We wanted to get a new washing machine. We wanted to buy one that was as environmentally friendly as possible while still meeting our needs. Laura went to the stores and looked around for models that she liked. She came home with two brands that she was interested in: LG and Samsung. So, we both went online to see what we could find out about these washers and to see what people were saying about them. Went to both of the corporate web sites as well.

I was amazed to find so little information about the green factor of either of them. I was happy to find posts on Treehugger about each of them, but no comparing of the two.

Seems like a missed opportunity by both brands (and they are not the only ones) to provide this information up front and not buried in a tech spec or similar document. I've been seeing car companies calling attention to this information more and more on their sites as the price of gas continues to climb, but I think it is time for more brands to wake up to this opportunity.

I know that everyone is figuring out how best to market to people trying to be more environment conscious. I don't want slick marketing campaigns and sales pitches,but I do want the data easily findable so that I can review it and make an informed decision. I also think there is a huge opportunity for someone to assemble a Consumer Reports type top 10 lists for a variety of products as more and more people go searching for this information.

Maybe this information is out there and I couldn't find it. That is highly possible. But, I still feel that corporations have got to realize this is going to become more important to consumers and it is their responsibility to get the information out there.