People criticize companies (often correctly) for green washing, but many people aren't entirely accurate about their own behavior. Polls frequently find that about eighty percent of Americans identify themselves as environmentalists, yet our energy use is about twice as much per capita as European countries that have similar standards of living and our levels of consumption are much higher.
Perception and reality are not strongly linked.
Companies fell over themselves trying to market to these environmentalists. There was (and is) a lot of green washing along with a few solid products. I was talking to someone who works with a large household products company that came out with a competent "green" line. Their initial marketing surveys suggested most people would pay ten to fifteen percent premiums so they went ahead with the new line which cost more to manufacture. What they learned was only a small percentage of people would pay any premium. Apparently this is common.
Perhaps a new term is needed. How about: green boasting
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