TerraChoice, a company dedicated to researching the greenwashing of companies, is a part of the Underwriters laboratories network which works to " advance global sustainability, environmental health, and safety by supporting the growth and development of environmentally-preferable products, services, and organizations"(The Sins of Greenwashing, About Us). In its investigations, TerraChoice determines greenwashing using it's "Six Sins of Greenwashing" as guidelines which are of the following: Sin of The Hidden Trade-Off, Sin of No Proof, Sin of No Vagueness, Sin of Irrelevance, Sin of Fibbing, and Sin of Lesser of Two Evils. All six of these sins can be used to evaluate the integrity of Better World Book's sustainability efforts.
Sin of The Hidden Trade-Off refers to companies which state themselves being environmentally friendly, but are actually being harmful in the process of their business. Such an example is paper companies which in their processes are releasing carbon emissions as well as the fact that the paper they use to begin with is coming from the degradation of a forest (The Sins of Greenwashing, The Seven Sins). In 2007, TerraChoice researched and found that about 57% of businesses suffered from the Sin of The Hidden Trade-Off being the most common of them all (The Sins of Greenwashing, Greenwashing Report 2007). In regards to this, Better World Books is dedicated to being as environmentally friendly as possible. Despite being a paper company and selling books, they do not actually harm the environment. All of their books are donated and have already been produced. They are only reselling books made by other companies. In fact, those which cannot be resold are then either recycled or put to use in some o...
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...ll shipments, many customers find it hard to buy into their testimony of "ending the book famine in Africa" as well as saving people from illiteracy" (Rosenthal). In agreement with this, Better World Books' website provides a message to consumers stating that "Better World Books has modified its terms to explain its business model better. On occasion there has been some confusion about the role Better World Books plays in acquiring books and creating a market for them (or donating them to worthy recipients in line with our social mission). We now are trying to do a better job explaining ourselves” (Library Discards & Donations). Better World Books proves themselves to be trustworthy, environmentally friendly, but they lack their economic and social evidence leaving customers concerned, and joining the group of other businesses who commit the Sin of No Proof.
The authors do eventually (pg. 205) acknowledge that some may see the book as trying to enrage the public just to sell books. In fact, Ron Levy, P...
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1 NIV). First God created and fostered an environment for which His children were to live. He gave it light, water, land, vegetation, creatures on land and sea then finally man and women in His own image. God delighted in everything He created then gave everything to man to cultivate for man’s existence and to glorify Him. Christian faiths are divided in their approach to Christian environmentalism. There are those who claim the relationship between humans and the environment is anthropocentric and others that take a broader view of biocentrism. The message that God gives us is to look at the world of nature and see that the care of the earth is essential to the care that we must show others.
In an effort to begin the process of gaining support for an analysis of our field that would yield data for the basis of discussion, I am working on putting together a task force—The Indie Doc Sustainability Task Force. We can talk more tomorrow but this issue runs deep and wide.
An environmentalist is a person worships the environment and cares for nature more than people. Christians and others share the common perception that environmental ethics exist for how human beings should relate to the land, the free market perceptive and the environmental perceptive. Humans share a relationship with all creations of the earth. But as humans, they find themselves as having a role in the created order which is they have a closer relationship with the creator who has charged them with acting responsible within his creation. Even allowing a common complaint of environmental activists is that Stewardship means that the earth was made exclusively because of human beings - that having dominion upper nature is the same as having the power and directly of domination. Christians consequently share a close relationship by means of the whole of aspects of creation, since in relation to the environment, its unbroken humanity, not unbroken nature, that's seen to be the problem. Stewardship in simple terms means to manage someone else’s property. Christians proclaims that everything belong to God, so as Christians, we need to have the attitude that our belongings are his belongings. As stewards, we have the responsibility of being in charge of the earth. We have been placed in charge and are responsible for whatever happens to it, even though it does not belong to us, as we all know it belong to God. In Genesis 2:15, God took man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work and take care of it.
In his provocative article “Green Guilt”, Stephen T. Asma elaborates the sources behind why civilians of Western culture feel passionately guilty about the current norm of environmentalism. Asma’s purpose of such text is to inform readers that Western culture is taking environmentalism to the extreme by developing guilt with an association of not living a valued “green life”. Stephen Asma achieves his analysis to the audience of vast environmentalists by emphasizing this extreme guilt and self-loathing through the rhetorical appeal of pathos and ethos -- as well as using diction and tone to support his evidence.
