TERRACHOICE 2010 SINS OF GREENWASHING STUDY FINDS MISLEADING GREEN CLAIMS ON 95 PER CENT OF HOME AND FAMILY PRODUCTS

Big box stores emerge as "gentle green giants"
while 100 per cent of toys surveyed get a failing grade

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NORTHBROOK, IL and OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ - More than 95 per cent of consumer products claiming to be green are committing at least one of the "sins" of greenwashing, according to The Sins of Greenwashing: Home and Family Edition, released today by TerraChoice, a leading North American environmental marketing company and part of Underwriters Laboratories' global network. The study also finds big box retailers stock more "green" products and more products that provide legitimate environmental certifications than smaller "green" boutique-style stores.

The Sins of Greenwashing: Home and Family Edition highlights:

• There are 73 per cent more green products on market today than in 2009.
• More than 95 per cent of consumer products claiming to be green are guilty of at least one of the "sins" of greenwashing.
• 4.5 per cent of products now sin-free, compared to only 1 per cent in 2007.
• 100 hundred per cent of toys and 99.2 per cent of baby products surveyed are guilty of some form of greenwashing.
• BPA-free claims are up by 577 per cent since the 2009 Sins of Greenwashing study, appearing more frequently among toys and baby products than any other category studied.
• Phthalate-free claims increased 2,550 per cent since 2009.
• Big box stores are more likely to stock products that are "sin-free" than boutique stores.
• Categories such as building materials, construction and office products contained more "sin-free" products than categories where "green" experience was less developed, such as baby products, toys, and consumer electronics.
• Good eco-labeling helps prevent (but does not eliminate) greenwashing - of the products certified by a recognized third-party certification, more than 30 per cent are sin-free.

To download a copy of the 2010 Sins of Greenwashing study, visit www.sinsofgreenwashing.org.    

Full news release and access to videos and images available here:
http://smr.newswire.ca/en/terrachoice/2010-sins-of-greenwashing-study

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SOURCE TerraChoice