GE unveils carbon-offset credit card, other companies pondering same move
Some people say you can’t shop your way to happiness, but they haven’t met the new GE credit card. Yes, the company that brought us “ecomagination” has imagined a way into wallets everywhere. The GE Money Earth Rewards Platinum MasterCard — hang on, have to take a belly-laugh break. OK, whew. Sorry about that. The GEMERPMC offers a 1 percent rebate, which cardholders can donate to carbon-offset projects. Similar cards are offered in Europe, and companies including Bank of America and American Express are said to be considering issuing them in the U.S. Reactions have been mixed; some say any attention to the climate cause is welcome, while others say GE is using the card to — gasp — make money on its own line of products. “We are not sending a message that you can buy your way out of your environmental responsibility,” says Lorraine Bolsinger, ecomagination VP. “We’re offering another tool in the kit for reducing carbon footprints.” Whatever helps you sleep at night.
