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Over the years, many companies have taken advantage of the latest marketing ploy - they present themselves as righteous champions fighting for the environmental cause. Their wholesome, cheerful and energetic marketing style presents an optimistically green outlook using alluring words such as all-natural, organic, clean, sustainable and recyclable. Going green is the new wave for marketing angles: basic, pure and powerful, like a mountain stream. And it works!

Actually, by definition, all marketing is a ploy: a stratagem devised to gain advantage. In this case, the going green ploy is usually true for many companies, but is it possible that the truth could be stretched or even ignored? Across the years, centuries and millennia, there's a warning that we've always known, but sometimes seem to forget. It's 'Caveat Emptor', an ancient Roman credo meaning 'let the buyer beware'.

Why have companies, seemingly overnight, started to brag about their green revolution? Two possibilities immediately come to mind: 1) they've always had a personal commitment to going green, and now, maybe the market will reward their efforts, or 2) they're following the market's trends to get more money (they're faking it). Maybe the truth often exists somewhere in between these two extremes, but that's nothing new when it comes to marketing.

Marketing has been around since the dawn of civilization. If you're a vendor, marketing is letting potential customers know that you're selling something at a better deal than your competitors. The keenest of salespeople know that the latest enticement, known as green marketing, works because the customer is already sold on the idea of doing the right thing.

Some green marketing strategies present the obvious truth, but not the whole truth. For example, there's the latest surge of electric powered cars built by all of the major manufacturers. These vehicles are truly a miracle - they're absolutely pollution free! However, their batteries are charged by electricity, and, in the U.S., the majority of electricity comes from dirty coal plants. A cleaner source of grid power has been desparately needed for a long time. On the bright side, some utilities are also offering the option of purchasing alternative electricity generated from solar cells or wind turbines.

Other sales pitches sound good, but are vague when it comes to details. Starbucks buys 65% of their 'responsibly grown' coffee from 'farmers who are good to their workers, community and planet'. That's probably true, but exactly how that's green is a little unclear. Oh well... they really do make excellent coffee.

Sometimes, an outstanding green product, like the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb, is sponsored by funding, rebates or discounts. This kind of sponsorship is a shameless marketing ploy, but since it undoubtedly reduces your electric bill, everyone seems to be okay with it.

What's the truth behind green marketing? Federal regulators are beginning to set green standards, such as the nutrition labels on food containers, but it'll be a long time before truth-in-advertising becomes a commonplace reality. In the meantime, some consumer awareness websites are also doing their best to present the facts. For now, even though the facts can be unclear, we can use our purchasing power to influence the market towards a greener world.

Learn more about this author, Jeff Parsons.
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