It had all the trappings of the environmentally responsible purchase: a local -or at least regional- product (Ontario), environmentally acceptable packaging (glass), an eco label ("Eco Trail") and a non-impulse purchase (hey, I happen to like a good glass of wine, okay?).
So how come I feel taken advantage of?
Well, upon reading the bottle's fine print on the back label, it appears this winery isn't as "eco" as its label suggest. For me, an environmentally responsible wine maker doesn't use pesticides, doesn't use petro-based fertilizers, doesn't over-irrigate, only uses local varieties of grapes, you get the idea. None of this is mentioned on the loftily-phrased back label.
So why does this vinyard consider itself greener than the competition? Well, there's extensive talk about a near-extinct type of frog which used to live there in large colonies before someone with a business plan turned this frog's natural habitat into a winery. However, a few frogs managed to survive and according to the back label, the winery decided to let them be and not eradicate them (there probably weren't enough of them to do any serious damage).
Somehow I don't think this is "eco". Somehow I don't really think this actually makes our world a better place. Somehow I think: it would have been better if those frogs hadn't been killed in the first place.
My verdict therefore: greenwash of the very first order.
But I must admit, it was a very nice wine...
As a writer (and teacher of adult literacy), I am saddened when I see language polluted by people misusing terms like "eco" and "green" as you've shown us.
ReplyDeleteThese terms are now debased beyond recognition.
Alas, I had the same experience! Except that, being a bit more jaded already (well, you're not jaded at all, as far as I can tell, so kudos!) I read the story of the dear little frog, thought about it, and then put the bottle down and went and bought a reliable little $7 bottle of something Italian that made no claims whatsoever, except that it was wine.
ReplyDeleteNot an impulse item at all, as I was in a wine mood - which is pretty much constant. :-)
But as you say, it's unfortunate there's so much greenwash around. Worthwhile causes become so diluted through bending or outright misuse of terms that the public loses interest - they know flim-flam when they encounter it. The case of Pelee Island Winery's claim of eco-ism, making hay with the fact that they've decided not to completely eradicate the little froggie after driving it near its end, is about the most flagrant case I've encountered. Perhaps we should start a contest?
Anyway, language is bound to be "debased" (as Black Pete points out above) - changes and mergings, sharpenings and dilutions of meaning are part of what makes a language live - but when marketing gets involved and money is at stake, it becomes a wild ride!
Makes you want a drink...