I don't know how thoroughly this brand, or others like it, have colonized store shelves outside the U.S. It's ubiquitous here, but aside from packaging, scent, and green-wash labeling, not...
I don't know how thoroughly this brand, or others like it, have colonized store shelves outside the U.S.
It's ubiquitous here, but aside from packaging, scent, and green-wash labeling, not distinct from "chemical" soaps.
I found it interesting that S.C. Johnson, an enormous multinational corporation that dominates household product manufacture, has a profitable line in marketing faux-simplicity and nostalgia to millennials.
From the article:
From an environmental standpoint, Mrs. Meyer’s isn’t perfect, but few mass-market household cleaners or hand soaps are. Whether it’s intentionally vague language (“chemical-free”) or straight-up obfuscation about ingredients, greenwashing has crept into many products sold by major retailers, from Simple Green to Raid “EarthBlends.” S.C. Johnson settled a lawsuit over misleading “green” language on Windex labels back in 2010. (The one truly great soap alternative that comes to mind is that clunky old stalwart Dr. Bronner’s, which is completely biodegradable and, thanks to its absurdly high concentration relative to its absurdly huge packaging size, lasts an actual lifetime.)
But the language on the label and the earthy scents at least make it feel like one isn’t harming the planet by purchasing. For a lot of people who buy Mrs. Meyer’s, maybe that — the suggestion of sustainability, the general aura of nature, the suggestion of digging around in a rural Midwestern garden — is enough.
I ran into something similar when I was trying to make better choices about paper towels. I found the Aria brand, which has a lot to say about its sustainability. Unfortunately, it is made by...
I ran into something similar when I was trying to make better choices about paper towels. I found the Aria brand, which has a lot to say about its sustainability. Unfortunately, it is made by Georgia-Pacific, which is managed and operated by Koch Industries.
Perhaps my overt distrust of anything Koch-affiliated is tempering my judgment, but Aria's claims, as well as those of Georgia-Pacific itself, come across as significant greenwashing to me. For example, in direct contrast to that last link, Quilted Northern, Georgia-Pacific's toilet paper brand, was given an F by the Natural Resources Defense Council on their sustainability scorecard.
I don't know how thoroughly this brand, or others like it, have colonized store shelves outside the U.S.
It's ubiquitous here, but aside from packaging, scent, and green-wash labeling, not distinct from "chemical" soaps.
I found it interesting that S.C. Johnson, an enormous multinational corporation that dominates household product manufacture, has a profitable line in marketing faux-simplicity and nostalgia to millennials.
From the article:
I ran into something similar when I was trying to make better choices about paper towels. I found the Aria brand, which has a lot to say about its sustainability. Unfortunately, it is made by Georgia-Pacific, which is managed and operated by Koch Industries.
Perhaps my overt distrust of anything Koch-affiliated is tempering my judgment, but Aria's claims, as well as those of Georgia-Pacific itself, come across as significant greenwashing to me. For example, in direct contrast to that last link, Quilted Northern, Georgia-Pacific's toilet paper brand, was given an F by the Natural Resources Defense Council on their sustainability scorecard.