Books for Africa is a non-charitable organization that sends books to less fortunate kids in Africa. The organization is 100 percent volunteers dedicated to raising money to buy books. I'm sure you are wondering about sending books to Africa. The African literacy rate is very low and sending books to Africa helps the children in Africa learn how to read and write. (“Why Books?” Page 1) So, the organization is trying to fill the library shelves with books. United States Congressman of Minnesota said Keith Ellison “In Kenya, we were in a small village and the students had a wonderful school. They were eager to learn. They had motivated teachers, but they didn’t have any books in the school. They had no library. And so, imagine how proud I was to open up this box of shiny new encyclopedias and dictionaries from Books For Africa. They want more of your books. They can’t wait. They can’t get enough of these books.”
BP is not alone with its marketing practices. General Electric (GE), an American firm and among the largest in the company, frequently exploits the green image to push its own brand. While on the cutting edge of developing renewable energy technologies, GE pushes its business at the expense of natural dignity. The earth becomes a giant problematic marble, hurtling through space, according to GE’s advertising, and GE knows how to fix
Christian theology states that God created the earth and gave it as a gift to humans to be shared with all other living creatures. This belief is known as the “Creation-centered approach to the natural environment” (Massaro, p.163). This approach emphasizes the value of nature by recognizing humans as being an equal part of God’s creation under which all “species deserve protection” (Massaro, p.163). With such publicly known cases of pollution like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico or Bethlehem Steel’s pollution of Lake Erie decades ago, it is evident that humans have been using the environment in accordance with the Stewardship or even the Dominion model, both of which place humans above all other creations. According to Massaro, Christian theology also explains that showing “disregard for the air that others breathe and the quality of the water they drink is to sin against God” (Massaro, p.162). This type of disregard destroys humankind’s relationship with all other living organisms.
The Earth Charter website states that, the Earth Charter “is an extraordinarily diverse, global network of people, organizations, and institutions that participate in promoting and implementing the values and principles of the Earth Charter” (“The earth charter initiative”, 2009). As I browsed through the site, I also learned that the Earth Charter is a “declaration of fundamental ethical principles for building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society in the 21st century.” (“What is the earth charter”, 2009) Presently, in Fort Myers and Estero, FL., there are a few local businesses that supports the Earth Charter’s initiative. Even with the support of over “4,500 organizations, including many governments and international organizations,” there are still issues that concern the Earth Charter’s group (“What is the earth charter”, 2009). One of the central concerns is “with the transition to sustainable ways of living and sustainable human development” (“What is the earth charter”, 2011). There are so many people who have lived the same patterned l...
With the development of the science and technology, more and more people are going for healthy and green products. According to this situation, there are many companies claim their products are “green”. However, there are thousands of so-called “green” products, but not all of them live up to their claims, a considerable part of products not only damage the human’s body, but also pollute the environment. People called these companies “greenwashing”. Greenwashing refers to the practice of deceiving consumers into believing that a company is practicing environmentally friendly policies and procedures. Seems like anything and everything has “gone green” these days. Such as airlines, car companies, retailers, restaurants, even networks and stadiums. Thankfully, more often than not, that’s a good thing. It is only bad if it is greenwashing — that is bad for the environment and consumers, because of businesses doing the greenwashing.
Humans have been destroying the planet since we were able to stand on two legs. As a society, we need to work to reverse these terrible effects that our existence has on the planet. Sustainability is one way to begin reversing these effects, while still living our daily lives. In 2006, Al Gore presented his documentary, “ An Inconvenient Truth”, as a way to show the world the evidence behind global warming, climate change and the destruction of our planet. This documentary shocked the world. It was clear that changes needed to be made, but the destruction was more intense than previously thought. SInce this revelation in 2006, companies have tried to cut down on their greenhouse emissions, as well as offered sustainable products to their customers. Through a debate of morals and
Reed, B. (2011). The Business of Social Responsibility. Retrieved from Dollars and Sense Real World Economics: http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/1998/0598reed.html
“Unless humanity is suicidal, it should want to preserve, at the minimum, the natural life-support systems and processes required to sustain its own existence” (Daily p.365). I agree with scientist Gretchen Daily that drastic action is needed now to prevent environmental disaster. Immediate action and changes in attitude are not only necessary for survival but are also morally required. In this paper, I will approach the topic of environmental ethics from several related sides. I will discuss why the environment is a morally significant concern, how an environmental ethic can be developed, and what actions such an ethic would require to maintain and protect the environment.
People have to start off understanding what environmental sustainability means. Allie Sibole author of, The Ethics of Sustainability: Why Should We Care?, shares a perfect example, “Sustainability is a moral response to an incredible gift” (Sibole 1). What she explains is, our planet is the beloved gift. People need to not take
The Green movement began in the Western World during the 1970’s around the time of the Vietnam War. The green movement is a social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvements to the current health of the environment. The Green movement also promotes the conservation, restoration, and the overall improvement of our environment. Many people disagree with the green movement and its values because they don’t see the immediate benefits from them. However, supporting the green movement by recycling, researching alternative energy sources, and mandating eco-friendly laws will lead to a better, greener, country.