Sierra Club expels Florida chapter amid 'sell-out'

The biggest environmental group in the US has expelled the leaders of its Florida chapter weeks after the local activists accused the group's directors of selling out in a corporate endorsement deal with a bleach manufacturer. The Sierra Club, founded by Scottish conservation icon John Muir, says the Floridians were ousted after a national inquiry found their chapter paralyzed by infighting. But the expelled activists believe they were silenced after criticizing Sierra's controversial agreement with US bleach maker Clorox to endorse a new line of green household cleaners. Sierra will receive a portion of the sales from the new Clorox products, called Green Works and made from mostly plant-based ingredients. However, Clorox has a history of being hit with environmental violations for its less green products–in December, just before Sierra agreed to its endorsement, the company was fined $95,000 by the US government for donating illegal Chinese pesticides to charity. Joy Towles Ezell, the former Sierra conservation chairwoman in Florida, said Green Works should be named "Money Works" or "Toxic Works." "Clorox is the bad guy to me," Ezell said. "Just because this new project is going to be on every store shelf and Wal-Mart in the US, I don't think that's a reason to put your logo on it -- just to make you more popular." "You sell your soul when you get involved with something like that." The Florida chapter approved a measure condemning the Green Works deal in January, noting Clorox's past violations of environmental rules and urging Sierra to "maintain our conservation integrity." That same weekend, the activists say, they were told of their impending removal by the group's national directors, which became official last week. David Willett, spokesman for the national Sierra Club, said the Florida expulsion "is completely unrelated" to the complaints over Green Works but came after years of being forced to referee the Floridians' "disagreements, administrative gridlock and distrust." "It's definitely controversial," Willett acknowledged of the Clorox deal. "The reason we're proud of this endeavor is we believe that companies have to be part of the solutions to our environmental problems. The only way that's really going to happen is if they figure out a way to conduct business while being environmentally friendly." Sierra is not the first US green group to accept corporate money. The Audubon Society–founded just after 116-year-old Sierra–has signed a $20 million deal with Toyota to fund local preservation under the label "TogetherGreen." Environmental Defense has worked on market-friendly pollution standards with General Electric and BP America. But Sierra members question why the group has not revealed how much money it expects to earn from Green Works. "I am very concerned about using the good Sierra Club name on a product endorsement, especially when that company is paying the Club a substantial sum of money in return," said Pedro Monteiro, formerly secretary of the Florida chapter. In addition, the Sierra executive director sent a letter to activists saying the Green Works cleaners "have been vetted by" the group's Toxics committee, suggesting official approval was given. However, Jessica Frohman, who chairs the Toxics committee, said it did not officially sign off on the products. "I don't want people to think we approved this when we did not," she said. After the Floridians' removal, leaders of other state Sierra chapters got a letter from national president Robert Cox warning them not to "seek public media coverage" of the fight using the group's name. Asked about the ban on speaking to the press, which alarmed some of the ousted activists, Willett said: "The idea is that in a democratic organization, once a decision has been reached, you should represent that official decision.... We just don't want anyone to get confused about what the Sierra Club's opinion is." Yet others have spoken out against the Clorox deal, some even vowing to quit their Sierra memberships. The Massachusetts state chapter wrote to the national directors urging them to return the corporate money and listen harder to Sierra volunteers. "It is one thing to evaluate products... it's quite another thing to say that and take cash from a company in return," Philip Dowds, a senior leader in the Massachusetts chapter, said. "That was something that disturbed us the most." Karyn Strickler, a Maryland resident who has ran as a reform candidate for the national Sierra board, called the deal a "green-washing" of Clorox's reputation as a maker of toxic bleach. "Supporting Clorox's 'Green Works' will not diminish the production of their noxious chemicals," Strickler said via e-mail. The Green Works cleaners illustrate the growing boom in "cause marketing," which begins when a non-profit group lends its name to a corporate product. The business gets an image boost, and the charity gets much-needed cash. Green watchdog Jeff Ruch has long fought against a proposal by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow cause marketing for chemical pesticides. He questioned whether the Green Works deal would persuade Sierra to soften the tone of its activism. "It's hard to bite the hand that feeds you, and if Clorox is now feeding them, we'd expect them to overlook Clorox's corporate failings," said Ruch, executive director of the non-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.