FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information: Jeff Silver, 865-966-1133

All “green” products aren’t necessarily green, cautions East Tennessee’s A&W Office Supply

(Jan. 14, 2009) -- Where ‘green’ is concerned, it’s important to know what’s truly green and what is a pale imitation, cautions west Knoxville company A&W Office Supply.

“Environmentally friendly products, from soaps to chemicals to office products are in great demand, and some people who think they’re buying green need to be careful that they are not just buying a ‘green’ label on the side of a box,” said Jeff Silver, A&W sales manager.

“Greenwashing” is the term coined and subsequently popularized on the Internet to describe products or companies who claim an environmental focus but whose ingredients, actions or processes don’t live up to their hype, Silver said.

“It’s somewhat like calling a product ‘new and improved’ when nothing about it has changed,” Silver said.

A&W encourages consumers to review Federal Trade Commission marketing guidelines on how green products should presented to the public and make informed decisions about what is truly environmentally friendly, and what is hype.

A&W, in business for 34 years, is one of America’s 12 largest independent office supplies companies. The company has dramatically expanded its inventory of green products.

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a set of five guidelines on environmental marketing. FTC Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch has given the following five things to do or avoid in marketing products as green:

1. Advertising claims should be substantiated before the claims are made.

2. Do not make “open-ended” claims – broad, unqualified claims that are applicable only in quite limited circumstances.

3. Do not make “dangling comparative” claims that something is “better” or “safer”

-more-

All green products aren’t green – add one

without saying what it is being compared with.

4. Do not make “exaggerated feature” claims – claims that dwell on a product feature which may have no significance or benefit for consumers.

5. Do not make claims using terms that consumers don’t generally understand.

There are even Web sites, such as www.greenwashingindex.com, that have set themselves up as watchdogs over greenwashing-related advertising.

“That’s why consumers who are interested in environmentally friendly products need to be sure they are getting what they expect,” Silver said.

Along with its inventory of office products, A&W sells office furniture and janitorial and sanitary maintenance products.

The company began expanding its green inventory several years ago, Silver said, realizing that businesses would be looking at ways to save and recycle.

“As we became more involved in this line of business, we also became more aware of how statements of environmental friendliness might be separate from reality,” said Silver, who through course work and testing is designated an Afflink Sustainable Choices Pioneer. AFFLINK is an association connecting hundreds of independent distributor members.

“It’s the same in green products as in other lines of business,” he said. “The more a consumer knows, the better off he or she is.”

END

About A&W

A&W Office Supply & Design is one of America’s 12 largest independent office supply companies, offering customers office products, janitorial and sanitary maintenance supplies and office furniture through OF USA. A&W’s corporate office is in Knoxville. The company has a branch office in Johnson City.