How greenwashing works and its techniques with examples
In this article, we delve into one of the most painful learning processes in the transition to a sustainable economy, the concept of Greenwash and what is Greenwashing and its techniques from the perspective of companies towards their customers.
Companies that have based their policy on selling products and services rooted in an artificial lifestyle, with sustainability and more than inflated profits, have not always played fair in their sales strategies against their customers or consumers with the intention of getting ahead of the market.
Not everything we perceive and see as sustainable, environmentally friendly, and healthy meets the rigor of these guidelines
Companies use techniques and strategies of green marketing and eco-labeling where they sell us an idea, when in reality the product does not always meet that external image we observe. It’s reinterpreting the image to sell more!
What is greenwashing?
The Greenwashing concept is an English term (“Green” means “green” + “washing” means “washing”) used to see the bad practices that some companies perform when presenting a product or any proposal as environmentally friendly even though it is not.
It is a “makeup” for the observer or potential customer to give a false idea about something that is not as “green” as it appears, nor do they practice circular economy in their companies.
And… Why is Greenwashing problematic? It is problematic because it can mislead consumers into buying products or services thinking they are making eco-friendly choices, when in reality they may be supporting harmful practices for the environment.
🟧 Note: Greenwashing encompasses a broad concept, from here, other more specific terms have emerged such as:
- What is “Green Sheen”? The “Green Sheen” is a related term that refers to the tendency of companies to present themselves as eco-friendly through their branding and marketing, regardless of their actual practices.
- What is “Whitewashing”? The “Whitewashing” is a tactic similar to Greenwashing, but instead of false claims about sustainability, it refers to the misleading presentation of a company as socially responsible.
- What is “Bluewashing”? The “Bluewashing” is a tactic similar to Greenwashing, but instead of false claims about sustainability, it refers to the misleading presentation of a company as a defender of human rights and labor standards.
Types of Greenwashing
The techniques are varied in the world of “eco-posturing” and marketing agencies are increasingly shrewd in managing brands. Mainly, five prominent types of greenwashing are identified:
- With ecological images. Green colors are used in packaging and advertising, featuring plants, leaves, animals, etc. Providing a vision of respect, social and environmental responsibility.
- Misleading labels. Products use eye-catching labels with “certified” or the famous “100% organic”. Without reliable information to confirm these claims.
- Products with hidden trade-offs. The clear example is the use of “recycled”, “natural”, “environmentally friendly” materials, etc., in the clothing sector, when in reality there are exploitative conditions in the product’s manufacturing.
- Irrelevant claims. They use language techniques like… “does not include the substance”, “not tested on animals”, “free of the chemical”, etc. These are claims that, in reality, the substance or product is prohibited by law or is an irrelevant announcement as an ecological good.
- An eco-friendly product covers the others. These are ads where within a category of products, only one respects the environment, but they strongly highlight the most eco-friendly product to users.
How does Greenwashing work?
The Greenwash is an evolution of the traditional concept of Whitewash or image laundering. Here, the focus is on highlighting culturally positive values of companies or institutions (corporate and social responsibility) that in many cases have little ethics or crimes affecting other people or institutions and through this method, they aim to clean their image to not lose or regain clientele.
The concept of Greenwash is understood as “the induction of the public into error or different perception, emphasizing the environmental credentials of a company, person, or product when these are irrelevant or unfounded”.
In short, it is the exploitation by companies or any institution of the susceptibility and morality of people who consume the preference of certain services or products, reinforcing their ethical and moral consistency to develop behavior that from a social perspective is accepted, based mainly on sustainability values and environmental or Earth protection.
companies apply ecological marketing with the intention of improving their sales
This concept was coined by David Bellamy, on the occasion of Earth Day in 1990. At that time, he already highlighted the hypocrisy of some companies, which placed their products accompanied by wonderful and beautiful images of nature, highlighting a commitment to the environment that was really questionable.
In the following image, we can see what are the techniques of Greenwashing towards users – customers from a marketing perspective.
In an effort of how to prevent Greenwashing, both to warn customers and companies, we can find it in a relevant report that gives us the keys to how Greenwashing works from an interesting guide “Understanding and Preventing Greenwash: A Business Guide” (Access from HERE). An interesting material that shows the reality of Greenwash practiced in some developed countries, where it also shows some recommendations. 10 simple ways to identify them….
How to recognize Greenwashing?
- An ambiguous language: terms or words without a clear concept or foundation. For example: friends of the environment.
- The “green products”, is widely used in the field of cleaning or cosmetics. Companies that offer products that clean perfectly due to their effectiveness with green colors and images of nature and “freshness”, but in their production, they seriously pollute nearby rivers. Or they offer an image of perfect health (Cosmetics), but in reality only for those who use them, because to produce them large amounts of chemical components are needed that evidently pollute. Or an example of CocaCola Life… Super healthy!
- The suggestive images: An example is those planes that leave a trail of flowers in the air when we see them circulate.
