TruGreen is so Truly Greenwashing
By Paul McGinniss
Lawn care company TruGreen started in 1973. You wonder why they left off the “e” in true. TruGreen later merged with ChemLawn to become TruGreen Chemlawn. ChemLawn speaks for itself. Chemical Lawn. (The Chemical Ali of Lawn care, perhaps?)
Miracle of miracles: TruGreen ChemLawn is now called TruGreen, and the company says the name change was “because one word is all you need for a great lawn. We have shortened our name to make it easier for you to remember that we are the experts of lawn care.” Somehow the corporate marketing department thought that by calling themselves TruGreen (emphasize green) that we would forget that they were putting chemicals on our lawns. Don’t think so.
The Toxics Action Center in Massachusetts asked residents to call TruGreen ChemLawn to inquire about their lawn care service. Through an informal survey anecdotal evidence shows that TruGreen ChemLawn’s customer service procedures make it difficult for potential customers to acquire factual information about the dangers of their pesticide products. When asked, TruGreen ChemLawn phone marketing representatives often did not readily release the names of the pesticides they would use on the customer’s lawn. In addition, the marketers generally did not even know about the public health threats of the products. Written information was often not offered or provided for customers. The TruGreen ChemLawn website has no mention of its roster of pesticide products and their health and environmental impacts. In addition, TruGreen ChemLawn representatives at times misrepresented their pesticide products as “safe”, a possible violation of federal law.
To learn more about all the wonderful green washing going on at Chemlawn—err, I mean TruGreen—a must stop is http://www.refusetousechemlawn.org/
Some of the eco friendly (NOT) things you will find out about TruGreen at the above web site are:
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a study of 9,282 people nationwide, found pesticides in 100% of the people who had both blood and urine tested. The average person carried 13 of 23 pesticides tested. The study found that children carried the highest body burden of pesticides. Fat soluble pesticides accumulate over time in our bodies. Pesticides that accumulate in women can be passed to children through breast milk.
- TruGreen ChemLawn is the largest lawn care provider in the United States serving more than 3.4 million households and annually generating more than $1.3 billion in income.
- TruGreen ChemLawn contributes to the yearly application of more than 70 million pounds of pesticides on some of America’s 30 million acres of lawns.
- A USEPA study found that residues from outdoor pesticides are tracked in by pets and people’s shoes, and can increase the pesticide loads in carpet dust as much as 400-fold. These pesticides, intended for outdoor use, will persist for years indoors because they are sheltered from sun, rain and other forces that can degrade them
- 17 of 32 (53%) of TruGreen ChemLawn’s pesticide products include ingredients that are possible carcinogens, as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
- 13 of 32 (41%) of TruGreen ChemLawn’s pesticide products include ingredients that are banned or restricted in other countries.
5 comments
I don’t know how old this is, but in my search for trugreen’s corporate e-mail address I came across this.
I was a former employee of trugreen and was amazed at how little concern management had for the potency of it’s chemicals.
while I was working there, I used rinsate, a liquid mixture of an anti-weed and fertilizer. While I was working for trugreen, it was emphasized in my training to tell customers that are chemicals that are chemicals aren’t “safe” but “pose a negligible risk” to people and animals.
hm, that’s strange.
then tell me how I got alkaline burns on my knees after doing a 60,000 sq. ft job?(the company neglected to mention the salts in the product like to crawl up fabric, and after that huge job, had accumulated on my knees and burned them)
and why I’d recieved TWO reports on animals dying/developing reactions to the chemicals after TWO months of working there?(when I told the management about this, they scoffed at me and told me they meant nothing without proof.)
In short, I agree 100% with your facts that you posted here. This company is completely dishonest not only towards the customer, but their employees as well. I’m in the process of getting some sort of legal dispute going since I feel that they are trying to deny me my unemployment benefits(which I should be eligible for since I had numerous valid reasons to quit)
to anyone that reads this, NEVER work for or use trugreen’s services. they will only cause a world of frustration and grief. Unless you’re VERY lucky that is.
