The Green Rocket

[Click to View Enlarged Image]

I’ve been sitting on this blog post for a while now and it almost got left unpublished. I came across it just after getting back from San Diego Comic Con. I spent a week there, exhausting myself to new degrees of human fatigue… and I loved it! So, when I saw a new post in my RSS feed titled “Dark Horse Goes Green” supported with a comic strip promoting it, I was enthusiastic!

“Of course! why NOT?!” I thought. Comics are paper, right, so using recycled paper, or partly recycled paper might make sense–at least in concept.

I was wrong.

As I read the companion strip my enthusiasm turned to over-whelming disappointment. The concept of “greenwashing” has been a topic I’ve been talking to Nikki about for almost a year. I’ve wanted to write an article about greenwashing after collecting dozens and dozens of news posts over the last year. Then the topic seemed to loose some steam in the blogging world and I thought: “Hum… maybe companies are aware of their deceptive or ignorant practices and smartening up.”

Then this: Not only did a respectable company like Dark Horse take a leader step forward, commanding respect and encouraging others to follow… they also did it wrong and even backed up their reasons for NOT going green! Absurd! Especially when tied to a green PR stunt meant to draw the awareness of green enthusiasts.

Just to break down what “greenwashing” is for people who are new to the term (including those at Dark Horse marketing presumably), here’s a definition:

Greenwashing is a term used to describe the practice of companies disingenuously spinning their products and policies as environmentally friendly. It is a deceptive use of green PR or green marketing.

Let me breakdown the ways Dark Horse and the strip above wantonly stride with ignorant abandon into the land of greenwashing:

1. High-quality bags: At the con, “schwag bags” are handed out like Halloween candy to Con-goers with seemingly endless sweettooths to take EVERY bag they pass by. Dark Horse making “high-quality reusable bags” isn’t that big a deal. The argument that they aren’t “plastic bags that’ll go in the trash” doesn’t make them bags that WON’T go in the trash by those who have no interest in keeping a dozen bags from different companies with promo art on them after they get home from the Con. I, for example, have high-quality PLASTIC bags that I reuse constantly as grocery bags. Some of the plastic bags I saw being handed out at the Con were equally reusable by those with the mindset to REUSE them. It’s not the bag’s material–it’s the bag holder’s choice.
2. What else does Dark Horse do for the planet: They have their comics on Myspace and the iPhone. Congratulations. This isn’t being done to “help the planet”, so please Dark Horse, don’t lie to yourselves and don’t confuse consumers. These same comics are also printed. The online options are just that: Options. They don’t fully replace paper comics, they help reach new readers who might come into a comic store and buy paper comics. If they were series that were ONLY digital, then they win this point. If not… shame… moving on…
3. But Dark Horse still prints comics! What about all the waste!?: Comics become waste. Sure, there are collectors who will save them for decades (and eventually over a century when their kids take the collections over), but at the end of the day: Comics are a waste product. Just like G.I. Joe toys, He-Man toys, My Little Ponies toys, vinyl records, stamps, Bazooka Joe bubble gum strips–you get the point I hope. An object “being a collectible” doesn’t exempt it from eventually going the way of the trash bin, or recycling bin.
4. Trying recycled paper, but it’s not good enough quality: Thinking it’s OK to use virgin paper for comics because you THINK they aren’t “bound for the landfill” doesn’t mean that the possibility they WON’T end up in a landfill doesn’t exists. You’re ignorant otherwise.
5. Paper is recyclable: Congratulations for pointing that out. Defending the choice to print on virgin paper by saying it “is a renewable resource” does NOT make your actions green! You know what ELSE is a renewable resource? RECYCLED paper… oh right… too bad you aren’t happy with the paper stock. Fail.
6. At Dark Horse, they love the environment: This may be true… but don’t PR that you’re “going green”. This is not acceptable from a publishing company with such a great history in the industry. It’s disappointing to someone who considers this publisher to be one of the comic industry “lead voices”. Doing something like this is a huge strike against the company from my opinion–and that sucks for me to say.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to suggest that Dark Horse’s intentions weren’t good. They jumped onto the green choo-choo train without having a better strategy than the one above. As a comic book lover, I’m a fan of good quality books, sure–I love books that stay in good condition for as long as possible. Any book. Would I purchase a comic on less quality comic paper? Sure, just make it cheaper as well. Would I purchase ONLY digital comics if the right technology was out to support it–cough Quicksilver cough–abso-frikkin-lutley. But I’d still by the trades for the collections I liked.

There’s always going to be paper products for people like me. I wouldn’t want publishers like Dark Horse or any other to change their distribution model to 100% digital. What I would like to see though is companies of all kinds to STOP this kind of Green PR tactic just to be part of the trend train. Think before your market.

Related Posts

• Mattel Greenwashing New Barbie BCause Line