The Buzz Bin

We hinted in the Mashable article about Greenpeace’s next targeted corporate campaign to end greenwashing. Little did most folks know it was the hipster’s beloved Trader Joe’s. Dubbed Traitor Joe, the Greenpeace campaign has garnered some serious momentum around the blogosphere.

At the same time, the campaign has not made a big impact on Twitter or in Trader Joe’s Google results, yet. It will be interesting to see if the blogging momentum takes off, and spills over into a full groundswell movement.

The heart of the matter is Trader Joe’s claims of greenness and conservation, while the company is in actuality selling several species of red list fish species. Greenpeace ranks Trader Joe’s as #17 on the list of friendly supermarkets (Wegman’s being #1). Says Greenpeace’s Traitor Joe:

You see, I have a bad habit of greenwashing. Instead of telling you how I am destroying the oceans, I bend the truth and tell you that I do everything “green” and look out for the well being of the Earth. But, if you dig a little deeper (and I hope you won’t) you will see that I have a treasure chest (or freezer case) full of red list seafood.

In response to allegations of greenwashing, Trader Joe’s has stated:

The Greenpeace report details that Trader Joe’s sells a certain number of items on their “Red List.” But several of the items that they call out are NOT for sale in our stores. We do NOT sell Chilean Sea Bass, Monkfish, Ocean Quahog or Redfish in any of our stores. In fact, Trader Joe’s sells fewer items on that “Red List” than the #1 ranked grocery retailer in their report.

It’s an interesting effort. One thing is certain, if Trader Joe’s wasn’t on the up with its green marketing, it definitely noticed the campaign and is acting. No matter how far the campaign goes, Greenpeace has to consider that a success. This tactic seems to work for Greenpeace, as one of its more notable social web campaigns was its targeting of Apple’s environmental efforts with the GreenMyApple effort.

Companies thinking green is sexy without actual substantive products/services behind the message should beware. Those interested in learning more about green marketing and avoiding these kinds of issues should read the 2009 Greenwashing report.