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Definition
Greenwashing is the act of presenting an false misleading facts about how a product, service, or practice is environmentally-sound and sustainable.
It is making the consumers believe that the product is environmentally friendly whereas the truth maybe be otherwise.
It is coined using the words "Green" and "Whitewashing". "Green," symbolizing environmental concern, and "whitewashing," meaning the act of covering up or glossing over negative aspects.
Motive of Greenwashing
Environmentalism is adopted as a unique selling point and it appeals to the ecologically conscious consumer. Greenwashing is an attempt to capitalize on this increasing demand for environmentally sound products.
Boosting Sales
Improving the company’s Public Image
Regulatory Avoidance: By creating the illusion of sustainability, companies might sidestep regulatory scrutiny & avoid having to make actual improvements.
Competitive Edge: Greenwashing can serve as a marketing strategy to differentiate a product or service from competitors.
Tactics of Greenwashing
Vague generic terms and slogans: Overuse of terms like: Green, Non-toxic, Bio, Eco-friendly is become increasingly vague and interchangeable; this phenomenon is known as term dilution.
Using natural imagery: Using natural elements/images or blues, greens, brown earthly colors creates a false impression of portrayal of an eco-friendly product/service.
Lack of proofs: Lack of transparency and no proofs to backup the claims imply the act of greenwashing. Companies genuinely committed to sustainability will provide detailed information and reports about their initiatives, products and practices.
Selective Messaging: Companies emphasizing a single environmentally friendly feature of a product/service while ignoring its overall negative impact.
Greenwashing started with Hotel towels: An Interesting Story
The term ‘Greenwashing’ was coined by the environmentalist Jay Westerveld. It was first used in 1980s in an essay titled "The Greening of Whitney Brown" in the magazine "Sierra".
The essay was inspired by the irony of the “save the towel” movement. The hotels placed notices in hotel rooms asking their guests to reuse their towels to save the environment. They then enjoyed the benefit of lower laundry costs. In this essay, Westerveld criticized hotels for promoting minor environmental initiatives like “saving the towel” while ignoring more significant environmental concerns.
He used the term "greenwashing" to describe the practice of using small, superficial actions to create the appearance of environmental responsibility while neglecting larger environmental issues.
Some examples of Greenwashing
Some fast fashion brands claim to be sustainable by offering a "conscious" or "eco-friendly" collection, but their main business model involves producing cheap, disposable clothing that contributes to excessive waste and resource consumption.
A product is labeled as “50% more recycled content than before.” In fact, the manufacturing company increased the recycled content to 3% from 2%. Although technically true, the message conveys the false impression that the rug contains a significant amount of recycled fiber.
More examples:
Want to read about "Greenwashing: 11 recent stand-out examples".
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How can you spot greenwashing?
When encountering terms like: eco-friendly, sustainable, non-toxic, green etc. we as consumers should be cautious and look for additional information, certifications, or specific details to validate those environmental claims being made. One can also refer to the ingredients/contents list of the product to get a better understanding of the truth of the making of the product.
Genuine environmentally responsible practices will be backed by detailed transparent reports, or recognized certifications proving the claims.
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