Sustainability 101: What is Greenwashing?

Rick Crawford 

Personally, I try to buy from brands that align with my own values.  For example, if I am looking to buy some new fishing gear or apparel, I look for things like 1% for the Planet logo, and if I am doing some product research, I’ll even jump on a company’s website to see if they have a sustainability section, or annual sustainability report.  That said, not every company’s environmental and social claims are legit.

In fact, there are a lot of companies trying to jump on the “green” train without actually doing anything that is better for the environment or society.  Why?  Because they know there are a growing number of conscious consumers that are buying products that align with their values.  In fact, according to the 2017 Cone Communications Study:

63% of Americans are hopeful businesses will take the lead to drive social and environmental change moving forward, in the absence of government regulation

78% want companies to address important social justice issues

87% will purchase a product because a company advocated for an issue they cared about and 76% will refuse to purchase a company’s products or services upon learning it supported an issue contrary to their beliefs

While I agree that it is a smart business decision to try to capture the attention of the growing number of conscious consumers, there are a lot of companies and products that are ‘greenwashing‘ meaning that they are making claims, like “eco-friendly” without any evidence, supporting documentation or certifications verifying that the product or company is sustainable.  According to Oxford-Dictionary, ‘greenwashing’ is:

Disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image.

There are many examples of companies ‘greenwashing’ such as Dasani claiming that their plastic water bottles are made from “Up to 30% Made from Plants.”  Well, this is deceiving because that could mean 1% or 30%, and how is single-use plastics good for the environment?  Also, notice the Plant Bottle logo that looks similar to a recycling symbol, which is also deceptive. 

Dasani is a perfect example of misleading the consumer by making false claims, also known as greenwashing. 

However, there many other examples of greenwashing.  Volkswagen was sued for false advertising in 2016 by the Federal Trade Commission   VW manufactured 600,000 “clean diesel” and installed software that in their cars that enabled them to pass annual emissions tests, but in fact were polluting more than 40 times the legal limits, thus also violating the Clean Air Act.  The list goes on and on with products labeled as “All Natural” or “Eco-Friendly” without being able to back up their claim with either data or 3rd party certifications that they are credible.

It’s important to be able to distinguish between brands that are greenwashing vs brands that are doing the right thing and deserving of your business and customer loyalty.  Beware of the posers by looking for credible 3rd party certifications like: 1% for the Planet, B-Corp or USDA Organic.  Also, if you have the time, do a little digging on their website to see if they have a sustainability section or annual sustainability report, which will likely distinguish a brand from talking the talk vs. walking the walk.