How to Avoid Greenwashing

We’ve put together some easy yet impactful ways on “How to Avoid Greenwashing and Spot it?” within your own business. Let’s dive in!

What is Greenwashing?

Greenwashing is the concept of labelling a product or a service as green, through duplicitous PR and marketing efforts, rather than doing the groundwork to actually make the product or service itself more sustainable. 

Eco-minded consumers should be able to trust a company to deliver on what they promise, however, this is not always the case. Words like sustainable and eco-friendly have been so exploited by corporations who appear to have no real interest in preserving the planet, that there is now a phrase coined for this phenomenon: Greenwashing.

Is Greenwashing New?

Even though greenwashing is a buzzword of the modern era, the term itself was coined in the 1980s, around the time of Chevron, the multinational oil company that commissioned a series of ads to convince the public of its environmental credentials, which of course were widely criticised (1). 

The Guardian states that the phenomenon of greenwashing actually dates back to as early as 1969. When the Westinghouse’s nuclear power division, while under duress from the ever-popular anti-nuclear movement, launched TV and print ads extolling the virtues, cleanliness and safety of nuclear power plants. Only 17 years later these virtues were proven disastrously untrue.

The Volkswagen Scandal

The most infamous and serious example of corporate greenwashing was the Volkswagen Clean Diesel scandal of 2015, which is an exceptional case of greenwashing gone wrong. Not only did Volkswagen’s campaign fabricate their new climate-friendly approach to greener automobile technology, their endeavours actually resulted to be more harmful to the environment than their conventional cars. 

The VW situation not only had worldwide consequences with breaching environmental laws but also resulted in major financial losses for the company (2). In the aftermath of the scandal, VW made headlines for the most memorable greenwashing violations of the decade, instinctively making it hard for consumers to forget this environmental faux-pax. 

The court of consumer opinion is tough for companies recovering from scandals as such. One study concluded that consumers who were knowingly confronted with misleading advertising reacted negatively to the presented brand at hand (3). 

When businesses hide behind a facade of advertising, performance stats, claims and trademarks it can be for a variety of reasons, such as luring in more climate-conscious customers to duping evolving environmental laws and standards. Greenwashing can be seen on a smaller scale, with instances of companies launching allegedly eco-friendly products among their non-environmentally friendly merchandise or stretching the truth about sustainable manufacturing.

Is This Product Actually Doing What It Says?

Going green is valued, strived for, and worked on. Sustainability is a value that customers and consumers seek and brands strive to deliver. Today’s generation, who are more educated on and engaged with the climate crisis than ever before, in theory, should be able to trust brands and companies who label themselves eco-friendly at face value. 

Unfortunately, as with any type of marketing, discernment is key. For individuals who are conscious of making small changes in their everyday life, greenwashing presents a problem. Consumers have to ask themselves the question ‘Is this product actually doing what it says?’ This lack of trust can erode the relationship between consumer and product.

The Importance of Brand Transparency

Being a brand that has an established reputation for being truthful and transparent about its sustainability efforts is crucial for businesses to future-proof themselves. Investing time in a conscious, meaningful marketing strategy from the get-go will attract the right customers.

An analysis of greenwashing revealed that misleading schemes can exist in many different methods and are implemented in various stages and depths of marketing or business strategy, with corporate social responsibility being held in accountability.

Whether it’s an honest editorial about sustainability values on a companies website, going the extra mile to approve products by legitimate eco-labels, documenting best practices and sharing this knowledge, or trusting your marketing to an agency that specializes in a sustainable approach, rowing against the tide of greenwashing has come down to one easy solution: transparency. 

We all have the power to be agents of change.

1. The troubling evolution of corporate greenwashing
   https://www.theguardian.com/sustainablebusiness/2016/aug/20/greenwashing-environmentalism-lies-companies
2. Volkswagen: The scandal explained
   https://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772
   
3. Different Shades of Greenwashing: Consumers’ Reactions to Environmental Lies, Half-Lies, and Organizations Taking Credit for Following Legal Obligations
   https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1050651919874105

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For more information on how sustainability can positively impact your business. Get in touch with a member of the team at growfish.co