Book Review: Greenwash
Guy Pearse. Greenwash: Big Brands and Carbon Scams. Melbourne, Australia: Black, Inc., 2012. 282 pp. $29.99 (paperback). ISBN 13: 978-1863955751
Read the review by Robin Canniford, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, published in the Journal of Macromarketing:
What role does marketing play in the alteration of climate and the destruction of ecosystems? A central one according to Guy Pearse whose 2012 book, Greenwash: Big Brands and Carbon Scams , exposes the spin, scams, and marketing plans by which multinational companies convince consumers that their prod- ucts are fighting the good fight against carbon emissions. Pearse has spent some years colle
cting adverts and comparing industry claims to carbon neutrality against measures of environmental performances. The results of these endeavors will be of little surprise to readers of the Journal of Macromarket- ing : companies’ production, investment, and growth figures rarely tally with the promises made by advertising campaigns. More shocking, however, is the scale of the green branding swindle, and the means by which companies portray products and services as eco-friendly consumer solutions to our planetary path of destruction.
Click here to read more in the Journal of Macromarketing.
Excellent book. One might almost say that the “green branding swindle” is akin to climate change denial by the back door – even more hideous. A must read for all management, business and marketing students, and also the public at large.