Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

  • http://www.kmoser.com kmoser

    They didn’t show that dude’s actual name, address and checking account number, did they?

  • Ben Grad

    Great ad, but the Rainforest Alliance is guilty of heavy greenwashing.

    • LinkMan

      “Greenwashing is good,” says the frog that ate the gecko.

    • sluggo

      [citation needed]

  • thecleaninglady

    Sure! I’ll just be BUYING stuff and thus will save the rainforest!

    I’ll add this to the rest of my slacktivist badges.

  • Niel de Beaudrap

    In fact, doesn’t this amount to saying “Your choices amount to absurd career- and relationship-destroying activism which will ultimately prove futile, or acknowledging this handy branding we’re promoting”?

  • psilax

    Yeah, but when the little kid laughed, I did still squirt my Rainforest Alliance-certified PG Tips ™ tea out my nose.

  • HarrietNYC

    Buying GMO-Monsanto foods from large corporations  will NOT improve the world, it only makes you feel good while supporting the same large corporations which are responsible for the mess(es) in the first place. this ad calls for and rewards the passivity which keeps people from truly becoming engaged with the political system. You can’t outsource your civic responsibilities and we are not going to buy our way out of the corporatocracy under which we live.

  • http://twitter.com/bradbelltv Brad Bell

    It seems the seal itself is quite misleading. Suppose you have lots of coffee that has been produced by destroying the rainforest. What you can do is add 30% RA certified coffee into the mix and presto! – you’ve got an RA certified product. It’s like money laundering.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainforest_alliance#Criticism_and_Response

    I would say 100% pure would be the default for certifications. It might drop as low as 90% due to quality control issues, etc. 30% is low enough that it’s completely meaningless. We don’t know what’s in products with green frog seals on them.

  • http://www.peterbagge.com/ Buddy Bradley

    It’s a funny video, but here’s a better idea for helping save the rainforest: don’t buy meat.

    Rising meat consumption worldwide is a large contributor to rainforest depletion. http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianvegan101/f/forestclearcut.htm

    I gave up eating meat for this reason over 20 years ago and as a bonus I feel better and enjoy life more without it!