You ever notice how "being green"  basically means using less water and paper and gas and electricity? It's actually a tactic for businesses to double-dip on increasing their profits: they make a concerted effort to use fewer resources that cost money, and then they get to dress it up as being environmentally-friendly to attract customers and occasionally increase prices. 
 
A local frozen yogurt shop has different sizes of disposable paper bowls, and then they have the "green bowl," which is a large, green, washable bowl that they encourage people to use because it's "good for the environment." The measurable monetary benefit to the store, beyond simply good feelings toward the company that can possibly contribute to a customer's choice to return, is twofold. First, they reduce the volume of paper bowls they have to buy. The green bowls, while they have a higher overhead cost, are much cheaper in the long run because they rarely have to be replaced. Also, they encourage people to buy more yogurt with their larger size. People have a tendency to want to fill whatever vessel they're putting their food in, which is part of the reason why dieters recommend using a smaller plate. Since they charge by the ounce, they get more money from their customers.
 
I work at a grocery store. Since paper and plastic bags are pretty expensive, the store started selling "green bags," which are reusable canvas bags. They cost a dollar, enough to offset about 60 plastic bags, and they keep customers from using plastic bags so the store doesn't have to buy as many.
 
My dad, one of the most conservative people in existence, switched over to a paperless office because seriously paper is fucking expensive as shit I mean god DAMN.
 
Slightly related: "organic" food isn't necessarily any better for you than non-organic food (what do you think is going to happen if you eat non-organic food? Are you gonna blow up? Chill, dawg) and if you don't have a gluten allergy, and you would know if you did,  you don't have to worry about eating gluten-free and in fact you probably shouldn't because it's unnecessarily expensive.

Fucking wow... 
 
  

I actually agree with some of the points presented by the creator of this topic.

The only thing logical in your entire rant was that bit about organic and non-organic food. Aside from that, what you said was incredibly illogical.

Well, some companies are making bank from clueless hipsters on so-called "green" initiatives.

How is it a scam? Since when is a solution that saves money a scam? 
The closet you came to a hint of a scam is the larger bowl thing and that's nothing to do with being green when you take time and actually think about it. That's a company exploiting the green idea but that doesn't make the good it does for the environment any less real.

Just like the whole Salmonella fiasco with the eggs over here in California. People were freaking out thinking they can't buy eggs anymore. Well, I got some news for them. Cook your eggs right and you won't have to worry about that shit.

" I actually agree with some of the points presented by the creator of this topic. "

" The only thing logical in your entire rant was that bit about organic and non-organic food. Aside from that, what you said was incredibly illogical. "

" I actually agree with some of the points presented by the creator of this topic. "

The fact of the matter is that being environmentally sound as a company--that is, using renewable energy sources, avoiding pollution, avoiding destruction of habitats--is more profitable in the long run. Capitalism is not so much a flawed idea as it has been mistaken in implementation. True profit and power in the market comes from having a company that will survive longer and keep customers longer. Wasting energy or destroying the environment ultimately hurts not just cute woodland creatures, but human beings--companies themselves.  
 
So, environmentalism is only a scam when it is in appearance only. But, if this is the case, the company, like all those "organic" food people, will feel it in the end when factory farming and genetic modification inevitably causes a massive disease outbreak and they lose customers not from competition, but from death.  
 
Yup, cheer up blokes!

I agree with the OP.  Funny this came up... here's an example that follows the OP's line of thinking: 
 
Last week my husband (amazingly) was going to use the Rug Doctor.  He called me at work to ask where the cleaning solution was, because the one he found was nearly empty.  I told him, but he didn't see any.  He was used to the big red bottle, the one that was nearly empty.  We were down to the Green version of the Rug Doctor solution, and he wasn't used to that.  So while he was on the phone with me he looked into what the difference was... and I looked again when I came home.  NO DIFFERENCE.  The ONLY difference was that they stuck the solution in a green colored bottle, and called the solution GREEN.  I don't know if this solution would have been more expensive - it came with our Rug Doctor when we bought it.

I agree completely.  The whole green movement is a sham.  The worst part about it is that no one know if any of these measures even help the environment.  People making this stuff up are politicians looking for a vote and businessmen looking for a buck.  Nowhere is a good engineer or scientist involved.  For example, take the whole paper vs plastic thing.  Which is better?  Everyone will say paper.  The answer, as with everything in real life, is that it depends.  From an energy perspective it takes way more energy to produce paper bags than it does to produce plastic bags.  Where does that energy come from?  Burning fossil fuels and producing greenhouse gases.   From an end-of-cycle perspective both are recyclable, but paper is better at bio-degrading.  

I'm not going to say that your points are wrong, I'd just like to point out that I've found most people who eat organic  meat do so because they believe the animal would have lead a happier life.

Of course companies do whatever they can to save/make more money. There are tons of "green" products out there that aren't necessarily better or all that much more environmentally friendly. HOWEVER, I think that regardless of the reasoning, less energy consumption and using less paper is always going to be a good thing. Why not? Using recycled paper, washable dishes, alternate methods of energy, public transportation..these are all good things. I don't really mind companies making/saving money by going "green" because it does still have positive effects on our lives. I have tons of reusable bags because yeah, you spend a dollar and have a bag to use until it rips. It's totally less wasteful.
 
