We hear a lot about greenwashing - companies changing their packages to be green, placing leaves on advertising, or tossing the word sustainability anywhere they can to appear as a more environmentally friendly company. More and more research shows that consumers are becoming more aware of what companies are doing making it more difficult for companies that are truly engaging in sustainable behaviors to convey the truth of their sustainable efforts.
A new term is arising today for a similar problem - pinkwashing. The term originated with regard to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation being found on just about every product out there - from tshirts to yogurt lids to buckets of KFC chicken to 5 hour energy. Why? What connection do each of these products have to the cause? And does the money actually make it to the cause? Initially cause-related marketing was extremely beneficial in increasing overall attitudes and purchase intentions toward products. These beneficial effects are decreasing today because of the overwhelming presence of cause marketing which has also been shown to decrease perceptions of the cause - i.e., pinkwashing. We need to start considering today when it is beneficial for companies to partner with causes.
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