The Ethical Globe

Chris MacDonald wrote interesting article about business ethics with an eloquent title: Sexism in Coffee Shops. Chris MacDonald deals with a recently published essay Ladies First? A Field Study of Discrimination in Coffee Shops (pdf 372 KB) written by Caitlin Knowles Myers and her colleagues Marcus Bellows, Hiba Fakhoury, Douglas Hale, Alexander Hall and Kaitlin Ofman.

What is this essay about? Caitlin Knowles Myers, in her field study, had been trying to find out whether discrimination existed between the trader and the client. Strictly speaking she had been trying to find differences in waiters’ in coffee shops behaviour. The essay generally points out that the sample examined (8 restaurants in Boston) showed features of discrimination relating to how long certain groups of customers had to wait until being served. They were as follows:

„Men get their coffee 20 seconds earlier than women. Black people wait longer than their white counterparts; young people wait longer than old and the attractive wait longer than the less attractive.” (Source: Slate.com: Waiting for Good Joe)

Funny? Well, I think so. However, what’s more: the essay most probably was not meant to be a joke but a serious thing. Therefore I was even more surprised after finding out that Chris MacDonald (and believe me, that I really like his blog) was able to approach the issue seriously and make due conclusions out of it. I should probably keep my mouth shut but, you know, it’s not that easy. The whole research seems to me to be nothing more than derision, comedy rather than something that should lead to recognitions of the proper problems of sexism, that is, discrimination on account of sex. Unfortunately.

And how about you? What do you think? Is 20 seconds an excessive or even reprehensible time? What are, from your point of view, more serious problems concerning discrimination on account of sex?

It is not only because of positive marketing strategies and campaigns of many companies that our planet is again starting to green. Phrases such as “ecologically frugal”, “sustainable” or “environment friendly” are getting more and more popular and becoming almost self-evident among companies and their management. Being ecological is becoming a magic formula. Companies are competing among themselves in how green their strategies, products or services are. Green image is in fashion today. Furthermore, of course, it is also nice.

Honesty, I really appreciate all companies who sincerely “care about” the environment. I also appreciate those who formerly did not but now do. What, however, disturbs me a little bit, is that there are a large number of companies whose only wish is to “parasitize” on this new wave. Virtually, they are some sort of deadheads, stowaways.

Greenwashing, pinkwashing, whitewashing

Greenwashing represents a (entrepreneur) practice when companies try to look „greener“ than they actually are. Companies trying to green their products in this way barely care about the environment. Credibility and plausibility of such companies is very tricky. In fact it is a fight between rhetoric and practical enforcement of „environment friendly“ principles. Metaphorically this is building of Potemkin villages; environment protection is not an issue.

The same applies to the term pinkwashing – this term, however, does not relate to environment. It is rather creating an illusion of fake, unrealistic, pink impression of a company (or product).

Whitewashing (from which the term greenwashing was derived) characterises a coordinated struggle to cover unpleasant realities, mostly in the political sphere.

Greenwashing Index – share your opinions of marketing activities which companies pursue

Project GreenWashing Index stands for an interesting activity of mapping green activities of various companies. The principle of this web is very simple. Visitors of the web site evaluate advertisements supporting “green marketing strategies”. Web is by means of “objectification of the subjective” trying to point out at advertisements that are most probably delusory and have barely anything in common with the green politics. The main points of the web are:

1. To help customers orientate among marketing strategies of companies and better evaluate their activities and tactics;
2. To help companies fulfil what they proclaim in advertisements;
3. To stimulate market and direct it towards sustainable entrepreneur practices which really reduce negative impacts on the environment;

Evaluation of such advertisements is pursued on the basis of three areas:

• Is the advertisement delusory in its text?
• Is the advertisement delusory in its visual processing?
• Does the advertisement proclaim vague or hardly provable “ecologic” announcements?
• Does the advertisement exaggerate in how much “green” the company’s products/services are?
• Does the advertisement cover or omit important realities? Does it therefore make itself greener that is actually is?

The web is only starting to operate now (the first advertisements appeared at the beginning of this year) but personally I am its supporter. It is some sort of a swallow that may help eliminate greenwashing activities of companies. Such companies are what we really do not need today. They only discredit people’s beliefs and degrade the struggles of those who seriously endeavour to “do something good” for the environment.

The future will show which way its steps will proceed. What is your opinion of such activities? Do they make a sense?

I have got a hint for this interesting spot of German company Solon that specializes on solar energy. This short commercial is utterly “loaded with energy” (Accu Movie). This advertisement has already surprised many juries constituted of professionals (London Award 2007, Cannes Lions 2007, Eurobest Award 2007 and others), picked many awards and managed to stun many spectators.

All in all: an apocalypse that does not scare but leads to thinking cap; recommend by my both eyes and ears.

More information about this ad you will find on official website. What do you think about this ad? Do you like it? And what do you think about photovoltaic? Do you think that it’s important part of our future’s energetic conception?