part.”

But eco-bloggers say there is no need for bottles at all.

But. . . its name has “eco” in it. That must mean it’s good for the planet!

At least the piny-smelling Simple Green will help keep the threatened polar bears afloat in the Arctic.

[O]ne of Simple Green’s key ingredients, butyl cellosolve, is the same toxic solvent found in some traditional all-purpose cleaners. The label even cautions users not to “dispose of . . . near storm drains, oceans, lakes or streams.”

The world has gone mad. Someone explain this to us.

The marketing of faux green products is now so widespread that there is a term for the practice – “greenwashing.”

Marketers, some environmentalists and marketing specialists say, are merely tapping into people’s desire to feel like they’re saving the earth – but not sacrificing their lifestyle.

We’re doing what Al Gore told us to do. If we should be doing something else, maybe he needs to make An Inconvenient Truth 2.

God. Saving the planet is so hard.