GREENWASHING:

AN EAP LESSONKrista Bittenbender Royal,

University of South Florida

March 27, 2014

TESOL International Convention

1

EAP 1851 @ USFs ELP

2

What is greenwashing?

3

http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2009-07-14/

Source Material: Terra Choice

www.sinsofgreenwashing.org

4

The Seven Sins

5

Example:

6

What we do with it:

Vocabulary

Reading Comprehension

Rhetorical Analysis

Supplemental Listening (News Videos)

Application Tasks

Greenwashing Examples & Name that Sin Game

Becoming an Evil Greenwasher

Discussion

Own Experience & Reactions

Consequences & Solutions 7

Vocabulary: Vocab Grabber

from Visual Thesaurus

8

http://www.visualthesaurus.com

/vocabgrabber/

9

Rhetorical Analysis

10

Parody & Cultural Reference

11

Rhetorical Appeals & Logical

Fallacies

Use of logos, pathos, and ethos

e.g., False labels appeal to ethos

(establishing credibility)

Compare sins to logical fallacies

i.e., Hasty Generalization, Red

Herrings

12

Application: Greenwashing Examples -

Which Sin?

13

Take BP, for example

14

Application Activity:

Become an Evil Greenwasher

15

Props: Everyday items, that

arent particularly green

16

In groups: Greenwash the

product, then present

17

Discuss: Which Sins?

18

And the Winner is

Electronic Handout on

ESLetc.com

Slideshow

PDF of Reading

My student handout with questions and tasks

Links to website

Links to videos

Application tasks

Student Handout: Analyze examples of

greenwashing

Teacher directions: Become an Evil

Greenwasher19

References & Image CreditsTerraChoice. (2013). The Sins of Greenwashing: Home and Family Edition. Retrieved from http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/

Alfano, C. L., & Brien, A. J. (2011). Envision in Depth: Reading, Writing, and Researching Arguments (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson/Longman.

Image Credits:

Slide 2 Image 1 from http://elp.usf.edu & Image 2 from

http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/product/Envision-In-Depth-Reading-Writing-and-

Researching-Arguments/9780205758463.page

Slide 3 Cartoon from http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2009-07-14/

Slide 4 Image from http://blog.dgwb.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/7sins1.png

Slides 5-6: Screenshots from http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/findings/the-seven-sins/index.html

Slides 8-9: Screenshots from http://www.visualthesaurus.com/vocabgrabber/

Slide 10: Screenshot from Envision e-textbook

Slide 11: Image from http://beartoons.com/2010/07/18/seven-deadly-sins-poster/

Slides 13-14: Screenshots from presenters handout (various sources).

Slide 15: Image from http://blog.printecosoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/greenwash-

paint-150.jpg

Slides 16 & 17: Photographs taken by presenter.

Slide 18: Microsoft Clip Art

20

TM

www.sinsofgreenwashing.org

sin of the hidden trade-off

sin of NO PROOF sin of FIBBING

sin VAGUENESS sin of LEsser of two evils

sin of IRRELEVANCEA claim suggesting that a product is green based on a narrow set of attributes without attention to other important environmental issues.Example: Paper is not necessarily environmentally preferable just because it comes from a sustainably-harvested forest. Other important environmental issues in the paper-making process, such as greenhouse gas emissions, or chlorine use in bleaching may be equally important.

An environmental claim that may be truthful but is unimportant or unhelpful for consumers seeking environmentally preferable products.Example: CFC-free. This is a frequent claim despite the fact that CFCs are banned by law.

An environmental claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable third-party certication.Example: Facial tissues or toilet tissue products that claim various percentages of post-consumer recycled content without providing evidence.

Environmental claims that are simply false.Example: Products falsely claiming to be Energy Star certied or registered.

A claim that is so poorly dened or broad that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the consumer.Example: All-natural. Arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde are all naturally occurring, and poisonous. All natural isnt necessarily green.

A claim that may be true within the product category, but that risks distracting the consumer from the greater environmental impacts of the category as a whole.Example: Organic cigarettes and fuel-ecient sport-utility vehicles.

sin of worshiping false labels

A product that, through either words or images, gives the impression of a third-party endorsement where no such endorsement actually exists; fake labels, in other words.Example: Manufacturers who add their own label to a product with images and statements such as, this product ghts global warming.

