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At 40, Earth Day Is Now Big Business

In stark contrast to the first Earth Day 40 years ago, the event has turned into a premier marketing platform for hawking everything from an umbrella that purportedly recycles rainwater to a F. A. O. Schwarz toy called Peat the Penguin that is made from soy fibers.



"This ridiculous perverted marketing has cheapened the concept of what is really green," says Denis Hayes, who was national coordinator of the first Earth Day. "It is tragic." But other organizations, such as Greenpeace and Keep America Beautiful, are seamlessly partnering with businesses to promote a green agenda.



In USA Today, Bruce Horovitz tracks a bunch of freebies being given out by brand names such as Disney (eco caps), Pottery Barn (plants) and Burt's Bees (smoothies and fake beards) and points out the irony of doling out goodies on a day meant to promote leaving a smaller footprint.



"They're celebrating the Earth and nature by producing goods that require the use of natural resources to make," says Daniel Howard, marketing professor at Southern Methodist University. But, he adds, it's brilliant marketing

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