There are so many excuses to around using/practicing Sustainability in business.

1. There is no common definition for the word sustainability itself.

2. You could say that it’s too difficult to make a metric of your sustainability.

3. You could also say that it is hard to set yourself apart from being categorized as a “greenwasher.”

4. You want to make a profit, but that might or might not encourage consumption of more goods.

… and the list goes on. Sadly, I was introduced to another one that adds to this list. One that I was not expecting. It is more focused on a green product though, not so much to any of the other various businesses areas that sustainability applies to.

After writing my previous blog post on a green product, I had a comment from Noah that left a study. This study outlined that if you purchased a green good you were more likely to feel justified to perform activities such as cheating or stealing.

http://environmentportal.in/files/Do%20green%20products%20make%20us%20better%20people.pdf

I was fascinated but disgusted at the same time. I have always thought of sustainability hand in hand with ethics… so why is it that it’s a reversed correlation here? I’m sure that the intent for companies to have such green products is not for people to feel entitled to doing something not so great after.

Looking at the stages of consumption, this focus is on the post-use. I guess consumers feel like they’ve done a good deed that will  offset their bad deed, but there are enough bad deeds out there! I hope that there is a way to show that the efforts of the big business players in sustainability can offset blips such as this one. (I’m not sure if there will be a way to measure this in future or not…)

My respect to the companies that are currently engaging in sustainability is infinite. There are so many hurdles that businesses have to overcome to label themselves as “Green” or “Sustainable.” I’m glad they still exist and that there is a contribution to the fabric that is good in society despite the uphill battle that they seem to be a part of.

I first heard about this product through a classmate. We were randomly put into a group together for a project management course. We had to come up with our own project and we considered doing something with SmartKlean. It was the first I had heard of it. My group member who introduced this idea said that it worked and he was telling all his friends about it. When we asked him where he had heard about this product from he mentions that he heard about it from his room mate.

Even though this classmate was a friend and he had mentioned this awesome product to me, I automatically was skeptical about this product. I realized that I was skeptical because it sounded too good to be true.

I did more research into this product and found their website to be clean, inviting, and most of all, touches on almost all aspects of sustainability. (www.smartkleancanada.com)

The most interesting things I found while researching this mysterious ball were:

1. This companies complete dedication to sustainability. They not only make the dedications of “Economical, People-Friendly, Earth-Friendly and Authentic” they also go through the notions of explaining each one. For example for the Earth-Friendly one, the mention how they do not ship through e-bay or Amazon.

2. Vloggers and testimonials of all kinds supported that this product works. I guess my skepticism stemmed from how this product was almost too good to be true. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcrEwct5wY0

3. I could potentially spend $12.73 on 96 loads or $48.41 for 365 loads…

… or I could buy a SmartKlean now at London Drugs or off of their site for $25.

This goes back to class as to how we talked about how in The Green Marketing Manifesto by John Grant he mentions that your product comes first and green comes second. The fact that this product works is amazing. The fact that it has sustainability bonuses is even more amazing.

Anyway – I am sold. Are you sold?