Here, Let Me Greenwash That for You

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A designer named Chris Lindland has just sent me a press pitch for his clothing line. Chris would like you to know that it is Pants Awareness Month. O rly?

“Every autumn, millions of American men tragically go pantless while their fellow citizens turn a blind eye. This is the terrible affliction known as Pantlessteria — more commonly referred to as Sansapant Syndrome, Trousernot, or Nay Slacks disease. With temperatures dropping and the holidays approaching, it’s comforting to know that there is a cure — and it’s only clicks away at Cordarounds.com.”

I was not aware.

The faux news release is funny, and the clothing is clever. The only thing missing: nothing in the line is green. I asked Chris about this  and he explained that while the various pants in the line are not cut from eco cloth, their bike pants are kinda-sorta green. Since they are for cyclists. And cycling is eco-friendly. Get it?

To be clear, this isn’t about Chris or his pants. That kinda-sorta reasoning isn’t some stretch of the corduroy on his part; he readily noted that the bike pants are about safety, not the environment. Nope, the greenwash is all owing to the green blogosphere, namely the House that Hill built. Treehugger was evidently so enamored with how much “fun” the company is having they didn’t bother to find out if the materials and manufacturing are green. Or perhaps they decided the act of bicycling absolves the responsibility for wearing sustainable clothing while doing it. They have given the bike pants a glowing review and encourage us to “Drop their online store $95 and you can be ensuring drivers see you’re on the street in no uncertain terms.”

Helpfully, other green sites have joined in, too. Green Daily generously describes these pants as “green-friendly”, at least pointing out that they’re not actually green (but gosh darn if that wouldn’t be grand). Hey, if all it takes these days for a thumbs-up from the green crowd is being friendly to it, companies can fire their addled marketers. The green blogosphere now offers greenwashing services free of charge for your convenience.

A better green blogosphere might have collectively admired the concept but firmly insisted the company go green – and not come back until it had (perhaps even offering some pointers). For there’s the real power of green social media: reminding us all that, by definition, good design doesn’t just like green, doesn’t just add green, but is green.

(Meanwhile, you can find green biking clothes at Ibex. They’re also happy to tell you all about their staff garden, recycling program, team fitness efforts, sustainable initiatives and green projects on their blog.)

Image: Editor B