When organic food isn't ridiculously expensive, I buy it (and you can get it at better prices depending on where you go: Trader Joe's for example). The amount of hormones and chemicals in foods are more plentiful than you think. Just because they don't make you explode doesn't mean they aren't still bad for you. I tend to stay away from overly processed foods or things laden with preservatives, because why would I want to put them in my body?

" Fucking wow... 
 
  

"

I agree with that, not great examples though.  There are a bunch of products that just exploit the whole "green" thing, when they have nothing to do with environmental friendliness. 

Reducing solid waste is obviously good for the environment. If it's cheaper to do that for businesses, awesome. Everyone wins.   
 
What's the problem?

" Of course companies do whatever they can to save/make more money. There are tons of "green" products out there that aren't necessarily better or all that much more environmentally friendly. HOWEVER, I think that regardless of the reasoning, less energy consumption and using less paper is always going to be a good thing. Why not? Using recycled paper, washable dishes, alternate methods of energy, public transportation..these are all good things. I don't really mind companies making/saving money by going "green" because it does still have positive effects on our lives. I have tons of reusable bags because yeah, you spend a dollar and have a bag to use until it rips. It's totally less wasteful. When organic food isn't ridiculously expensive, I buy it (and you can get it at better prices depending on where you go: Trader Joe's for example). The amount of hormones and chemicals in foods are more plentiful than you think. Just because they don't make you explode doesn't mean they aren't still bad for you. I tend to stay away from overly processed foods or things laden with preservatives, because why would I want to put them in my body? "

" @Raymayne: What is that from? "

It's less of a scam, and more of a sound business practice.
The same could be said of almost all marketing schemes.

I have to agree with the OP.  For example, when you go to a hotel there's an instruction card that tells you to put the card on your bed if you want them to change the sheets. Also, put your towels on the floor if you want new towels.

Invariably, the instruction card has some B.S. about how they are so environmentally aware and wish to save the environment. Of course, it does save some water and energy to do this, but it also saves them money and man-power. It's disingenuous for them to claim that protecting the environment is their sole motivation.

A recent example I encountered is some nutritional powder that I bought, which includes the following notice:

"We are as concerned about the environment as you are so we have removed the scoop from our powder products. Doing so helps save energy, reduces the amount of plastic produced, and improves our environmental footprint."

The scoop is a very small piece of plastic -- it pales in comparison to the rest of their packaging -- and is actually really useful. But I guess all that plastic was keeping the CEO up at night, so he had to have it removed.

I'm all for these companies saving money in ways that do less harm to the environment. But I can't stand those karma whores trying to pass of their cost-cutting efforts as them being environmental heroes.

my parents are farmers, and when I was a kid I found out that some of the neighbors grew organic food and  organic livestock. not all organic good for the enviroment foods are great. if yo make sure your cows are not given steriods then they can be sold as organic. But they don't say much about what it eats as long as it is natural. a cow that is fed left over organic veggie matter and cow parts ground together to make cow feed can be considered  organic beef when sold at the market. the green market can be exploited just the same as any other market.

" @Raymayne: What is that from? "

" Fucking wow... 
 
  

"

Humanity will never be saved unless businesses can see massive short term profits.  The corporation exists only as a vessel of absolute greed.  Either we need to work with this demon or wipe it out entirely.

Oh God, environmentalism thread, this isn't going to go well. Well, I agree with what you said about organic foods and to an extent I think companies can use the "green" image to bend things financially in their favour but one essential thing you seem to be missing here is that if you are using less resources then you also save money as well. Also, whatever the financial case the primary goal of the green movement is to combat climate change and save the planet, and as _pocalypse said the green movement has benefited smaller and more honest companies.

at least they are trying even if it's not that effective.

I work at a grocery store as well but whenever a customer uses a green bag they get 5 cents off their purchase per bag that they use. It pays for itself, eventually. Also, they ought to charge you for using paper bags. In my days as a bag boy dealing with those customers who want "The paper inside of the plastic" was the bane of my existence, especially on express checkout where I was working with little to no space.

i use plastic grocery bags to pick up my dog's poop. 

Organic food is no different in taste nor nutritional value from regular-ass food. The only caveat being that there is tons more of regular-ass food due to the crops not being decimated by insects and what have you.

This is true.
 
And brilliant. Not doing this would be stupid. People think they are helping the enviroment, when they infact are being tricked by the marketers. Us, the marketers, are the true rulers of the world.

no shit, it's been a scam for 10 years

There are a few businesses that exploit the green movement, simply because they could well, supposedly save more money off of things and keep a better PR image. Paper bags for example, they're not all that better off than plastic bags since we're cutting down forests for them and it takes longer to grow these trees. On the other hand, you save yourself from waste disposal that will be left around on the planet for a long, long time. The alternatives has its ups and downs. Some politicians exaggerate the effects and beauty of say alternative energy; but other politicians will completely tear it apart. There's a lot of blurring going on around the green movement and bias. This is why people need to do their research before blindly accepting things as they are.

"Green" labeling might be a scam, but being environmentally conscious isn't. Give a hoot, don't pollute.

I don't care if people happen to make a living while helping out the environment. There are about a million seedier ways to make a buck.

" I'm not going to say that your points are wrong, I'd just like to point out that I've found most people who eat organic  meat do so because they believe the animal would have lead a happier life. "

" Fucking wow... 
 
  

"

" Fucking wow... 
 
  

"

" "Green" labeling might be a scam, but being environmentally conscious isn't. Give a hoot, don't pollute. "