Guilty Planet

The Greenest of Wash

Posted by Jennifer L. Jacquet on April 22, 2010
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Here at Guilty Planet, every day is Earth Day. So on Earth Day, I thought it might be fun to check out a few self-proclaimed eco-friendly products (the Rainforest Action Network also has a take on corporate Earth Day sponsorship).

How about HINT water. I think I’ve seen it sold in Starbucks. Here’s a letter I received from them on World Water Day:

Hi Jennifer – Thought this might make a fun post for World Water Day.
Today, March 22, organizations across the world will spread the importance of safe and clean water for World Water Day. Since 1993, groups have been fighting to clean up the water from India to Africa and beyond.

In honor of this world-wide awareness day, we would love to offer you a giveaway for your readers of a case of HINT Water, the premium essence water with a hint of flavor. The zero calorie, zero sugar, beverage has a hint of flavor, with no sweeteners.

HINT Water has been at the forefront of the childhood obesity movement, and with the recent launch of their “Mom’s Against Sugar Campaign,” HINT is consistently trying to make a difference in the world.

Please let me know if you have any questions -

Looking forward to your thoughts -
Chris

In honor of cleaning up water in Africa and India? This is what I wrote in response:

Dear Chris,
Why didn’t HINT package their water in a GLASS bottle? Moreover, why not drink water from the tap? It’s a sad day when a product such as this is packaged as a solution.
Jennifer

i-29bb6e3e4b8c22b5af71250dd469c107-dishonest_kitchen-thumb-150x190-47560.pngThis next email was particularly egregious, especially for someone who works on overfishing:

The Honest Kitchen Reveals Wishes™ Fish Treat for Earth Day
Holistic Pet Food Company Introduces Pure Icelandic Haddock Treat for Cats and Dogs

San Diego, Calif. (April 9th 2010) – The Honest Kitchen, makers of all-natural, human-grade pet products, today announced the launch of a sustainable fish treat, Wishes (Made from Fishes). Wishes are made from 100% Icelandic Haddock – no fillers, grains, or artificial preservatives, and like all Honest Kitchen products, the new treats are 100% human food grade.

Wishes will initially be launched in a 2 oz pouch, and later transitioned to a biodegradable / recycled packaging solution, like all other Honest Kitchen products. A statement on their eco-practices can be found on The Honest Kitchens’ commitment to Sustainability.

Here is my wish. If you are committed to sustainability, you should not sell “human grade” fish to pets. This is beyond…

Finally, over Christmas, the market for green products was so bad, that The Times actually described these glow jars as virtuous, eco-friendly, and perfect for the green insomniac:

i-28b1b9dd08340431bb6be9ab3650474b-glowjars-thumb-500x441-47305.jpg

This glow is the new green? We have problems.

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Comments

  1. #1 rehana
    April 22, 2010

    Glass is heavy–it would take quite a bit more energy to ship. Not that plastic is a good alternative–shipping water by truck is just dumb.

  2. #2 Chris Martell
    April 22, 2010

    The Story of Bottled Water.

    http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/

    I would think and hope that during this international economic meltdown, that consumers would wake up to where, and how their vaporizing recession dollars are being spent upon products that have insane 1,000% profit margins.

    But, hey, it is a free market world, and there are now 6,500,000,000 members of this planet looking for their tribal product logos…

    Tap water, what a concept.

  3. #3 Laurie Saindon
    April 25, 2010

    Kind of made me laugh reading your review, in a good way. While in Thailand I could see empty plastic water bottles everywhere. It kind of got me pretty upset but then I realized that I was part of the problem. I’ve started a facebook page called Blue Dot. It’s only the beginning. We plan to set up a website. We also have plans to raise money in a most unique way.

  4. #4 red pepper
    April 27, 2010

    This may have a lot to do with points of reference. I have daughters and am, by by native country’s (U.S.A.) standards, left-leaning.

  5. #5 acai
    April 27, 2010

    Look, teaching science without referring to the scientific method is like teaching math without referring to proofs.

  6. #6 Milan
    April 28, 2010

    The extent to which environmental concerns have been co-opted by big corporations is certainly worrisome. People remain far too easy to fool, when it comes to thinking about their total environmental impact and the relative importance of different choices.

  7. #7 Sphere Coupler
    May 2, 2010

    Still waiting for one of these so called Green acting Corporations to clean up the garbage dump in the ocean, or stop dumping petrol waste in the great lakes (with gov. approval and exemption of course) until then it’s all just another…spin.

  8. #8 Tom
    July 15, 2010

    I’m now seeing “organic” dairy products fortified with fish oil from Peruvian anchovy. I have read your article published online at Oryx and appreciate your sensitivity to reduction fisheries. Organic with a strange environmental off flavor, seems to me….