HOW IT HARMS SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS Greenwashing is a marketing technique that creates the illusion of a company or product being environmentally friendly. It is a deceptive tactic used to make consumers believe a product is more sustainable than it actually is. It is suspected that more than 95 per cent of consumer products claiming to be green are guilty of at least one count of greenwashing. Meanwhile, 72% of business execs admit their own company engages in greenwashing. Throughout 2022, a flurry of companies were called out for greenwashing. There were class action lawsuits, brands sued for falsely marketing products, and companies whose reputations were being shredded to tatters in the media when a greenwashing news story broke concerning one of their brands. Yet still, greenwashing happens and results in misleading consumers, and also harming sustainability efforts. When businesses greenwash, they are hindering the fight against global warming, and helping to maintain the status quo through misinformation. The truth is, with the world falling desperately short on climate goals, we simply can not afford for greenwashing to take place. Organizations can’t truly become sustainable if they are not honest about the environmental impacts of their products, and greenwashing prevents that from happening. It can also harm the progress
of other organizations that are actually striving to be more sustainable and reduce their environmental footprint. As businesses, stakeholders and consumers alike, it is essential to be aware of the dangers of greenwashing and how it affects sustainability efforts. WHAT IS GREENWASHING? Greenwashing is a form of false advertising that is used to promote products or companies as environmentally friendly and sustainable, when they are not. Products can be falsely advertised to appear as more sustainable than they are by using misleading marketing techniques such as false advertising about their ingredients, sourcing, or manufacturing process. Greenwashing can also occur when products are advertised as being better for the environment, but then are distributed in packaging that is not recycled or does not have recyclable materials. Or that it is carbon neutral by purchasing low-grade carbon offsets or undertaking unsustainable tree planting programmes. The list of potential greenwashing tactics is limitless.
GREENWASHING MISLEADS CONSUMERS Many greenwashing claims are not based on facts, and many products that are advertised as being environmentally friendly are actually
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