This Week In Greenwashing

One thing we’re always told to do is shop at farmer’s markets, which supposedly support local growers and give consumers a sustainable option when grocery shopping. I’ve been to plenty which are fabulous (my hands-down favorite is the one in downtown Santa Monica, California. The vegetables they sell there are quite literally works of art.) But I also know that not all farmer’s markets are created equal.

And now we learn that supermarket chains are trying to profit from the local food movement by setting up fake farmer’s markets to hawk their non-local produce. Another issue is vendors selling produce which they purchased at wholesale produce warehouses.

I caught wind of this practice right here in Nashville when I went to one of Johnny Howell’s red and white tents and saw the exact same packages of Chilean-grown red grapes, complete with UPC code, that I had seen at Kroger. And a lot of that is the same as what I see at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. So I knew right then that at least some of their produce comes from a wholesaler like Angelo Formosa.

This doesn’t necessarily mean they are a “fake” farmer’s market but it does mean that just because produce is merchandised in a rustic basket and sold out of a red tent by the side of the road we should assume it’s somehow better or different from the stuff you get at the grocery store. I mean, last I checked we don't grow avocados around here, and I'm not sure I've ever seen anything labeled "organic" at one of Howell's red tents.

And here’s another pet peeve: when I go to Whole Foods, why do I have to choose between organic or local/regional? Seems like most of the produce they label local or regional is never organic; the stuff that is organic is shipped up from South America. I’d rather have organic and I’d rather it hadn’t spent a week in transit from Peru.

Anyway, the point is: buyer beware. Consumers have increasingly been sending the message that they want "green" and sustainable options in everything from their household cleaning products to what they put on the dinner table. Instead of listening to consumers and adjusting their behavior accordingly, some factions of corporate America are cravenly trying to exploit consumers' green instincts to make a buck by selling the same ol' shit as something it's not.

Something Else Corporate America Has Ruined

Nothing against the Girl Scouts, who are a worthy group despite being an elite paramilitary Nationalistic propaganda organization (wingnuts note: this is my first Red Dawn reference of 2010!). But let me be the first to say: Girl Scout Cookies suck.

Seriously. Today’s Girl Scout Cookies are revolting. Sorry, but you know it’s true. They are nothing at all like what I remember getting when we were kids. The Thin Mints and Tagalongs taste like they are coated in wax, and whatever excuse for sweetener they use leaves a nasty aftertaste. Blech. You couldn’t pay me to eat that crap.

I suspect Girl Scout Cookies started sucking when Keebler started making them. I really despise all Keebler products, they taste like they’re made of toxic waste imported from China. Keebler is owned by Kellogg, the same people who bought Famous Amos cookies and made them suck, too.

I’m sorry, but you people just seem to have that merde touch.

Now, let me give you a little tip, and trust me, I am not getting paid one penny for this plug (I don’t do that “pay to blog” crap.) But if you like Thin Mints and want a cookie that doesn’t taste like it was manufactured in Beelzebub’s kitchen, Back to Nature makes these Fudge Mint cookies that are to die for. I kid you not. Mr. Beale and I have been known to go through an entire box in one evening. Plus, they are made without partially hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup and who knows what other nasties.

Of course, Back To Nature Foods is owned by Kraft -- information you really have to dig around to find. Most natural foods companies have an evil corporate parent these days (Odwalla juices = Coca Cola, Tom’s of Maine = Colgate, Burt’s Bee’s = Clorox, Silk Soymilk = Dean Foods, etc.), a fact of life known as corporate greenwashing . They won’t tell you they are owned by a multinational corporation responsible for environmental destruction and human rights abuses in third world countries. But that’s the fact.

It's kinda cute. Sorta like how all those Southern Baptist churches stopped calling themselves "Baptist" because the brand had been tarnished. Now they are "community churches" or "the people's church" or some other nonsense. But inside, it's Southern Baptist.

So Kraft it too ashamed of itself to put its name on its Back To Nature products? Good to know.

