Green products have inundated the marketplace and the number of companies making green claims has also exploded. The timing has never been better for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address green marketing claims so that consumers can trust that the products they purchase really do have the environmentally friendly attributes being marketed to them. On August 11, 2009, the FTC placed the green world on notice and charged several companies with making unsubstantiated, false and deceptive claims regarding bamboo fabric and other textile products that were being marketed as “green” and “environmentally friendly.”
Why is this important to the hospitality industry? These products are marketed and sold to the very same consumers who buy airline tickets, rent cars and stay in hotels. Once confusion in the marketplace has infiltrated buyers who have taken the initiative to purchase “green” products, it causes great harm to the entire green movement. In addition, companies have been found to be “greenwashing” with their marketing claims by labeling products as being “eco-friendly” when they are not.
Other than the FTC’s Green Guides, as of now there are no federal mandates with respect to the use of the terms “green” or “eco-friendly.” Europe has surpassed the United States in this area and has begun to establish guidelines. How do we, in the United States, distinguish the “green” from “not so green?”
Story Behind Bamboo Fabric
According to the FTC, the bamboo fabric that prevails in today’s retail marketplace should be classified as rayon, as it is manufactured in the same way as rayon made from any other plant source. Bamboo has been touted as a top eco-friendly fabric. However, converting bamboo into yarn fiber requires the identical cellulose fiber extraction process as making rayon from other trees and plants. The bamboo manufacturing process requires tremendous levels of greenhouse gas emissions, incredible amounts of water, and the use of highly toxic chemicals. The processing requires so much energy, water and chemicals that the FTC has stated that all trace of the bamboo source is undetectable, and in the cases of those companies sited, the bamboo source is unverified as well.
Depending on your “eco-friendly” personal tolerance level, it may better to avoid this textile all together. According to David Vladeck, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, “With the tremendous expansion of green claims in today’s marketplace, it is particularly important for the FTC to address deceptive environmental claims, so that consumers can trust that the products they buy have the environmentally friendly attributes they want.
“When companies sell products woven from man-made fibers, such as rayon, it is important that they accurately label and advertise those products—both with respect to the fibers they use and to the qualities those fibers possess,” Vladeck continues.
Argument for Eco-labeling
It would be wonderful if we could pick up an “environmentally friendly” product and read the label the same way we read the nutritional label on a box of Rice Crispies. Instead of ingredients and the amount of sugar and salt contained per serving, the amount of energy and water used in the manufacturing process, among other inputs, would be clearly stated. This leads us to a new movement called eco-labeling. Eco-labeling can be linked directly to the increase in manufacturers conducting Life Cycle Assessments or LCAs. LCAs are arduous yet important. They are not easy to undertake but provide the environmental impacts of a product based on global warming potential, abiotic depletion, human toxicity, fresh water ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, photochemical oxidation, acidification and eutrophication.
Life cycle assessment has been standardized by the International Standardization Organization (ISO) in the ISO 14040 series. This is a world-renown benchmark for standardization that makes LCAs the first important step in eco-labeling. Clear understanding of the environmental impact of the products we manufacture, supply, specify, purchase and recommend is good stewardship of our planet and its resources.
Until eco-labeling and LCAs are widespread, each of us must personally decide how best to verify the Earth-friendliness of our purchases and lifestyle choices. Merely raising awareness of this impact and being conscious of what our decisions mean is a huge step toward improvement. It has often been said that an educated consumer is the best customer. Our obligation as hospitality leaders is to educate ourselves first so those who use our products and services will make better decisions as a result of our due diligence.
Diana Dobin is vice president, design & sales for Pompano Beach, Fla.-based Valley Forge Fabrics. She can be reached at ddobin@valleyforge.com.