Greenwash (grn'wsh', -wsh') verb: the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.

The Seven Sins of Green Washing by TerraChoice http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/findings/the-seven-sins/

http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/

A. Comprehension Questions Write your own answer below:

1. After reading this, what is your understanding of greenwashing? Write your OWN definition.

2. Is there anything specific (words, phrases, ideas) that you have questions about or didnt understand related to this reading?

3. Summarize the concepts presented in the piece. B. Examining the Rhetoric Discuss in small groups. Be prepared to share your answers.

1. Examine the subtitles of each sin how to the ideas connect to each other using unity and cohesion?

2. Refer back to the logical fallacies in Chapter 2. In what ways does this list resemble the list of logical fallacies? Do any of these sins correspond to the rhetorical fallacies in Ch. 2?

3. This is a parody (a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious work) of another list. Can you identify what it is referencing? (If you have no idea, google cardinal sins.) How do the symbols used in the images support this?

http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/findings/the-seven-sins/

4. This cartoon relates to the concept of the road to hell is paved with good intentions which is a

common expression. What do you think this means?

5. What details to the cartoons provide that are not listed in the text next to each image. For example, in

the first image, how do the light bulbs add supporting evidence to the claim made in the paragraph?

C. Take notes as you watch the following videos: Video 1: The Sins of Greenwashing and TerraChoice on Good Morning America, Nov. 4, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6IF99TiZzk&feature=related My notes: Video 2: Greenwashing - Scamming from the Aisle to the Checkout from 5 News First, Dec 11, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESmobJwe2FE

My notes:

Questions to discuss:

1. What were the main points of each video?

2. What sources did each use?

3. Did anything surprise you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6IF99TiZzk&feature=relatedhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESmobJwe2FE

D. Application:

1. Review the Greenwashing Examples chart. Which sin (or sins) do each of these products commit? (See handout.)

2. Discuss with a partner various green claims you have seen on packaging and/or in recent ad campaigns.

a. Which of these do you think may be greenwashed?

b. How would you find out whether or not it is?

3. The piece does not present solutions or punishments for these sins. With a partner, brainstorm possible penalties and or solutions for each sin.

4. Imagine you are part of a greedy marketing company. You must advertise your product as green. In 15 minutes, greenwash your item and create an advertisement for it. You can commit as many of the sins as youd like to sell your product, but your product and advertisement must displayed in the front of the room by the deadline. You will then briefly present your product and advertisement.

5. Visit http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/games-tools/name-that-sin/index.html and play the Name that Sin Game on the TerraChoice Sins of Greenwashing website.

http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/games-tools/name-that-sin/index.html

Sources: http://www.ewg.org/cleaners/hallofshame, http://www.greenwashingindex.com/green-works-clorox/, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mindy-pennybacker/greenwashing-emalice-in-w_b_489256.html, http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/recapping-on-bps-long-history-of-greenwashing/blog/26025/, http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2010/05/bp-coated-sludge-after-years-greenwashing, http://stopgreenwash.org/

Greenwashing Examples

Company What they advertise Why is this greenwashing? Which sin/s"?

Cleaning products: Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner & Clorox Green Works Wipes

Both use green in the name and use green colors in the label. On the label, Simple Green states that it's non-toxic. Clorox uses common greenwashing images of plants and flowers to promote their Green Works Cleaning Wipes. They advertise the wipes as being biodegradable.

An ingredient in the Simple Green cleaner, 2-butoxyethanol, is listed by Environment Canada as a toxic health hazard that can damage red blood cells. The toxin is also not listed on the back of the product because there's currently no requirement for ingredient lists on cleaning products. Clorox provides little information about the chemicals in the product and whether or not they break down. The plastic container that these wipes are packaged in is definitely not biodegradable.

BP Oil Company

BP spent $200 million in re-branding themselves to be a green company. They changed the name from British Petroleum to Beyond Petroleum and adapted a sunburst logo that uses the color green.

The company is still one of leading petroleum companies worldwide, including exploration, refining and manufacturing. In one year, they spent tens of billions of dollars in the petroleum market, and only $200M on exploring alternative energies the equivalent of their marketing campaign.

