What is Greenwashing?
Often, to sway customers into purchasing their products, companies might upsell their products to appear more sustainable and eco-friendly. This is called “greenwashing,” where companies will use nature-oriented buzzwords, colours, and imagery to make their product seem much better than it really is. Greenwashing undermines actual work and companies that put in effort to reduce waste and unsustainable products, practices, and materials. It can make consumers less trusting and ambitious about being eco-friendly.
Shopping for eco-friendly products is important, but with all these false and frequently misleading advertisements, it can be difficult. In this article, we will uncover the tactics used in greenwashing and how to identify actual sustainable products.
Greenwashing Tactics:
- Using vague and non-specific information regarding the company’s manufacturing practices. This includes operations, materials, and their next steps. Companies might promise they are using sustainable materials, but provide no real evidence.
- Using buzzwords such as “green,” “natural,” and “non-toxic.” These words are just vague enough for people to assume things. These terms can be easily misinterpreted without a standard definition provided.
- Visuals that emphasize nature and animals are used to trick our minds into connecting products with environmental friendliness. Green is often used as a colour to reinforce ideas of sustainability.
- Some companies might highlight one sustainable aspect of their product or manufacturing, but disregard other negative impacts. This ties into exaggerated claims that might be achievable, but under specific conditions not explained.
Not everything is greenwashing, though. Greenwashing is misleading consumers about environmental practices. So, while there could be other unethical issues happening, it might not fall under greenwashing.
What To Do:
Look beyond the label. Read up on a company, check the materials or ingredients, and look for sustainability certifications. Make sure there is company transparency.
Avoid just buying things because they are green and have animals on their packaging. Buy things that have clear labeling, traceability, and accreditation.