This “greenwashing” is a fairly new development, and there is still considerable debate among lefties as to whether this means the natural foods industry has won the war or sold out. I’m still undecided though I will say it makes it impossible to live “responsibly” unless you grow your own food and churn your own butter. It’s also a good example of why boycotts never work any more, because basically there are just five companies left in the whole world, with everything a wholly-owned subsidiary of something else, and that a piece of a venture capital firm, and that owned by Chinese and Saudi bankers. You know, we Americans are so fucking clueless about our economy and I’m sure that’s by design. The less we know, the better.

But getting back to cookies, the Back To Nature Fudge Mint’s taste exactly like a Thin Mint should taste without the toxic waste. And if Kraft Foods fucks with Fudge Mint cookies there is going to be hell to pay.

Just sayin’.

Greenwashing

Another one bites the dust.

Yesterday’s New York Times carried a story about the purchase of Burt’s Bee’s by Clorox. Burt’s Bee’s is the company that makes natural, eco-friendly body products (I love the Milk & Honey body lotion and lemon cuticle butter myself). And now Clorox has bought the entire company.

This is happening with increasing frequency, and it’s easy to see why. Consumers have shown they care about how their food and body products are made. Consumers will pay more for healthy, organic products that are manufactured without abusing workers or the environment. Corporate America got the message: “green” is in, “sustainability” and “eco-friendly” are the new buzzwords.

And corporations like Clorox have decided the best way to get their “green” bonafides is to buy an independent company like Burt’s Bee’s, rather than changing how they do business themselves.

More often than not, there’s no indication that the wholesome product you’re buying has a big nasty corporate parent--and that’s no accident. It’s called “greenwashing,” and Clorox isn’t the only one getting on board. Last year, Colgate bought 84% of Tom’s of Maine, the company known for its organic toothpaste, deodorant and mouthwash. In 2001, Coca Cola purchased Odwalla, the organic juice company. Nothing beats Odwalla limeade on a hot summer day, in my book. In 2003, Group Danone, the French company that owns Evian and Volvic waters, among other things, purchased controlling interest in Stonyfield Farm/Brown Cow, the organic dairy. If you’ve never had Brown Cow cream-top vanilla yogurt, you are in for a treat--it’s more delicious than a pint of Haggen-Dazs.

Yes, globalization and corporatization have come to the natural foods store. (An interesting diagram of who owns what can be found here.) Much as I love these brands, this all makes me a little sad. Because one of the reasons I buy this stuff, aside from the fact that they are wonderful products, is that I try to be a socially responsible consumer. Whenever possible, I try to spend my money with companies that don’t abuse their workers or the environment, whose corporate philosophy reflects my ideals of social justice and environmental responsibility.

After all, it’s supposed to be the consumers’ voice in this “free market economy,” right? Aren’t we supposed to be able to vote with our wallets? But it doesn’t work when a big corporation known for human rights abuses in Third World countries (cough*cough*CHIQUITA BRANDS*cough*cough) gobbles up my nice little eco-friendly independent company. It’s not illegal, or course, but it really sucks. The consumers’ voice just got muzzled by a corporate King Kong.

Now, some folks will argue that when Clorox sees how profitable it is to be wholesome and green from their Burt’s Bee’s division, they’ll change their own practices. But that isn’t traditionally the way these stories have played out. Take a look at the case of Horizon Organic dairy and Silk soy milk. Both are now owned by Dean Foods, the country’s largest processor and distributor of dairy products. Horizon, part of Dean’s “WhiteWave” division, now passes off operations like an 8,000 head industrial dairy as organic, despite complaints that they don’t meet the legal requirements for an organic dairy farm. Meanwhile, Dean’s “Silk” and “White Wave” brands of soy milk use soy beans from Brazil and China, countries with specious environmental and human rights records. I mean, come on, China? Yeah, I tried to boycott China, too--for about five minutes. Good luck with that.

I don’t have any answers; I’m not suggesting that there oughta be a law or any such thing. I’m mostly just trying to raise awareness here. And point out what utter bullshit the whole “free hand of the market” concept is, when corporate behemoths barge their way into whatever market they want, often hiding their tracks to keep consumers in the dark. "Free hand," indeed.

I guess the answer is for me to do without Odwalla limeade and Brown Cow vanilla yogurt and Burt’s Bee’s Milk & Honey body lotion and all of the other things that make life so enjoyable. I guess I can do that.

But I’m not giving up toothpaste. No way.