Greenwash of the Week: Bank of America Offset Credit Card
This week Bank of America subsidiary MBNA launched their new Eco-Logique MasterCard credit card for Canadian consumers.
What makes the new card so special?
Well, everytime you make a purchase you earn points, but instead of using the points to get airline tickets or electronics, MBNA buys carbon offsets.
The more stuff you buy, the more offsets MBNA buys.
So basically the message is: buying things is really good for the earth! Want a new riding lawnmower? Charge it and don’t worry about the impact on the climate!
Just keep on shopping!
And exactly how much goes towards helping offset emissions? According MBNA, one half of one percent of your total purchases.
In case you’re keeping track, that’s 99.5% going to Bank of America, one of the biggest financial backers of the coal industry and .5% to planting trees.
And that doesn’t even mention the much deeper point that over consumption itself is driving the climate crisis in the first place and that shopping is not the answer. (follow that last link for an interesting article on Alternet today)
Final point, let’s not fail to notice that MBNA itself won’t even stand behind the offest program it is trying to promote. Check out the small print on the card’s website: “MBNA does not guarantee the overall effect of the carbon offset purchases to actually reduce carbon emissions.”
So, for being a leading funder of coal, among other destructive industries, and at the same time trying to get Canadians to buy more stuff they don’t need while pretending to address global warming, Bank of America and it’s subsidiary MBNA win this week’s Greenwash of the Week Award.
Congrats.
Oh, and I had a great time shutting down some B of A ATMs today, check out the pics on flickr.
One Response to “Greenwash of the Week: Bank of America Offset Credit Card”
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June 10th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
A fair point about consumption, but aren’t people going to use a credit card whether or not it helps the environment. I use my credit card for all my monthly purchases and pay it off each month, but I also have a cash back rewards card. It doesn’t make me use the card more; it is just ease of use and I used the card as much before i got one with rewards.
So this is an option for people who don’t need cash back or a beach chair or a tote bag. This is for people who would rather it go to something, a bigger cause, even if it’s only negligible. If everyone contributed .5% or 1% of their credit card purchases, doesn’t that add up to quite a bit? More than if they never did?