Greenwashing is the act of projecting a false picture of a product’s environmental impact or benefit, and it may be able to deceive customers. It describes making unsubstantiated claims as a means of misleading consumers into believing that products of a company are green or environmentally friendly in some way than they may have otherwise believed.
Greenwashing is possible when an organization emphasizes the environmentally friendly characteristics of a product in an effort to conceal its involvement in environmentally destructive activities. It involves the use of environmental symbolism, deceptive labels, and concealing trade-offs to portray an inaccurate image of environmental responsibility. It was coined after “whitewashing,” which is the act of obscuring malfeasance or unpleasant facts through false information in an attempt to make an event sound less horrible.
How greenwashing works?
Greenwashing, or “green sheen,” is when companies take advantage of the growing popularity of environmental goods by misleading representation. These claims might be that they are more natural, healthier, chemical-free, recyclable, or low-resource.
The term was coined during the 1960s, when the hospitality industry coined some of the very first cases of greenwashing. Hotels put up signs in guest rooms asking them to reuse towels for environmental purposes, but making money for hotels on lower laundry costs.
A few of the biggest carbon emitters in the world have attempted to redefine themselves as green champions. Greenwashing manifests itself as renaming, rebranding, or repackaging a product to make it appear more natural, wholesome, or chemical-free than others in the market. Business firms make announcements and advertising about their clean energy or reducing pollution activities but fail to act on it in practice. In short, greenwashing is adopted when companies are making untrue declarations that their products are eco-friendly or environmentally positive.
How to identify greenwashing?
Companies that practice greenwashing are likely to provide imprecise or misleading information. Researchers have created a measurement tool to assess the truthfulness of eco-friendliness declarations, identifying the most common tactics to be avoided:
– Imprecise Claims: Imprecision in the use of words such as “all-natural” or “eco-friendly” with no specificity.
– Selective Disclosure: Focusing on environmental pros but avoiding the cons.
– Fictitious Labels: Unverified certifications that give a misleading impression of quality.
– Nature Imagery: Using images of forests, water, or wildlife without explaining the company’s actual environmental track record.
The study suggests that brief, specific environmental information can counter these misleading tactics.
Examples of greenwashing around the world
– IKEA: The global largest wood consumer, IKEA, used illegally sourced timber from Ukraine’s Carpathian mountains for beechwood chairs, although they were FSC certified. This is a question mark over FSC’s capability to track illegal logging across the globe. IKEA is still, however, considered a sustainability leader, and FSC is still the best certification standard.
– H&M: Fast fashion is well known to cause environmental harm, so it’s no wonder greenwashing is the standard. A 2021 Changing Markets Foundation report revealed 60% of large brand sustainability claims were false. H&M led the way in untruths with 96% of its claims being false, attempting to mislead environmentally conscious consumers.
– Lloyds: In a recent 2024 case, Lloyds Banking Group was criticized for greenwashing LinkedIn social media ads, in a similar action to HSBC’s previous activities. The ads exaggerated the group’s green credentials but failed to mention its significant investments in fossil fuels. In 2023, Lloyds invested $1.9 billion in fossil fuels, as highlighted by Adfree Cities in their ASA complaint.
– Innocent Drinks: Fully owned by Coca-Cola, Innocent Drinks is a typical greenwashing example. With their use of single-use plastic and accusation of plastic pollution, they created TV adverts comprising cartoon animals urging others to recycle. The ASA banned the adverts following a complaint by Plastic Rebellion, revealing the misleading green claims.
– HSBC Bank: The world’s largest banks, including HSBC, bankroll the climate crisis by investing in fossil fuels. HSBC, ranked 13th among UK financiers of fossil fuels, continues to invest in high-carbon industries. After receiving 45 complaints, the ASA banned HSBC’s misleading adverts, although they can still be seen below.
Data Sources:
Investopedia, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/greenwashing.asp
Akepa, https://thesustainableagency.com/blog/greenwashing-examples/
Author: Petra Vuleta
Photos:
Last photo, https://www.seismic-change.com/client/innocent-drinks/
Other photos, https://www.cleanpng.com/
