Greenwash to Brainwash: Have you fallen victim?
Spring 2021 — Special Topics #1
Have you ever gone shopping and picked the product off the shelf reading “eco-friendly” or seeing that nice, earthy shade of green? Were there flowers or leaf-shapes on it? Now, think hard. Was there anything more to it? Or was that it? If all you can recall is merely vague language and suggestive designs, you may have fallen victim to greenwashing — a strategic marketing tactic alluding to products, services, and brands to be more environmentally friendly than they are in reality.
It sounds unlawful, but greenwashing is 100% legal — crazy, right? This misleading practice is applied to almost anything you can think of: beauty products, company policies, food, household cleaning supplies, business operations, fashion, toys, you name it. It’s one of the many reasons why we need to stop scratching the surface when deciding which goods to buy and brands to support. We need to be critical and look beyond the illustrations, colors, and diction.
According to a study conducted by Terrachoice in 2010, 95% of the 12,061 products in North America claiming to be “green” were guilty of at least one of the seven Sins of Greenwashing, which are …
1. Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off
“Suggesting a product is “green” based on an unreasonably narrow set of attributes without attention to other important environmental issues.” In other words, at what cost?
Example: Old Navy’s “To Find Good Planets Are Hard” Earth Day tee. Under “Materials and Care” they indicate that 50% of the shirt is polyester — a synthetic, resource-intensive textile, and that it is imported, thus having high rates of carbon emissions. The better option would’ve been to refrain from producing this product or at least only use a material like cotton and donate proceeds to an environmental organization.
2. Sin of No Proof
“An environmental claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable third-party certification.”
Example: “Recycled Post Consumer Napkins” listing on Amazon, that doesn’t provide detailed sourcing for their supposed “100% post-consumer waste” claim.
3. Sin of Vagueness
“[Claims that are] poorly defined or broad [enough] that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the consumer.”
Example: The Mobius loop (the recycling icon). Surprise! Its meaning is ambiguous. Although it typically signifies the item is recyclable, companies might use the icon to instead suggest that their product is made from post-consumer material, the packaging too can be recycled, etc.
4. Sin of Irrelevance
“Environmental claim[s] that may be truthful but is unimportant or unhelpful for consumers seeking environmentally preferable products.”
Example: Freeze It’s hairspray labeled “CFC-free” when in fact its use in the U.S. has been banned by law since 1978.
5. Sin of Lesser of Two Evils
“Claims that may be true within the product category, but that risk distracting the consumer from the greater environmental impacts of the category as a whole.”
Example: Fiji’s bottled water. Although it may be “carbon negative,” hence a better option, bottling water and having it imported from Fiji is still an environmentally-taxing issue.
6. Sin of Fibbing
“Claims that are simply false.”
Example: Exxon Mobil exaggerating its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, despite only spending 0.2% of capital spendings on “green” investments.
7. Sin of Worshiping False Labels
“Product[s] that, through either words or images, gives the impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement actually exists”
Example: Fake “green” labels that are nothing more than shapes, green shading, and false claims combined together to give the illusion of an official green certification label.
Corporations rely on our heuristic-thinking and lack of knowledge to fool us into believing they’re “greener” than they are. Joke’s on them, though! You’re now familiar with the seven Sins of Greenwashing and have taken the first step to see through their false claims. To further protect ourselves from their branding/marketing tricks, you can review the resources below to become an environmentally-savvy shopper!
- Know your ecolabels — Green certification icons and what they mean
- Ingredients to avoid: oxybenzone, palm oil, polyethylene, petrochemicals, synthetic colors, preservatives, fragrances, parabens, chlorphenesin, etc.
- Phrases to question: botanical, chemical-free, earth-friendly, extracts, herbal, mineral, natural, organic, plant-derived, pure, raw, sensitive, sulfate-free, etc.
Author: Kathy Lin | Editors: Vivian Kuang and Smera Patil | Graphics: Natalie Chu | Team: Social Good
