Greenwashing 101: How to Recognize and Avoid It (Examples)
You most likely have heard of the term greenwashing before, and you’ve probably seen it in action as well. Whether it’s a clothing tag that says “made with 100% recyclable material”, or an oil and gas company advertising sustainable operations, greenwashing is important to understand, recognize, and avoid.
What is greenwashing specifically?
Although there is no official definition for greenwashing, it is most commonly understood as the process of lying or falsely conveying the idea that your business or brand is environmentally friendly or sustainable. Businesses can build the facade, sometimes unknowingly, that their products, services, or operations are “greener” than they actually are.
Why is greenwashing bad?
With the growing demand for sustainable goods and services, these claims and exaggerations mislead consumer purchasing decisions and allow companies to capitalize on environmentalism.
Greenwashing also creates distrust among customers in terms of brand perception and the environmental movement. Customers may become more wary of products that are actually environmentally sound, and may also foster more skepticism towards the greater environmental movement.
Types of greenwashing
Greenwashing can be tricky to spot as it’s not always blatantly clear. To help you identify greenwashing, here are the most common types that you will see:
Environmental imagery: using images of nature/animals, or using the color green or brown to make a product look more “sustainable” or “healthy”
Omitting the full picture: saying that your business is committed to ad hoc sustainable action such as using compostable straws rather than having a sustainable strategy to reduce general plastic consumption and emissions. Another example is when businesses claim their clothes are made from recycled materials, but manufacture the products in exploitative conditions
False claims and labels: using labels and terms such as “organic”, “100% sustainable”, or “net-zero” without actual proof or certification
Irrelevant claims or labels: saying that your product doesn’t include toxic chemicals that technically are banned and are therefore irrelevant to advertise as they are not allowed to be used in the first place
Example of greenwashing - Fiji Water
A classic case of greenwashing occurred when Fiji Water attempted a marketing campaign that was accused of greenwashing. They advertised a “carbon negative” initiative where the company claimed to offset its carbon emissions by 120%.
This back-fired in a greenwashing lawsuit that claimed they we’re taking advantage of carbon credits they had not yet owned. They were also drawing away from the fact that their water bottles contribute heavily to plastic consumption. This caused enormous backlash on their brand, and brings to light the mistruths that businesses can easily take advantage of.
They marketed the brand to be socially responsible in order to push sales of their premium product. This again leads to increased scrutiny for companies that advertise green social responsibility, as well as higher standards and proof for these claims.
Making an effort to avoid greenwashing
Unfortunately, there is no body of governance that either identifies greenwashing or promotes a universal standard for green products. It takes due diligence and consideration when thinking through a holistic sustainability strategy and messaging as a business, and awareness as consumers to avoid supporting greenwashing activity.
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