Just in case you felt like jumping on the green bandwagon, here’s a cautionary tale about a supermarket chain in England called Sainsbury that made a lot of noise with an organic shopping bag. Londoners lined up to buy it. Keira Knightly was spotted sporting one. Then according to Treehugger, the fit hit the sham:

Yesterday the Evening Standard revealed that the so-called green carriers were made in China, using cheap labour. And the bag was neither organic nor fair trade. Never mind the air miles. Handbags at dawn: today Sainsbury’s denies any duplicity, insisting that it had never claimed that the bag was Fairtrade or organic. It says that it was made in a factory that pays double the minimum wage and complies with Chinese labour law. Hindmarch says that it was shipped by sea. This is an embarrassment for the supermarket which has been making extravagant claims about its green credentials. Activists said that it was bordering on hypocritical and that the whole high-profile episode tarnished Sainsbury’s image.

Frankly, I love this story. Not the fraud part but the fact they got caught and were publicly flogged. Marketing for Good requires a real commitment to doing well by doing good. It is not make-up that you can put on in the morning and take off at night. It is not everyone’s “bag” nor will it carry the day in all situations. It is, however, one way to cut through.

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