You’ve got to be a “see-through” company.

Transparency is everything.   It’s seeing through what you say to what you do.  It’s having business practices you want, and don’t want the world to see.  

The mission statement of Patagonia, the California-based outdoor equipment and clothing maker, is:”To make the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”  One of the ways Patagonia puts its mission where its mouth is is by implementing a self-imposed “Earth Tax.”  A sum founder, Yvon Chouinard, feels is owed for being a polluter and user of the planet’s non-renewable resources.     

More recently, they created the Patagonia Footprint Chronicles:  An interactive mini-site that allows you to track the impact of five Patagonia products from design through delivery.  It’s part of a new enviro-section called “Leading the Examined Life.” 

That’s transparency in action.

On the other side of the fence - when Ford launched its “Kermit the Frog” advertising campaign a couple of years ago for their Ford Escape Hybrid, they tried to convince the public of their commitment to the environment. One print ad read, “Green vehicles.  Cleaner factories. It’s the right road for our company, and we’re well underway.” 

Meanwhile back at the plant, Ford only planned on producing 20,000 of its Hybrid SUV’s per year, while continuing to produce almost 80,000 of their gas guzzling F-series trucks per month.  Well, the campaign backfired in their face, and the term “Greenwashing” became synonymous with their name.   

Greenwashing is a term describing misleading instances of environmental advertising.  But as more and more corporations are stretching their eco-efforts, the term is expanding to include a wider range of corporate activities, like environmental reporting, distribution of education materials, event sponsorship and more.

Green talk has to exist side-by-side with green walk.  You have to be willing to let the green consumer know not only what goes into the products you make but what goes into the values you uphold.   How you treat your employees, the health of your plant and business offices.  Do you provide fair wages?  Do you employ subcontractors who use child labor or toxic working conditions? 

Green is more than a slogan.  It’s actions that speak louder than words.