Last Word

Greenwashing

In 2010, 4,750 companies in the U.S. and Canada

were surveyed about their conservation and environmental protection efforts. These were companies that produced things, and they were asked how “green” their production was. After analyzing their answers, a whopping 95 percent were guilty of greenwashing. Ninety-five percent!

More recently, TerraChoice Environmental Marketing published a report finding 98 percent of “green-labeled products” are greenwashed. And when you account for a Nielsen report that found 66 percent of global customers say they are willing to pay more for sustainable brands, you can see how the moral, ethical and environmental lines can blur.

Greenwashing is the act of creating false impressions and providing misleading information to deceive consumers into believing the company’s products are environmentally friendly.

This deceptive practice can come in many forms, from simply using environmental imagery on packaging or claiming a product is “certified organic” without supportive information to the more insidious hidden trade-offs, like when a clothing company advertises using “recycled materials” for their clothing but does not disclose the greenhouse gas emissions, water waste, energy use, transportation, and other means to actually make and deliver the clothes.

One of the most recent, high profile examples of greenwashing was Volkswagen’s marketing campaign attempting to debunk the belief that diesel emissions are bad for the environment. They claimed they had developed technology that allowed diesel vehicles to emit less pollutants.

It turns out Volkswagen’s “breakthrough technology” was actually the rigging of 11 million diesel cars with “defeat devices” that were used to cheat emissions tests. There was no breakthrough environmental technology. Volkswagen’s diesel vehicles were actually emitting pollutant levels 40 times the U.S. limit. The car company was forced to pay a $14.7 billion settlement for deceptive advertising and cheating emissions testing.

Another example was in 2018 when Starbucks announced they were banning plastic straws, coming out with a straw-less lid, to help the environment. The problem: The new, strawless lid contained more plastic than the old lid and straw combination. Or S.C. Johnson creating their own “Greenlist Certification” to place on their products rather than using an independent, third party to verify their claims.

So what can we do as consumers? How do we navigate this greenwashing corporate landscape and not be duped by green marketing wizardry? Experts advise using a simple checklist: Examine. See what they are claiming to be green. Is it the product, the packaging or the whole package? Ask. Search for proof. Does their website explain? If not, directly contact them and ask. If they don’t respond or dance around your questions, you may have found greenwashing. Research. Research claims to see if they’re making irrelevant claims such as being CFC-free. Look. Look for certifications and seals from independent third parties. Verify it is a true third party and that they can prove that the product is on their list. Ignore. Ignore the green imagery and other green marketing tactics. Get to the facts, labels, and specs. Question. Question the whole product. How is it made, what is it made out of and how is it supposed to be discarded? Don’t buy. Hold companies responsible for their deceptive practices through what speaks loudest to the corporate mindset: the bottom line. SP