TOEFL Sample essay : integrated essay from TPO7

In this set of materials, the reading passage discusses about ecocertified wood companies and asserts that the companies which receive the certification of high ecological standards from related international organization can attract more customers by advertising their products as ecocertified whereas American companies are not inclined to get that certification due to three reasons that are explained in the reading passage. However, the lecturer finds all the ideas dubious and presents some evidence to refute them all.

First, the author of the passage states that there are a lot of advertisements of the products that are labeled new or improved so American consumers do not trust in them and do not pay attention to the certification label. In contrast, the lecturer declares that American consumers are aware enough to distinguish between advertisements made by untrustworthy agencies or authentic certification agencies. Additionally, ecologically minded consumers do not treat ecocertified and non-ecocertified products the same and the internationally ecocertified products make favorable impression on ecologically minded people.

Second, it is mentioned in the article that ecologically certified products will cost more since the companies need to pay for a certification agency to go over the products and the higher prices will affect the number of consumers. Conversely, the speaker brings up the idea that consumers care about the price but not when the price difference is very small. Additionally, when the price difference is not high, other factors than price are taken into account and affect the consumers' decisions. Therefore, people who care about the conservation of the environment value the ecocertified products that preserve the nature.

Finally, the reading passage claims that American wood companies do not keep up with the development of the rest of the world since they mostly supply their products in the United States rather than abroad. On the contrary, the lecturer draws attention to the fact that although American companies do not export their products, foreign companies may enter to American markets because American environmentalists are interested in ecofriendly products and will not buy uncertified domestic products. Hence, foreign competition will lead the American companies to compete with foreign companies.