How local is  “local”? A question raised by Jeffrey Hollender - himself a business man and author of several book - in a contribution to the popular talkback section of csrwire. He argues that "there is no bandwagon corporate goliaths won’t jump on with an enthusiasm geared to make us think it was their idea all along. Start a trend, found a movement, make a wave, and you’ll soon find companies of all kinds working overtime to hijack it all the way to the bank."

Green and local? Hollender is sceptical: "When environmentalism got hot and consumers wanted to devote their dollars to more sustainable goods and services, the marketplace turned green almost overnight. Suddenly every product had an environmental benefit. Yet the vast majority were simply deceptively marketed poseurs. Such products (and they’re out there in droves) are said to be “greenwashing,” and now they’ve got some competition: products and companies that claim to be “local” when they’re anything but. This “localwashing” is a predictable response to the new localvore movement, which emphasizes the environmental and economic importance of goods and services produced by members of one’s own community and those nearby. And it’s fast becoming the new greenwashing as the world’s largest corporations attempt to co-opt consumers’ growing desire keep their money closer to home where it can boost the fortunes of the local economy and the neighbors whose ventures fuel it (...)"

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Opinion:

Hollender is right, of course. On the other hand, companies have to respond to trends if they want to remain competitive in the market. This doesn't mean that their products become more sustainable over night as their marketing suggests. Green entrepreneurs, media investigation and government regulation are indispensable forces, too, to get there.

Picture credit: lsgcp