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Ethical Funds Campaign Out of Touch With Real Issues“I’m mad as hell that ethical funds would dismiss our products specifically, and environmentalists in general, to appeal to their aging demographic investor market!” says Jerry Kroll, President Hemptown Clothing Inc.
“This message has been crafted to lull their target market of 50-something baby boomers - the 25% of the population that controls 60% of the wealth in North America - into believing that they can “do the right thing” and still make a healthy profit without changing their consumer habits. And to top it all off, you won’t be associated with those hemp-wearing, incense-burning flakes. How far from the mark could this campaign be?” asks Kroll, who goes on to say, “For a company that bills this investment portfolio as “Canada’s first family of socially responsible mutual funds” and talks about “sustainability, eliminating the release of toxic substances, and development of innovative products with environmental benefits”, they should really be better informed of the facts.” If you don’t wear hemp, chances are you wear cotton - the other “natural” fibre. Cotton is one of the most environmentally damaging crops in the world. According to the FAO, globally, more insecticides are used on cotton than on any other crop. In fact 25% of all insecticides are applied to cotton - that’s 60 million pounds in the USA alone; 495 million pounds globally - each year. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens. According to Will Allen, of the Sustainable Cotton Project, “Of the top 15 chemicals used in California cotton farming, 7 of them cause cancer and all but 1 cause birth defects.” Cotton also requires 29,000 litres of fresh water to produce 1 kilogram of cotton lint, making it the most fresh water intensive crop in the world. The flood irrigation method typically used on cotton lays waste to huge areas of farm land through increased soil salinity. Hemp, by comparison, is grown in cooler climates, like Canada, where it requires much less irrigation. It’s also naturally pest resistant and forms a leafy canopy, which shades out competing weed species, eliminating the need for pesticides. “It’s ironic that, in their attempts to seduce the aging, conservative investor, they have marginalized the environmental movement by dismissing them as a flaky fringe element. In an era of devastating environmental impacts, any individual that takes the initiative to reduce the size of their footprint on the environment should be applauded, not dismissed in the way that this billboard campaign does. This campaign is built on popular misconceptions and panders to archaic stereotypes of environmentalists. If this is how poorly they grasp the real issues, it makes me wonder how well they research the investment opportunities for their ethical funds.” concludes Kroll. -30- For more information please contact: |
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The current ad campaign for ethical funds, owned by Credential Asset Management Inc., and sold by financial institutions such as VanCity, includes a couple of billboards that you may have seen. One says “I don't wear hemp or burn incense. I just want a better world.” another says “I’m not a tree hugger or a hippy. I just want a better world.”