Read This Now - The Green Washes Off

So BP had one of the most successful ad campaigns ever with its Beyond Petroleum spots a few years back. Since then it has become clear that while BP was talking a good game they weren't even close to walking the walk. At least it's pretty clear if you bother to take a good look, which admittedly took me much longer than it should have.

Nothing like the cleansing oil-choked waters of the Gulf of Mexico to help hose off BP's greenwash and open peoples eyes.

Kate Sheppard has the rundown...

The spill has wiped out years of ad spending for the company -- but it has also highlighted how disingenuous much of that advertising was. Despite all BP has spent on rebranding, the company hasn't done nearly as much to move "beyond petroleum" as its campaign implies. In fact, BP has been turning away from investments in nonfossil energy, last year cutting investment in alternative sources from $1.4 billion to $1 billion. Weeks before the spill, BP announced that it was shuttering its solar manufacturing plant in Maryland. The company brought in $73 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2010, but only about $700 million of its business was alternative energy sources like wind and solar.

Be sure to read the whole thing.

(via WR, where Alex Pareene has been turning up the heat of late)