Green, eco-friendly and sustainable things are in fashion and it seems that companies know how to adapt better than anyone else to this marketing. Dozens of brands advertise promising you a better planet: the blue and green colors of life run through their campaigns and numerous lists of corporations that obtain eco-responsible certificates are published.
But all of the above is similar to the trend of philanthropy in which companies that actually cause social damage build financing programs for scholarships or nutrition plans for marginalized societies, and with this they shine their image in public opinion and, incidentally, they deduct taxes. Curiously, philanthropy has become a fruitful business that rarely alleviates the vices of the system that causes exclusion.
On the ecological issue, it seems that many companies are adopting it, at least in their marketing campaigns, simply because today it is cool and profitable. But if we apply a slightly more exhaustive analysis, we will find that, in reality, some companies that advertise themselves as eco-friendly are true executioners for the environment.
We present you with a list of some Mexican brands that, behind their green facade, compromise the future of coming generations.
herdez group
In 2012 this firm presented a flattering Sustainability report. The previous document even placed it on some lists of environmentally responsible companies. But there is a story that the company has been carrying for years. According to testimonies from the inhabitants and journalistic investigations, one of its plants, located in Chiapas, was systematically unloading waste to the fishing docks and waters of the port of said state. The beaches of the municipality of Tapachula have been constantly contaminated by this company, which for years showed zero interest, not even for taking care of its reputation on the subject.
lala group
This consortium, which together with Alpura concentrates the production of half of Mexico’s milk, has been accused for years of overexploiting the aquifers in the La Laguna area in the state of Coahuila. The water of La Laguna is also infested with arsenic, which has caused diseases such as hypertension, «black foot» and skin cancer in the inhabitants of the area for 40 years, although it is believed that the factors that have contaminated the water are varied. liquid. The same Grupo Lala was also accused of polluting the Temascatio River in Guanajuato. At the same time, the company boasts its eco-friendly actions.
CEMEX
This cement company has been involved in several ecological scandals in at least three countries outside of Mexico for which, by the way, it has received million-dollar fines. In Puerto Rico, she was fined for violations of the Clean Water Law, since the company dumped its waste in prohibited areas. In Colombia, it dumped its waste irregularly into the Tunjuelo River, affecting the surrounding aquifers and underground areas. In California, he paid a $2 million fine for violating the Clean Air Act. In Mexico, it has been accused of being the main cause of pollution in the most polluted area of the city of Guadalajara, Miravalle. Despite the foregoing, CEMEX boasts a series of sustainability programs applied to some communities.
Clorox from Mexico
It has been proven how some gases that chlorine contains, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and HCFCs, destroy stratospheric ozone. The Women’s Voice for Earth organization has also stated that the chloroform contained in Clorox can cause cancer. Although Clorox has developed a line of organic products, it has also tried to convince public opinion and administrations of the goodness of chlorine and PVC. In reality it is a company that, despite its publicized efforts for the environment, sells a product that is an environmental enemy and has sought to make this unknown.
sky
If you live in this country, you are surely familiar with the “Give it around” campaign, starring a popular actress, about the eco-friendly bottles of Ciel, which in turn belong to Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola FEMSA pays only 2,600 pesos for each of the 46 groundwater exploitation concessions per year in Mexico, and in 2007 alone it had profits of 32,500 million pesos. The reserves of the aquifers are exploited without cost, according to Alejandro Calvillo, a member of the NGO El Poder del Consumidor. In other words, they have 5,000% profits from exploiting the groundwater tables that belong to the Mexicans. In Mexico, 21.3 million PET bottles are discarded daily; this country is the largest consumer of bottled water in the world.
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