Files
Abstract
‘Clean and green’ has been used as a marketing tool by Australian governments to
promote agricultural products overseas. But how valid are these claims? Is the ‘clean
and green’ image campaign effective? And should government be involved? We conclude
that Australia may have had a ‘clean and green’ image in some markets, but in the
future, concrete proof of environmental and quality credentials will be required to
satisfy increasingly better-informed and more demanding customers. We argue that
governments cannot, and should not, continue to promote Australian products based
on an undefined ‘clean and green’ image. Rather, more resources should be directed to
the development, promotion and wide adoption of integrated, credible and well-defined
environmental management and quality assurance systems if Australia is to compete
effectively in export markets, especially in the longer term.