What is Greenwashing?

In an age where more and more people care about climate change, many companies see new profit opportunities in creating greener products. Corporations understand that the market rewards those that can adapt to changing times, in this case, the rising demand for companies to be more eco-friendly. Many corporations view people seeking new greener alternatives as the target audience to make more profit, giving us the phenomenon known as greenwashing. Greenwashing is when companies market their products as environmentally conscious or “green” when they have changed nothing about their processes or goods. While there are Federal Trade Commission guidelines about certain terms such as compostable, renewable, and carbon offset (FTC Green Guides), there are still many subtle ways to imply products are eco-conscious without making substantial changes. 

One of the biggest deciding factors people use to make decisions is the product’s packaging. Studies show that 72% of Americans are influenced by the packaging design and 67% by the packaging materials (Meyers). Many brands will use marketing tricks to convince the consumer that their products are more sustainable and eco-friendly than they truly are. The changes they make to their packaging range from materials and composition to color. Companies greenwashing their packaging may change the design to use materials like cardboard, green labels and accents, or include refills. While many of these changes produce less waste when implemented correctly, sometimes only the outer layer has been changed to give the appearance of less wasteful packaging. An example of greenwashed packaging might look like a bottle of a liquid product like soap, laundry detergent, or even facial serums, claiming they have replaced their plastic packaging with cardboard. However, if you cut open the cardboard shell, the recyclable exterior reveals they have just covered their original size plastic container in a layer of paper. Alternatively, a product may claim to have refills for sustainability purposes, yet, the refills are packaged with unnecessary plastic or other non-recyclable materials. Greenwashed products may have generic words like “eco,” “bio,” and “clean” which convey no tangible claim about sustainability. Brands often also change the color scheme of their packaging to neutral beiges and greens, generating the image of cleaner products. The role packaging plays in shaping consumer decisions explains why some companies put so much effort into these “sustainability” campaigns without making impactful changes. 

Businesses engaged in greenwashing also often make unclear claims about changing their manufacturing processes to be more eco-friendly. Broad statements such as pledges to go carbon-free by a certain year or a reduction in the percentage of emissions are difficult to confirm. While these goals may be real, greenwashing companies may use misleading tactics to deceive consumers. For consumers verifying these claims, difficulties lie in the vague language and complex nature of industrial processes and manufacturing. Even more confusing, many companies greenwashing their products imitate the language of sustainable brands. Using percentages for metrics and mission statements allows greenwashing corporations to make small changes seem more important. A corporation could reduce its use of a certain chemical from 3% to 1%, and then advertise a 200% decrease in the use of that chemical. Misleading tactics from greenwashing competitors makes it difficult to distinguish companies making genuine efforts with their carbon footprints from the bad actors capitalizing on people’s environmental anxieties (UN). 

Why does any of this matter? 

Corporations use these deceptive tactics to entice consumers searching for green alternatives to everyday products. They not only use greenwashing to mislead their consumers but also take business and funding away from companies that spend money to actually make their products and processes more environmentally friendly. Eco-friendly products from brands targeting environmentally conscious audiences often cost the consumer more on average—up to 75-80% for higher-end sustainable brands (Misona). Thus, products that falsely claim they are greener benefit from the large markups of green products. These misleading tactics are also detrimental to the consumer because they spend more money and still contribute to the immense amounts of waste draining into our streams, rivers, and oceans yearly. Given that every year more than 400 million tons of new plastic waste makes its way into our water sources, companies that try to attach themselves to those putting in the work to contribute less plastic to our environment are muddying the waters when it comes to good places to spend money (WOR). 

How to spot greenwashing in stores 

Instead of trying to make sense of the different eco-friendly, green, 50% recycled, and various other labels on common products in stores, try focusing on choosing products with visibly less packaging–and thus waste. Buying bar soap instead of liquid soap is a great example, you get more for your money and create less waste since liquid soap takes up much more space. Focusing on finding reusable replacements for common single-use household products provides another sustainable alternative. Some easier switches include washable cotton rounds, straws made of glass or metal, and most importantly loofahs and shower sponges made from anything except plastic: dried loofah plant, washcloths, and exfoliating gloves. Nowadays, big chain grocery stores carry many green alternatives for household products, especially in the cleaning aisles. Unfortunately, it is still up to consumers wanting to reduce their waste to ensure the truthfulness of a product’s claims about sustainability.

(This article originally appeared in Issue 1 of The Helm)