I recently read an excellent article by Suzanne Shelton, President and CEO of the Shelton Group, on the drawbacks of products marketed as better for the environment.
In An Open Letter to Manufacturers, the author tells about her frustrations dealing with so-called “green” products:

“I rinse the dishes (wondering if I’m just making environmental matters worse), pop them in the dishwasher, press the Eco Mode button and hope for the best. And then I sort through the dishes when the cycle is done, pull out the ones that actually appear to be clean and leave about a quarter of them in the machine, to be washed a second time when it’s full (in Regular Wash mode).”

 

But her angst doesn’t end with the dishwasher.  Various other environmentally responsible products also leave much to be desired:

“I’ve got LED bulbs in my house and office that have failed after only a couple of years (when the promise is 20 years), my white towels are no longer white from only ever being washed in cold water (at least I think that’s the reason – it could be the environmentally friendly detergent I use), and my hybrid car sometimes hesitates when I need to accelerate fast to get the heck out of somebody’s way.”

The post goes on to explain that when such products underperform, ironically they do more harm than good.  After all, they often cost more than their traditional counterparts, meaning the user expects at least the same level of performance + the feeling of doing something good to boot.  Failing to meet the users needs results in higher overall impacts.  That’s because the dishes have to be rewashed, the lightbulbs switched out, etc.

So what’s the solution? The author proposes two approaches:

• Bake responsibility in to all products
• Make sure the product does what it’s supposed to do

Regarding the first point, when a manufacturer maintains a leading commitment to environmental stewardship, customers can feel confident that every product it offers is crafted responsibly.  With this approach, sustainability becomes the expectation, rather than the exception.

And as far as the second point, solving the customer’s problems should always remain the product’s #1 priority – green or not.  If the product doesn’t perform, the results could be devastating – especially for green products that many are already wary of.

Suzanne’s suggestions are sage advice.  Manufacturers who don’t follow them risk disenfranchising some of their biggest sustainability champions, possibly for good.