Natural Personal Care Items

Many beauty products claim to be made from plants. Clairols Herbal Essences, for example, has claimed a truly organic experience in the past and uses a lot of plant imagery in their ads and packages. Organix brand shampoo alludes to it being organic.

Herbal Essence contains lauryl sulfate, propylene glycol and D&C red no. 33 and synthetic fragrances. Organix shampoos and many other "natural" personal care products contain synthetic ingredients that can expose users to chemicals that could be linked to early onset of puberty, obesity, and some cancers, and can provoke allergic reactions and asthma attacks.

http://www.ewg.org/cleaners/hallofshame/http://www.greenwashingindex.com/green-works-clorox/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mindy-pennybacker/greenwashing-emalice-in-w_b_489256.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/mindy-pennybacker/greenwashing-emalice-in-w_b_489256.htmlhttp://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/recapping-on-bps-long-history-of-greenwashing/blog/26025/http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/recapping-on-bps-long-history-of-greenwashing/blog/26025/http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2010/05/bp-coated-sludge-after-years-greenwashinghttp://stopgreenwash.org/http://www.bp.com/home.do?categoryId=1&contentId=2006973

Presented by Krista Bittenbender Royal, TESOL 2014 Idea originally shared by Addie Studebaker

University of South Florida

Application Activity: Becoming an Evil Greenwasher

Teacher Directions & Tips

Find the reading at http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/findings/the-seven-sins/

Materials:

Enough random, green-washable items (items that arent particularly environmentally friendly)

that each group of students can be given one.

You can use what you have on hand, such as a box of snack bars, a plastic pencil case, a

bag of foam cups, paper plates, plastic forks and knives, antibacterial hand gel, a

reusable plastic shopping bag. Be creative -- once I used a calendar with nature images.

If you have more items than needed, groups can choose an item from the selection.

A low prep option would be to ask students to identify an item that they have among

the group members to greenwash.

Items to create advertisements with such as large sheets of paper, markers, tape, etc.

Alternatively, you can have students create a commercial (as opposed to a print

advertisement) which wouldnt need a visual.

Another alternative is to give groups a bit of whiteboard space and a few markers, so

they can write down a few key words or phrases.

You can also be high tech and use a drawing or other whiteboard sort of app on a tablet

or another device.

Activity Steps:

1. Read, analyze, and discuss the reading, so students have a good understanding of

greenwashing and the seven sins discussed in the brief article.

2. Explain that in groups, they will now become evil greenwashers: greedy marketing

companies who will sell their product at any cost. They must advertise their given

products as green, committing as many of these sins as they like, in order to sell their

product. You can do an example together first with even just a simple item in the

classroom, asking them to help you greenwash it, going through the sins.

3. Give each group one of the random objects (or allow them to choose from a collection

of objects.)

4. Explain that they will have 15 minutes to greenwash their item and to create an

advertisement for it. Items and advertising materials must be on the table/board

(wherever) at the end of the 15 minutes.

http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/findings/the-seven-sins/

Presented by Krista Bittenbender Royal, TESOL 2014 Idea originally shared by Addie Studebaker

University of South Florida

This could also be a homework assignment in which pairs, groups, or individual

students come to the next class with a greenwashed item.

5. When all of the greenwashed items are ready, have each group present their

advertisement. They should pitch the product to the class and thus should NOT tell

about any greenwashing sins they committed.

6. You can have class members comment on which item is most appealing or green-

seeming.

7. Finally, assign each group to another group and have them evaluate how many and

what sins were committed, either in writing or to present to the class.

This could also be done as a whole class at the end students could take notes

on each presentation individually, then compare and discuss in their original

groups, and then share their results.

8. Again, it is fun to discuss who is the most fraudulent. Choose a winner who is the

most evil (and effective) of them all?

Follow up with a discussion on what greenwashing they have encountered. At this time you

may also discuss possible consequences and solutions for greenswashing.

An additional follow up could be to have students look for examples of greenwashing in life (not

online) for homework.

Krista Royal Greenwashing Prez Slides7_Sins_GreenwashingDiscussion Qs 7sins GreenwashGreenwashing--handout-1.docGreenWashingActivityInstructorDirections.pdf