Weekly Post #3 Product Ratings

It can be quite difficult when it comes to finding a quality product these days that is what it actually says what is it is, especially when you have to take the green washing factor into account. There are a few things that I would personally suggest to look for when trying to find a quality, honest product.
1) If organic, look for the 100% Organic seal
2) Look for a phone number on product from the company
3) Check for an address for contact information
4) Check ingredients
5) Pay attention, and don’t be fooled by phrases such as, “Green!” “Eco-Friendly” and see if they even list what is really in the product

I would use these five criterion, because the most important thing is to find out what is exactly in the product and not just getting fooled by the outward appearance.

1) GreenWorks* Cleaning products: 5
2) Kirkland Signature* dish detergent: 2
3) Hybrid vehicles: 3

Local Washing

Local washing is a new concept that more and more businesses are capitalizing on. It has become apparent that people are more likely to buy locally because they feel that they are supporting their local economy, in return building a better environment for them to live in. Local washing is when businesses are large corporations are using the word “local” as a marketing ploy, similar to what I talked about last week about green washing. When people see the word “LOCAL” posted up in their grocery store, it is appealing in the same way that we are attracted to the word “GREEN”. Local washing is going beyond just the supermarkets though; Starbucks and Barnes & Noble have both capitalized on local washing. Starbucks de-branded three of their stores in Seattle recently and renamed them as “15th Ave Coffee and Tea” emphasizing that they were locally owned and operated, in reality still being owned by the worlds largest coffee companies.

Is it really all that bad? I’ve asked myself this question over and over again, and honestly I really don’t see the harm in it. Yes, it is deceitful promoting local companies, when in actuality they are owned by large corporations. But they are still technically local if they are in your town. If Wal Mart wants to start carrying locally grown produce and post up “Local” signs all around, then I think there is no problem with that. I think that it definitely is better to buy locally, whether that means shopping from stores that are born and raised in your town, or if it’s just that you purchase you food at our local Fred Meyer, rather than going to Yakima’s Fred Meyer. On the flip side, sometimes buying locally doesn’t matter when a it’s already owned by a large corporation. Chain restaurants and stores could be flourishing locally, but if in the bigger picture they aren’t doing to well finically, they will shut down.

For a personal example, I live in the Tri-Cities and the poor economy really hasn’t affected business or real estate because our community mainly consists of middle to upper class America. Furthermore, my brother-in-law Michael has had this dream of opening a restaurant called “Wingers” in the Tri-Cities. They got all the funds, negotiated land, followed all the steps necessary to open the restaurant and right when they were about to start building, Wingers’s corporate called Michael tell him they weren’t going to be able to follow through, because of the economy. Well this would be understandable except for that the economy in the Tri-Cites was still thriving and the truth is that a wing house would of done great. But still was put on hold because of the finical situation that Wingers’s was in as a whole. Therefore, you can see that sometimes buying locally when that business is owned by a larger corporation won’t make any difference.

So it's not easy to judge. What do you think? Is local washing a horrible marketing ploy drived by us greedy American's, or is it just another way to promote local shopping?