The lies on the labels
In 2010 the Canadian marketing firm TerraChoice performed a study on products with environmental claims on their labels. The company visited 34 stores across the U.S. and Canada and surveyed 5,296 products, including office supplies, toys, building materials, housewares, electronics and health goods. They found that the number of products claiming to be “green” has risen more than 70 percent since 2009. According to the report from the study, 30.9 percent of the labels on the products they surveyed were fake. Another 67.3 percent made claims that were vague, and 70.1 percent made claims without proof.
More than 95 percent of the products surveyed were guilty of “greenwashing,” misleading consumers regarding environmental benefits of the product or environmental practices of a company.
Greenwashing is easy to spot, and it comes in several forms. Labels might advertise one good thing, but ignore several bad things. They make claims with no proof or even lie outright. Have you ever heared of an organic cigarette? The claim that it is organic might be true, but that distracts from the fact that cigarettes are still unhealthy. These labels target good intentions, fooling consumers into buying products that aren’t green at all.
housewares
fake ànot true
vagueànot clear
outrightàdirectly
【Grammar on the go】
More than 95 percent of the products surveyed were guilty of “greenwashing”…
guilty => have broken lawàThe criminal was guilty of murder.
to be guilty of
ð responsible for doing something wrong
Ex: Sarah knows she is guilty of gossiping.
Ex: My friend is guilty of being a perfectionist.
【More information】
In the 1980s, environmentalist Jay Westerveld coined the term “greenwashing.” It’s a combination of the words “green” and “brainwashing.” He found that certain hotels encouraged visitors to reuse towels to help make the hotel more environmentally friendly. After some investigation though, he found no solid recycling strategies in place. This led him to believe that the hotels weren’t trying to be “GREEN” but were just trying to save money.
【Chat room】
1. proof n.證明、證據
make claims with no proof 未經認證就大肆吹噓
2. proof v.校對
3. Noun. + proof adj. 防止…的
waterproof
fireproof
childproof
the proof of the pudding is in the eating
事情的好壞必須要實際的去嘗試、經歷
【Key word】
vague 模糊不清、含糊的
The company was fined for vague descriptions of the ingredients printed on the package.
這家公司因為產品包裝上的成分標示不清而受罰
I only have vague memories of my childhood.
我對童年只有模糊的記憶
outright公開地、直率地、大刺刺地
These protesters were arrested outright when the cops arrived.
當警察到達的時候，抗議者直接被逮捕。
Rose outright told Timothy that she liked him.
Rose直接了當地告訴了Timothy她喜歡他
Elle laughed outright after hearing the joke.
Elle聽到這個笑話以後大大刺刺地笑了出來
distract 使分心、轉移注意力 (dis-分開 tract拉)
The noise coming from the construction site constantly distracted students from their studies.
從建築工地傳來的噪音讓學生們的讀書不斷被打斷
I tried to distract Vivian’s attention away from her breakup.
我試著讓Vivian的注意力從分手之痛轉移到別處
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