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In this environmental video essay, I take a quick look at greenwashing using Fiji Water’s marketing campaign as a case study. I explore why green products are not necessarily as eco-friendly as their packaging suggests.
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Transcript Provided by YouTube:
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Walk into any grocery store, and you’re bound to see it green marketing
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It seems to be almost everywhere these days. Our eggs are all natural and our shampoos are encased in green labels
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adorned with leaves and generic trees. In many respects, this push towards an eco-friendly or
00:22
Consumerism is a positive change. Organic produce and sustainably-made clothing are needed if we are to reduce
00:30
industrial and personal footprints
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But unfortunately, hidden among these ethically and environmentally driven products lies an insidious form of advertising.
00:40
Greenwashing.
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From bath products to meat packaging greenwashing occurs in almost every sector of the
00:46
Consumer market. But today, let’s take a close look at how Fiji water uses ad campaigns to construct a green image around its otherwise
00:54
environmentally detrimental
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company. But first, why exactly is green washing bad?
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Quite simply, it plays into a consumer’s desire to live a green life without necessarily creating a
01:07
sustainable product. And on a deeper level,
01:10
one of the greenest things to do is to buy fewer things. So no matter how great the product is
01:16
It’s probably still kind of deceptive to market it as green.
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So greenwashing means using titles like all-natural or eco-friendly
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Or simply using a green background in order to entice a customer into buying a product that is by no means
01:33
environmentally friendly. In some cases, bigger companies that falsely label their products as eco-friendly,
01:39
like eggs labeled farm fresh or all-natural,
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can often out-compete smaller companies who are more environmentally
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grounded and actually employ ethical practices while creating their product
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Fiji water’s recent marketing campaign encapsulate the essence of this greenwashing.
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Fiji water is a gift
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from nature to us, to repay our gift of leaving it completely alone
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Bottled at the source, untouched, unmanned
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It’s Earth finest water
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While aesthetically pleasing and pleasant to watch, there are a number of aspects that work hard to shroud Fiji water’s large
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environmental footprint in a cloud of green. For one, the bright double exposures of nature flickering within the edges of the bottle
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immediately cue us to Fiji water’s connection to nature, especially when contrasted with the dark
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cityscape background. The water bottle appears to be a perfect image of a world
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quote-unquote untouched by man. The visuals are then compounded with the narration of a young girl who anchors the ad with this
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proclamation: “bottled at the source, untouched by man”.
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Clearly, this ad works hard to paint Fiji water as a part of Nature, rather than what it really is.
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Water, bottled in plastics, that take many years to degrade,
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shipped via intensive transportation from Fiji to destinations around the world. Both these practices wreak Havoc on the environment,
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including the air and the water. And to bring Fiji’s negative impact into sharp relief
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47 percent of people who live in Fiji
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don’t have access to clean safe drinking water, according to the World Health
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Organization. This commercial is just a small part of Fiji’s larger campaign that attempts to reimagine the bottled water
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company of the essence of nature. Spreads like this reveal the larger work at play in Fiji’s greenwashed
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marketing tactics.
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They are pursuing environmentally-minded customers by framing their water bottles as a
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completely green product. Fiji tells us a one-sided story that appeals to their customers’ moral conscience
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You can’t help but choose Fiji over other bottled waters because they frame purchasing a Fiji bottle as a way to reduce
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carbon emissions and save the Fijian rainforest, when in fact their product is inextricably tied to
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assistance of pollution that are causing carbon emissions and deforestation.
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Greenwashing comes in many forms, and it’s not often as clear-cut as with Fiji water.
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So understanding how and why green washing works is essential to spotting a critical
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deconstruction of a cleaning product is necessary if you’re buying it solely because it’s green.
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Oftentimes, nature and trees are used to create the impression of an eco-friendly
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product, when there’s really no substance to back up those claims. So do some research and shop with an intention.
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Because the collected power of consumers
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can steer companies towards more truthful and ethical products.
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This video is made possible in part by the wonderful people who support me on Patreon. If you’re interested in helping me grow this channel,
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head on over to Patreon and pledge a small amount of money for every video I release. In return,
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I’ll send you gifts like a handwritten
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thank-you note, or in our changing climate sticker. As always, if you like what you just saw, share it around and subscribe.
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Thanks so much for watching, and I’ll see you next Friday
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This post was previously published on YouTube.
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Photo credit: Screenshot from video.