- The irrelevant messages: They emphasize that small ecological attribute not to say the only one in products and objects where all the others are not at all.
- When it is alluded to as “best in class”. Declaring that a brand or company is significantly more sustainable or green than the others from its category perspective. Now it is widely used in annual reports on companies emphasizing that “we are the most sustainable” or “we have polluted less than the companies”
- We look at the whole product. The perfect example is nuclear plants that are promoted as low in emissions for their energy performance, but that use high-risk and polluting fuels in their goal of obtaining energy or are associated with other brands to achieve a goal. Or tobacco… “it is an organic product, from the land itself” or the use of colors like “blue” on the packs… Is it healthier?
- The use of confusing language including words or phrases that allude to sustainable or environmental benefits and that in some cases, only professionals in the sector could understand.
- The imaginary and dangerous friendships. Large companies can have divisions or a “sub-company” that does meet sustainability and environmental standards (It has a “green” image) but presents products from another subsidiary of the same company, which is not so green to say nothing.
- Without scientific evidence or backed by official bodies… “Could confirm that…” or “could be the best product…” Trying to avoid those images of polluted environments with which they are normally associated.
- When it is directly a lie: data, reports, or messages, totally invented.
Another indicator of interest is… “The Sins of Greenwashing” by a Canadian environmental marketing consultancy TerraChoice, which classified seven ways to identify Greenwash (Access from HERE) and that in general, covers more or less the 10 points above.
The ways to identify Greenwash are mainly through visual communication, however, this is only part of the recommendations that could improve companies to be more consistent with their final and target clientele.
? Note: But… Are there organizations that fight against Greenwashing? Yes, there are several organizations and consumer advocacy groups that work to expose and combat these misleading tactics. Some of these organizations include Greenpeace, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU).
Developing an honest relationship is a priority that should be considered for the benefit of all. Identifying them is useful and necessary for the person – customers who gradually transform into responsible consumers – instead of using green marketing techniques.
How does Greenwashing affect the environment and climate change?
It can hinder the fight against climate change by diverting attention and resources from real and effective solutions to practices that have little or no positive impact on the environment… How?
- Resource diversion: It can lead to inefficient allocation of resources towards not truly sustainable solutions.
- Perpetuation of harmful practices: It can promote the continuation of environmentally harmful practices.
- Consumer confusion: It can lead to less eco-friendly purchasing decisions due to misinformation.
- Lack of trust: It can erode trust in sustainability claims.
- Delay in climate action: It can divert attention from effective climate change solutions.
- Disincentive for innovation: It can reduce incentives to develop truly sustainable practices.
- Damage to biodiversity: It can contribute to biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.
- Increase in pollution: It can allow high levels of pollution under the guise of ecology.
- Resource waste: It can promote inefficient use of resources and increase waste.
- Exploitation of natural resources: It can allow unsustainable exploitation of natural resources.
Amid so much chaos that may arise… Are there laws against Greenwashing? Yes, there are laws in many countries that prohibit misleading advertising practices. However, enforcing these laws is difficult due to the complexity of proving “that deception”.
Greenwashing examples
No one wants to be on the list and appear labeled as a Greenwashing example, but the reality is that companies have reached an amazing subtlety to communicate and convey without showing us the background of their actions and produce many examples of mimicked green products.
We start with this video from Greenpeace Spain…
From the Greenwashingindex portal (No longer works) you can see many examples of ads with Greenwashing advertising that perfectly meet the guidelines mentioned above. They are companies that are “green” on the outside and “black” on the inside.
We start with the names; labels with the mention of ecological, biological, and organic, as well as their usual abbreviations (“bio”, “eco”, etc.), were protected so that they are not used fraudulently in food products that do not comply with European legislation (HERE).
Remember the famous “bio”, well the name had to change!… Although many of us still have the mindset of the healthier product, in reality, they are examples of green marketing to “trick our minds”.
Another well-known case of example of Greenwashing is McDonald’s, a company accused more than once of bad practices. The communication tries to sell that the procurement of its raw materials is increasingly sustainable. In addition to painting many of its restaurants green and leaving aside the old red color that has always characterized it.
A bit more convoluted we find them, for example, in the issue of bioplastics that are also widely used in advertising to wash the image of their products:
One issue is that the bottle can be recycled – which we assume it can – and another that it is made from plants instead of petroleum. They induce to believe that it is an organic material that can be part of the compost, but the reality is that it is not. (We recall an article on how to make a homemade machine to recycle plastic)
Overcoming the Greenwashing companies against that image laundering or greenwashing, does not necessarily involve bringing companies closer to a more environmentally sustainable and sustainable production with the environment, although ideally, it should be so.
The business development should be valued from the sustainable perspective (See also the interesting article on blue or green economy), taking the sustainable aspects of the brand or company or even, its weaknesses, to communicate them honestly to its clientele and incorporate a more respectable ethic in its evolution.
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