• ClickZ News, Thursday, June 7, 2007 11 AM

"Greenvertising" buys have surged over the last few months, getting ever more mainstream as consumers worry about environmental degradation. And while "green" can be tough to define, companies are rushing to embrace this new consciousness in their product messaging.

"Two years ago, our advertiser presentations talked about reaching a tipping point," says Christine Engelbrechtsen, vice president of integrated sales and marketing for Lime. "That tipping point has now arrived." And the trend is unlikely to be short-lived as firms heavily invest in green initiatives: "Establishing your green cred is now just part of doing business, especially with the youth market," says analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence.

But beware "greenwash," when companies label themselves eco-friendly without really changing anything about the way they do business. As the public also becomes more sophisticated, that approach could backfire. "If the ad campaign fails because the ads are seen as unauthentic, the media buyer might be held accountable," cautions Holly Bornstein, director of marketing for CleanWell.

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