Bloggers can see through greenwash

A new report has found that bloggers have little patience with greenwash, viewing it as a cynical corporate strategy.

The report, ‘Sustainability through the Eyes and Megaphones of the Blogosphere’, was published by Nielsen online, and labels greenwash a ‘failed corporate strategy.’

According to Jessica Hogue, the research director at Nielsen Online, consumers are ‘insisting’ on environmental transparency, and have little time for companies whose actions don’t match their words.

Contradictory actions by corporations was the number one online discussion topic for environmental blogs, followed by misleading or outright false comments.

An example cited by the report was the introduction of reusable shopping bags by US supermarket chains Wal-Mart and Target. Bloggers were more sceptical of Wal-Mart because of its past abuses of the environment, and its poor employment record.

Whilst the critical eyes of green bloggers get increasingly sharp, the number of green blogs is growing. According to the report, the number of green blogs grew by 50% in 2007.

2007’s most popular sustainability blog in 2007 was TreeHugger, owned and run by the Discovery Channel.