Lost in Translation: Eric Karjaluoto
Rodrigo Teixeira of Brazil, interviews Eric KarjaluotoAabout design- the interview in Portuguese is here.
Nowadays, it seems that everybody is claiming to be "green." But when we dig deeper we often find that most of these changes are little than marketing. How can we convince our clients to make real change? And how can we separate one thing from another?
This is a huge and very complicated issue. Part of it relates to intention. Some organizations are simply unaware of the issue and what they can do. Others are concerned, but inadvertently greenwash, in spite of best intentions, because they don't understand the implications of what they are doing and saying. And then there are those organizations who simply don't care. They fully understand that they are doing damage to the ecosystem, but willingly greenwash in order to protect their brands.
All of these groupsaaside from the lastacan be worked with. Their challenge is largely one of ignorance. I want to be clear here: I don't mean stupidity, I mean that they simply don't have the required information to act in a more effective and fruitful fashion. So, to answer your question, it's our job as communicators to learn as much as we can on this topic, and then share this information with our clients both directly (one-on-one discussions) and indirectly (thought leadership). In doing so, we enable them to make real change.
And for those who greenwash with more nefarious intentions, we need another tactic. Ultimately, they are the enemy, and we must attack them as such. We can do this through both information and action. By asking the populace to think critically about the messages they are confronted with, we can better weed out those messages that are more dubious in nature. I sincerely believe that most people do care about this issue and will make good decisions once the path is made clear. Knowing which organizations are doing ill can enable consumers to boycott those brands and demand more sustainable options.
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