Clorox’s Bleach Propaganda: Greenwashing to the Nth Degree?

Navigating the aisles of a typical big box store or food market can be pretty tricky in today's greener economy because it's not always clear which of the many sustainable and Mother Nature-friendly claims are actually rooted in truth. If the main difference between conventional and green goods appears to be just a slight variation in price, for the most part, the majority of consumers will gravitate toward purchasing products that are marketed as being easier on the earth. More than anything else, it makes us feel better about ourselves knowing that we are in some way contributing to a brighter planetary future by exercising informed consumer decisions -- a drop in the bucket is better than none at all.

How does that consumer mentality change when - for example -- we learn that the Burt's Bees products we've been buying in an effort to reduce our own personal carbon footprint are made by the very same company that produces Clorox bleach, the infamous laundry product that can potentially poison people if ingested? Should we feel misled? Is it time to go on a brand boycott? Maybe it's wise to go on a fact-finding mission first  before making any firm judgments. According to the manufacturer's own website, the sodium hypochlorite found in their disinfecting product doesn't contaminate groundwater or generate dioxins. They go on to explain that 95 to 98% of bleach ultimately breaks down into completely harmless water and salt, and the remaining by-products are fully treatable via septic systems and modern wastewater treatment facilities.

For some, that would be good enough but for the curious few who forge ahead with their own Google search, they'll begin to uncover a clever and multi-tiered marketing campaign by Clorox in which they are intent to appear as green as humanly possible. Does it seem slightly suspicious that they managed to secure a Sierra Club endorsement of their GreenWorks cleaning products for the tidy sum of $470,000? How about the fact that when you attempt to get the real skinny about the potential environmental consequences of bleach from a website called FactsAboutBleach, that you're reassured that it's almost as gentle as a summer rain? It's only when you finally notice a tiny Clorox logo at the very bottom of the site and a sidebar detailing the many ways that Clorox is green -- including their large monetary contribution of $500,000 which is helping to build one LEED school, their donation of many of their products to the community and the fact that they're sponsoring a Planet Green television series - that things begin to come into focus.

It appears that Clorox has managed to infiltrate the web with convincing bleach propaganda that touts their disinfectant wonder as being the best household staple since sliced bread -- they even managed to purchase valuable real estate on the WebMD site promoting its multipurpose applications. Ultimately, after conducting close to an hour of research, the legitimate eco-consequences of using bleach remained completely elusive to me. Is it possible that Clorox has successfully bought off all online bleach naysayers in a bid to trick well intentioned consumers into believing that using bleach is perfectly peachy for people and Mother Nature? When you're dealing with multi-billion dollar corporations, I wonder if it's ever truly possible to unearth the legitimate eco-consequences of their products or should we be prepared to navigate a world of greenwashing at every turn?