Apparently green is in. Companies and agencies of all sorts are launching new 'green' initiatives in an effort to conserve energy and preserve the environment. The young generations of our country are being inundated with green rhetoric, and they seem willing to lend a helping hand.

I warn our young generations to be wary of companies' so-called 'green initiatives.' In the height of environmental awareness, many companies have found a way to reduce their operating costs by having the consumer bear the burden of their expenses. Companies play on consumers' good will; they encourage reducing energy costs by asking consumers to limit their usage while still charging full price for reduced services. Hotels today are notorious for this. They now ask their customers to reuse towels, bed dressings and amenities during their stay. This saves hotels millions of dollars nationally in reduced utility costs and cleaning expenses. The companies, in turn, pocket this revenue by offering no reduced price even though the services are reduced. These companies then masquerade as being a 'green' company when, in fact, the customer assumes all the efforts of 'going green' and the company pockets all [profits]. Sodexo's 'trayless dining' initiative is no exception.

A recent Tribune article estimated that Marquette Cafeterias' trayless dining efforts could save 2000 to 3000 gallons of water per day in addition to decreased energy and detergent usage. These large numbers will save Sodexo thousands of dollars. What I find curious is that these decreased expenses are not reflected in the prices that Sodexo charges for their trayless services. Marquette students are doing the legwork for Sodexo while Sodexo claims not only the monetary benefit of these measures, but also the praise for going green, when really it is the students that assume the burden of going green.

The price that cafeteria diners pay for Sodexo services and products incorporates the costs of purchasing and cleaning trays. Therefore, Marquette students, like so many other goodwilled consumers, are paying an inflated price for goods and services. Sodexo is asking Marquette students to do the work of 'going green' while the company pockets the profits of these measures. If Sodexo truly cared about the environment as opposed to their bottom line, they would either lower their prices to account for their reduced expenses or they would donate the money they saved by going green to some kind of environmental agency to further the cause.

Companies have brought up a serious ethical issue of using customers' good will to reduce their costs that the modern consumer must be aware of. It is necessary now to investigate how 'green' companies really are.

Patrick Mulshine is a junior in the College of Business Administration.