The New Greenwashing?

"Mindful" is the new marketing buzzword. Mayonnaise, burgers, building, brewing...where will it end?

SmartyBoy10/Getty Images

Five years ago, James Tjan started Mindful Snacks as a service to deliver healthier snack foods to offices around Toronto. Last year, Earthtone Construction, a sustainable building contractor in Sonoma County, CA, trademarked the term “Mindful Building.” Earlier this year, Mindful Brewing opened its brewpub in the South Hills neighborhood in Pittsburgh. And you’ve been able for a few years now to go to Chicago area Epic Burger for “a more mindful burger,” and if you’re eating at home you can pull out Earth Balance’s MindfulMayo.

“Mindful” may be the new “green,” the marketing buzzword that companies—big, small, artisanal, corporate—wants to associate itself with. Is this a good thing or a not so good thing?

“Mindful” may be the new “green,” the marketing buzzword that companies—big, small, artisanal, corporate—wants to associate itself with. Is this a good thing or a not so good thing?

And please let us know if you have spotted a unique use of the word mindful to sell a product.

This web extra provides additional information related to an article titled, “The New Greenwashing?” which appeared in the August 2017 issue of Mindful magazine.