TOEFL ESSAY - Corrections are welcome TOEFL WRITING PRACTICE – Jan 19th Both the lecture and the reading passage are about “ecocertified” companies and whether or not United States’ companies would join this ecological manufacture trend. While the lecturer says that most American wood businesses are seeking this certification, the text reveals a contrasting opinion; American companies are not willing to make some sacrifices to get this certification. And there are three main reasons for both opinions. First, the man in the lecture states that American customers distinguish advertising made by the own brand and made by an independent organization. Therefore, they are very likely to buy a product that has a green certification because if it was given by an accredited international organization for example. In contrast, the author of the reading believes that American consumers are overwhelmed with all the advertising they face every day and do not even bother paying attention to another great thing about a product. Second, according to the professor from the listening, Americans are willing to buy a product that is somewhat pricier than another one because is approved by some accredited ecofriend organization. He says that they only take price as the main factor when there is an enormous price tag difference. However, the text shows that Americans are always drawn to buy the cheapest since there are always a lot of variety on the market. Lastly, the lecturer affirms that the other point that American companies are taking into account is market competition. Since there are various international companies that have this ecocertification, if they get in the American market, lots of American companies will lose their customers. On the other hand, the author of the reading states that as American companies sell most of their wood inside the country, they do not actually care about having or not a green certification.