It All Comes Out in the Greenwash

Along any aisle in the grocery store, a shopper is likely to find products in packaging with soft green hues, proclaiming that they are “eco-friendly” and “all-natural.” For an eco-conscious shopper, this can often be a determining factor whether or not to buy a specific product. However, oftentimes the shopper has fallen for a greenwashing campaign.

Greenwashed products. Photo from Diamond and Spikes.

Greenwashing is activities by a company or an organization that are intended to make people think that it is concerned about the environment, even if its real business actually harms the environment. The term was coined by Jay Westerveld in 1986 after an experience while traveling in Fiji. A beachside resort had signs asking beachgoers to reuse their towels. Their reasoning was that reusing towels would decrease the ecological damage on the coral reefs. “They finished by saying something like, ‘Help us to help our environment’,” Westerveld recalled in an interview with The Guardian. In actuality, the resort was more concerned about saving laundry labor costs. The resort frames their request to be for the benefit of the environment, knowing that visitors would be more likely to comply if they thought they were helping the coral reef instead of just helping the resort save money. 

Why do companies greenwash?

Greenwashing has become so universal that it can be incredibly difficult to tell what is greenwashing and what is actually an environmentally friendly product. Companies greenwash their products because they know that customers are willing to pay more for something they believe to be environmentally sustainable. A Nielsen poll showed that 66% of global consumers are willing to pay more for environmentally sustainable products. Companies know this, and their earth tones packaging with images of trees, plants, or bodies of water, act as signals to shoppers that they are making sustainable choices by purchasing this product. It gives the consumer a feeling that they have done a good thing, while still putting money into the pockets of a company unconcerned with their actual environmental practices.

This is another reason that companies greenwash – to divert attention away from their own questionable practices. For example, Fiji Water launched a campaign in ­­­2015 with the tagline, “Bottled at the source, untouched by man.” Fiji Water is working hard to present themselves as one with nature, in which their company has no impact on the environment. However, the opposite is true. Not only is their water bottled in plastic and shipped all over the world, but 30% of households in Fiji are reliant on groundwater sources for their drinking water.

Bottled water creates a problem within itself. Bottled water companies (like Fiji) align themselves closely with sustainability. While water is a necessity, plastic water bottles generate excessive amounts of waste. Only 28.9% of plastic water bottles are recycled, meaning that the majority end up in our landfills or in our oceans. However, this does not mean we should advocate for bottled water to be banned. Bottled water can be very useful if a house loses power or if like in Flint, Michigan, a community does not have access to safe drinking water. In these cases, it is important to make sure that the plastic bottles are recycled properly.

Greenwashing and Fast Fashion

Another major culprit of greenwashing is fast fashion. Greta Thunberg sparked a discussion in August 2021 when she tweeted, “Many make it look as if the fashion industry is starting to take responsibility, spending fantasy amounts on campaigns portraying themselves as “sustainable”, “ethical”, “green,” “climate neutral” or “fair”. But let’s be clear: This is almost never anything but pure greenwash.” She’s not wrong. A report by Changing Markets Foundation published in June 2021 found that 59% of sustainability claims by fast fashion giants are greenwashing. Fast fashion by its nature is designed to be worn just a few times and then thrown out to make room for new fashions. This model is reliant on the generation of waste, and the low costs mean that the clothing is not meant to last.

Greenwashing cartoon. Cartoon by Timo Essner.

For example, in 2013, H&M placed clothing recycling bins at their stores. Shoppers were encouraged to return their clothes once they were finished wearing them, and they would be recycled. However, almost 90% of the clothes were most often burned or landfilled instead of being made into new garments. Furthermore, H&M would offer shoppers 15% off for recycling their clothes. This simply encourages them to continue buying fast fashion that will then be sent to the landfill. On the surface, the clothing recycling bins align H&M with environmental ideals, but the reality is that they are only generating further waste.

So, how do shoppers avoid falling for greenwashing?

Many of us still want to make decisions as consumers that don’t have a negative impact on the environment. There are a couple of red flags to look out for to help avoid buying greenwashed products:

  • Avoid vague language. Words like “eco-friendly” and “sustainable” have no legal definitions. Look for specifics to back up these claims.

  • Meaningless labels. Packaging might say “made with natural ingredients” instead of showing USDA certification.

  • Symbolic actions. A minor positive action by a company can be used to divert attention away from a company’s actual environmental impact. BP infamously did this when they invented the term “carbon footprint.”

  • Don’t be afraid to investigate a company’s claims. If a company is claiming sustainability but something seems fishy, google around to see what is going on behind the scenes.

Most of all, remember – one of the best things for the environment is to buy fewer products! Many of us want to be smart shoppers, but one of the most important questions we can ask while shopping is, “Do I actually need this?” By buying less, we are wasting and recycling less, which in the long run is what is going to make a positive impact on the environment.

Amanda Seale