Why I No Longer Support The Sierra Club.
I used to be a big supporter of The Sierra Club – we gave them money every year, we received their magazines, we signed their petitions. But that all stopped not too long ago when I heard that they were endorsing Clorox’s new line of “non-toxic” cleaners…supposedly in exchange for an undisclosed amount of money. Clorox has a long history of making incredibly toxic chemicals, damaging the environment, and continuing to test their products on animals while the rest of the world moves away from the practice. This is what The Sierra Club has come to stand for and endorse? Seems I am not the only one fed up with this blatant hypocrisy by a supposedly “green” organization. From PR Watch:
In an unprecedented move by one of the Big Green environmental groups, the “Sierra Club’s national board voted March 25 to remove the leaders of the Club’s 35,000-member Florida chapter, and to suspend the Chapter for four years.” What did the chapter do? According to Peter Montague, it was “highly critical of the national board’s decision in mid-December 2007 to allow The Clorox Company to use the Sierra’s Club’s name and logo to market a new line of non-chlorinated cleaning products called ‘Green Works.’ In return, Clorox Company will pay Sierra Club an undisclosed fee, based partly on product sales.” When grass-roots members pointed out that Clorox was fined $95,000 for violating U.S. pesticide laws just as the deal with the Club was being brokered, staffer Johanna O’Kelley dismissed Clorox’s culpability, saying their violation was “a technicality.”
There are plenty of real natural cleaners made by independent, smaller companies that A. actually care about the environment and B. do not test on animals. How about Seventh Generation, Method, Ecover, Ed Begley, etc? Oh how nice it would have been if they could have endorsed one of these companies…but that probably wouldn’t have gotten them such a big influx of cash for their coffers.
This is from a blog post I came across that I found very telling – “What we are watching is perhaps the final chapter of the conversion of the Sierra Club ‑ on a national level ‑ from an activists driven organization to a corporate driven organization where the interest of the Sierra Club as a corporation invariably trumps the interest of the Sierra Club as an activists’ organization.”
The Sierra Club obviously no longer cares about the environment – it’s all about greenwashing the consumer in exchange for corporate money, so I can no longer support any of their efforts. I know one person doesn’t make that big a difference to their bottom line, but I would love to somehow find out how many people stopped being members once this news came out. I stopped using Burt’s Bees products when Clorox bought them, so it is only right I stop supporting The Sierra Club now. How can anyone trust anything they endorse from here on out?
John Muir is rolling in his grave as I write this.
You may also like:
- Greenwash Of The Week: Sierra Club Mailings.
- EarthTalk: Starting a School Environmental Club.
- Greenwash Of The Week: The Greenpeace And Kimberly-Clark Partnership.
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- The Plan To Mine Uranium Near The Grand Canyon.
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I just found your blog and am looking forward to exploring and reading more. I have been struggling with my membership in the Sierra Club ever since this announcement was made. You describe my conflict exactly… This was a real dissapointment to me…
I totally agree, we stopped supporting them too. There are lots of other orgs to support that don’t do that kind of crap. Thanks for the post.
another “me too” — My membership lapsed in 2007, and I had postponed renewing for financial reasons. It’s no longer on my list to re-up when the finances settle.
fyi, I’ve been happy with Dr. Bronner/ Sun Dog lip balm since I had to say good bye to Burt. http://www.drbronnersundog.com
Oh my gosh, you are the first I hear saying what I feel! THANK YOU! I agree, Sierra sold their souls, and it bites.
Glad to hear I am not alone!
I am fascinated by all your remarks about losing interest in Sierra Club – you all are not alone!
The Sierra Club has basically become the case study of how NOT to do it. How not to run an advocacy campaign; how not to communicate with membership; how not to organize and mobilize effectively, etc. The organization has become too top-heavy and hierarchical in structure. And they have become increasingly out of touch with their “members” – who don’t really feel much like members any more except for the mug, tote-bag, and 37-page glossy mags you end up with now and again.
It is sad really, but hopefully it is something other orgs. will learn from.
That is what I am hoping Tim!
I never had any interest in them after they sent me a packet chock-full of un-asked-for “Goodies”, (window clings, keyboard stickers, magnets, keychain, postcards, etc… OK Maybe not ALL that, but still, a lot of stuff) and then a few weeks later, sent me ANOTHER!
Probably half a pound of paper, in all, in a request to SAVE A FOREST! I just shook my head and wondered how much unsolicited paper they sent to people all over the country, in their attempt to save trees!
I know fundraising is important, but a minimal, postcard-sized mailer could have gotten out the same message. Environmentalists, for the most part, are sensitive about this kind of thing.
That too Frank – how can you be an environmental organization and send me magazines, bags, newsletters, stickers, etc? Its nuts!
Wow. That’s really disappointing.
Wow. Thanks for the post. I have not kept up with the whole Sierra Club endorsement thing. We have been supporters of the organization and read their opinion when it comes to voting matters too.
I’d like to read more about their corporation “sponsorship”/connection. This is quite disappointing.
While I agree the waste is absurd, let’s remember that the Sierra Club has probably done the most in pushing green legislation in the last few years the any other organization. Something to remember before you pick them apart. Look at the big picture and net effect.
Thanks.
Did you check out the other post I linked to about them supporting Clorox in exchange for money?
There are plenty of orgs that deserve my money, and unfortunately Sierra Club is not one of them anymore.
While agreeing that promotion of the smaller brands’ green products would be a v good move, to play devil’s advocate for a minute – encouraging major corps to distribute green products is also useful. If 20M people buy a green Clorox product because of name recognition and ‘ok, all things being equal why not pick up the green option’, this is not bad for the environment. If Clorox makes more bucks from its green product it will produce it and promote it more. (This is leaving aside all questions of what’s really in the product, etc.) Mother Theresa used to be criticized for taking money from known criminals and she said “I’ll take money from anybody and use it to do God’s work.” There’s some irony in taking a major corp’s bucks and using them for good. So I wouldn’t necessarily fault Sierra for taking the money. I would fault them if they lent their name to a specious product.
But why can’t they support companies that do the right thing, instead of companies just trying to cash in? There are plenty of products that are 100% natural, and Clorox products are not. It’s a shame they took money from a company making toxic products and not having an issue with it.