Beverage mogul “Coca-Cola” has recently been accused of exaggerating the environmental benefits of their highly praised “PlantBottle”- a bottle that is said to be up to thirty percent plant based. The overzealous marketing techniques employed by Coca-Cola do not comply with Denmark’s national Marketing Practices Act, according to the Dutch Consumer Ombudsmen.

     Coca-Cola’s inability to produce significant data to justify their claims, combined with their assertive marketing tactics has lead the environmental community, and myself, to condemn the company of an unethical practice known as “Green-Washing”. “Green-washing” is the act of deceptively utilizing “environmentally friendly” practices in order to increase the PR of a company, increasing sales in the process. These unethical practices tie in various aspects of Milton Friedman’s The Social Responsibility of Business to Increase Profits. By dramatizing their efforts to achieve sustainability, the company is attempting to align their ideologies with those of the socially conscious customer. The controversy lies in the deception they are using to announce such a commitment to the environment. The unique twist to this story arises in the fact that “Green Washing” is actually benefiting Coca-Cola as they were recently voted as the “Industry Champion of The Year” at the 2014 Sustainable Bio Awards. As Coca-Cola is technically not breaking any laws, they have the right to “make as much money as possible while still conforming to the basic rules of society”.

Work Cited:

http://www.ibtimes.com/coca-cola-company-ko-busted-greenwashing-plantbottle-marketing-exaggerated-environmental-benefits

The Social Responsibility to Increase Profits, Milton Friedman

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