The whole capitalist system is teetering on the brink, Gordon Brown's recall of Peter "Mandy" Mandelson represents the last throw of the dice, the Tories have reversed everything they stand for and are calling for a halt to executive bonuses, it looks like Spurs could get relegated, and if needs must you could always cobble together a story on asylum seekers or Kerry Katona's kids.

So what does the good old Sun choose to run as its front page splash on Monday morning? An expose on Starbucks' policy of leaving a tap running behind its counters to clean utensils.

It is hard to imagine that even six months ago a story about a company wasting water would represent a front page story anywhere, let alone in a tabloid. But The Sun obviously thinks its readers are now sufficiently interested in environmental issues to justify such a splash - and even if they aren't, they are probably interested in the paper's official green Page 3 girl, Keeley Hazell.

The immediate aftermath of The Sun splash - which saw The Guardian and the BBC pick up the story, and environment secretary Hilary Benn issue statement rebuking Starbucks - suggests the paper was right.

Looking closer at the story it is possible to feel a smidgen of sympathy for Starbucks, or "Starberks" as the inimitable Sun dubbed the company.

It was a classic hatchet job, and the already much quoted claim that the company wastes enough water to fill an Olympic swimming pool every 83 minutes was almost certainly based on the rather unscientific assumption that every Starbucks outlet in the world is indeed running a tap at full pelt.

But the company then proceeded to make a series of PR errors that any company wishing to engage with accusations of greenwashing would do well to avoid.

First up, it attempted to claim that leaving a tap - or dipper system as it tried to rebrand the good old faucet - running all day somehow uses less water than turning it off and on again. It was a line of argument so ridiculous that even if by some bizarre circumstance it could be proved to be true it was always going to get laughed out of the court of public opinion.

The company then tried to claim there were hygiene reasons behind the running tap, which begs the question how virtually every other food outlet on the planet manages to get away with taps that turn off without giving their customers food poisoning.

It was only after it had trotted out the weakest defence since Spurs last played, did Starbucks do what it should have done in the first place and inform the world's press that it would be launching an immediate investigation into the practice and would actively look into developing an alternative policy.

What the episode highlights is that there is now a genuine mainstream audience for these types of stories. The Sun could have gone with plenty of stories on its front page, but it knew this one would resonate with readers.

Customers hate wastefulness, particularly at a time of economic hardship, and any high profile brand caught out in the same way as Starbucks is running the risk of a well deserved media kicking. Companies that tout their green credentials now have to go to considerable lengths to ensure that their environmental claims are embodied across the business.

Secondly, if you are caught out, the best way to deal with it is put your hands up, apologise profusely and promise to put it right.

It's not nice to have The Sun crowing over its victory, but ultimately it is the only way to minimise the impact of such a story.

Right, I'm off to cancel my Christmas card order while trying to work out what the future holds for Envirowise.

Have a good weekend,

James