-Kevin Chapman
former employee #778, Midwest Plains Branch.
What about all the over the counter products that consumers apply, why don’t you comment on those toxic materials and provide some numbers to balance out your seemingly one sided article.
1) Bags of DIY Weed-n-Feed sold to homeowners contain an over-abundance of nitrogen which detroys the soil and pushes too much top growth. The reason for this is that homeowners want quick results or they won’t buy the product again. Because of this, manufacturers of homeowner pesticide and weed-n-feed products pack in the elements that produce the results, not concerning themselves with the long-term effects of health for the lawn.
2) Continuing with that thought, those bags most normally contain “quick release” fertilizers that create fast greening, but no sustainable long term benefit to the turf. Feeding your lawn too much nitrogen from over-the-counter fertilizer bags like Scott’s and K-Grow is like feeding your kids candy all the time for every meal! Fast-release products give a quick rush, and that is all.
3) There is a big concern with runoff when talking about any product applied to a lawn. The problem with you doing your own is that you put down too much (because you think ‘more’ is ‘better’) and because you get a ton of the stuff all over your driveway and sidewalks. Guess where all that goes when it rains?
The key is FOLLOWING the DIRECTIONS on the bagged products! And most DIY homeowners do not understand fertilizer rates and proper application technique. Also, DIY equipment is not calibrated easily and the pattern is hard to gauge with cheaper lawn spreaders and sprayers.
4) A granular weed-n-feed product like the Scott’s Plus 2 product contains herbicide and fertilizer in one convenient bag: just dump in your spreader, set the release rate, and lay it down…easy! The problem is that you are throwing massive amounts of granular weed killers everywhere weather there are weeds there or not.
It doesn’t make sense to throw weed-killing pesticides in areas of the lawn where there are no weeds! But with that bag of “weed-and-feed,” you have no choice!
http://landscapingtipsonline.com/lawn-care-providers-vs-diy-home-fertilizing/lawn-care-155/
John (3/12/2009 post) must be in the business – self serving business that is. To suggest that most “DIY” can’t understand fertilizer rates and application requirements is at a minimum an unsupported self-serving generalization and more likely a bad case of arrogance; which is far more costly in the end. Rather than trying to indict the general public to line your pockets or those with whom you have a connection, I suggest a presenting a more balanced perspective. This would lead more people to venture to the web site listed.
The fact to the matter is that people spend a lot of money on their landscapes every year and it is important to save your investment which i’m sure u all will agree. How about mentioning other lawn care providers, seems to me that some personal issues could be involved here. Like it is said on this article, Tru Green is the biggest lawn care provider in the U.S. and been in business for decades, i challenge u to bring facts of anyone getting hurt due to chemicals applied by Tru Green. The point is this, Tru green may not be for you and if so move on to the next lawn service if not, do it urself. Either way you are dealing with chemicals and getting it done professionally is the easiest and safest way to go.
To the author, i appreciate ur artical and i’m actually working on a paper about green washing which brought me to this site. To the best of my knowledge, green washing is the attempt of hidding unwanted facts that could destroy the environment. Well maybe you should consider attaking Chevron, which is currently dodging a lawsuit in Ecuador for creating the worst oil related contamination on earth in the Amazone rainforest and on top asking the U.S. government to cancel trade prefernces for Ecuador government???? That is green washing and a more serious case to me.
Question…
Are there any current Class Action Suits against Tru-Green Chemlawn for pesticide poisoning? Last year they applied a liquid application to my Mother’s lawn (all past applications by them had been granular)…and when she questioned them about it, she could get no information other than “we’ve always done it that way.” Well, that’s not the case and as a result, my Mother, who was in great health, started developing swelling in her ankles, which has now lead to her barely being able to walk, swollen hands, sores on her skin that do not heal easily, and now being admitted to the hospital for internal bleeding. It is my suspicion that whatever was in that spray, has lead to her current health issues. I would like to know of any forums to get a suit started or report this to see if there are others having similar symptoms from their lawn treatments. Thanks.
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