Call for Assistance - Economist Wanted - Greenwashing Case
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Jones, Ellis
Sep 25, 2023, 2:02:54 PM9/25/23
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Hi Everyone,
Over the summer, I was asked by a couple of lawyers if I'd like to write an expert witness report (something I'd never done before) regarding a greenwashing class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers that they have brought against 7-Eleven (the company claimed 2 of their plastic products were "recyclable" on the label when they are clearly not). I looked over their case and agreed to do a bit of research to demonstrate that people are consistently willing to pay more for "green" products than for "regular" products (essentially an eco-premium). The question revolves around how much consumers "overpay" for goods that claim to be green when in fact they are not at all green. It seemed, perhaps naively, somewhat straightforward to me.
After writing my report, 7-Eleven found an economist to call into question the economic veracity of this notion that people are consistently willing to pay more for more environmentally-friendly versions of products. Now the law firm is looking for an economist to counter the report written by the 7-Eleven economist. If anyone is interested in this kind of issue, or knows an economist who may be interested, I think this case may, in some small way, help stem the tsunami of greenwashing we have seen in the US over the past half century. This, too, may be naive.
They are looking for someone willing to read my report, the economist's counter report, and then write a very brief paper countering the counter report (welcome to the US legal system). They will financially compensate you for your time and expertise, but their timeline requires the report be submitted before October 15. The scheduling is tight, but if you're interested, please let me know, and I'll send you more details and connect you with them.
If you're not interested, you may, of course, use this as fodder for discussion.
Thanks in advance,
Ellis Jones
--
Over the summer, I was asked by a couple of lawyers if I'd like to write an expert witness report (something I'd never done before) regarding a greenwashing class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers that they have brought against 7-Eleven (the company claimed 2 of their plastic products were "recyclable" on the label when they are clearly not). I looked over their case and agreed to do a bit of research to demonstrate that people are consistently willing to pay more for "green" products than for "regular" products (essentially an eco-premium). The question revolves around how much consumers "overpay" for goods that claim to be green when in fact they are not at all green. It seemed, perhaps naively, somewhat straightforward to me.
After writing my report, 7-Eleven found an economist to call into question the economic veracity of this notion that people are consistently willing to pay more for more environmentally-friendly versions of products. Now the law firm is looking for an economist to counter the report written by the 7-Eleven economist. If anyone is interested in this kind of issue, or knows an economist who may be interested, I think this case may, in some small way, help stem the tsunami of greenwashing we have seen in the US over the past half century. This, too, may be naive.
They are looking for someone willing to read my report, the economist's counter report, and then write a very brief paper countering the counter report (welcome to the US legal system). They will financially compensate you for your time and expertise, but their timeline requires the report be submitted before October 15. The scheduling is tight, but if you're interested, please let me know, and I'll send you more details and connect you with them.
If you're not interested, you may, of course, use this as fodder for discussion.
Thanks in advance,
Ellis Jones
========================
Ellis Jones, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology
Ellis Jones, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology
Department of Sociology & Anthropology
College of the Holy Cross
1 College Street
Worcester MA 01610
1 College Street
Worcester MA 01610
Cohen, Maurie
Sep 25, 2023, 3:40:32 PM9/25/23
to ejo...@holycross.edu, sco...@googlegroups.com
Hello Ellis,
It is not an answer to your question, but this European announcement last week may be of interest nonetheless.
Also, your posting brought to mind this book from a number of years ago that has probably dropped off the radar due to the passage of time.
It provides good advice to anyone who gets into this line of work of serving as an expert witness and offers cautionary guidance that the kinds of evidentiary standards that apply in the scientific world are drastically different from what operates in a legal context.
Regards,
Maurie
 | Maurie J. Cohen Professor and Chair Department of Humanities and Social Sciences mco...@njit.edu • (973) 596-5281 A Top 100 National University U.S. News & World Report |
Management Team Member | Future Earth Knowledge-Action Network on Systems of Sustainable Consumption & Production
Website | https://mauriecohen.net/
New Book | Short Introductions: Sustainability from Polity Press
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