Corporate greenwashing: How soda giants co-opted Indigenous imagery to shift blame for pollution onto consumers
Original framing: “Coke and Pepsi conned us into believing litter was our fault. This trick is even worse” — bing news
The original story silences the voices of waste pickers in the Global South, who handle 80% of plastic recycling but earn less than $1 per day. Women in these communities, like those in India’s *kabadiwala* networks, face exploitation while corporations like PepsiCo profit from single-use plastics. The campaign also ignores the experiences of Black and Latino communities in the U.S., who disproportionately bear the brunt of plastic pollution due to environmental racism—yet are rarely consulted in corporate sustainability plans. Marginalized voices, such as those in the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, argue that true solutions require centering justice over corporate profit.
The 'Crying Indian' campaign was not just a PR stunt but a foundational tactic in corporate environmentalism—a strategy that has evolved from guilt-tripping consumers in the 1970s to greenwashing with 'sustainable' packaging today.
By weaponizing Indigenous imagery and individualizing responsibility, Coca-Cola and Pepsi obscured their role in creating the plastic crisis while shifting blame onto consumers, a mechanism that persists in modern corporate narratives like 'circular economy' marketing. The solution lies in dismantling this system by centering Indigenous stewardship, enforcing EPR laws, and amplifying marginalized voices—such as waste pickers and Indigenous activists—that have long demanded justice. Historical precedents, like the tobacco industry’s disinformation campaigns, show how corporate power relies on manipulating public perception, but modern movements like the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives prove that systemic change is possible when narratives are reclaimed. The trickster dimension reveals the absurdity of these tactics: a weeping Indigenous figure was used to sell plastic, yet the same corporations now claim to be 'saving the planet'—exposing the hollow nature of their sustainability rhetoric.