The term „greenwashing” was coined by Jay Westerveld and derives from a combination of the words green (green in this sense „ecological”) and whitewash, meaning whitening, but in a figurative sense understood as „pulling the wool over the eyes”.

Greenwashing is a phenomenon that involves giving customers the impression that the product (or the company that produces it) is created (or works) in harmony with nature and ecology.

A New York Times journalist used the term to describe the seemingly eco-friendly activities of hotels. Hotel complexes encouraged guests to change towels less often, which was supposed to be a proof of care for the environment – thanks to this it was possible to save water, electricity and detergents that polluted this water. Jay Westerveld stated that behind the desire to help the planet lies the stinginess of hotel owners, who with this clever play wanted to save on bills.

The phenomenon itself dates back a little further, to the 70s, when pro-ecological movements gained enormous popularity in the United States. Manufacturers of various types of articles have realized that being eco is fashionable, and people are increasingly reading product labels and buying consciously. Brands began to label their products as „bio” and „eco”, often bending reality.

As you can guess, in the fashion for caring for the environment, companies quickly saw a chance to gain new customers. This phenomenon is particularly evident in recent years, when so much has been said about the climate crisis and how important it is to care for the planet. More and more people feel remorse for a non-ecological lifestyle. In order to drown out these reproaches a bit, they are more willing to buy products that, in theory, are supposed to help our planet. According to research conducted last year, customers are more likely to choose „organic” products, provided that their prices do not differ significantly (up to 10%) from the prices of products that do not have such a label.

Greenwashing can manifest itself in many different ways, and companies use various tactics to convince the consumer that by buying a given product he is helping the planet.

The first type of greenwashing is silence. This is the case when the company withholds some of the information about the product from customers. It may turn out that it is labeled as „eco”, „bio” or „energy-saving”, and in fact the individual parts of the product are produced in a non-planet-friendly way. For this reason, it is worth being cautious about slogans that sound nice, but in fact do not say anything specific, such as „produced in a sustainable way”.

Another greenwashing tactic is exaggeration. We are dealing with it especially in the case of cosmetics. These types of products are often advertised as being made from natural ingredients. However, standing at the drugstore shelves, it is worth reading the compositions, because it may turn out that the natural ingredients are at the gray end of the composition. However, in the first place you can often find glycerin or silicones.

Another type of greenwashing is bending the truth in terms of markings and certificates obtained by the product. In general, we trust such products, because there is an appeal to authority – if a group of independent scientists analyzed the composition of this shampoo and awarded it an eco certificate, then it must be so! It turns out not. Often, the signs with which the products are marked only resemble the logo of the competent institution or were bought by the company.

An interesting tactic used by producers is to inform the consumer about obvious matters. This effect can be seen, for example, in the case of hairsprays. You can find information on them saying that they do not contain freons in their composition. As we well know, freons contributed to the ozone hole. By buying this type of product, the customer is therefore convinced that he is helping the planet. Meanwhile, freons have been banned in Poland since 1991!

Many advertisements also convince to the so-called choice of the lesser evil. This usually happens when a given type of product harms the environment in some way. This tactic is used for plant protection products or enterprises producing energy from non-renewable energy sources.

Greenwashing marketing is also manifested by the lack of precision in product descriptions. Something that is natural is automatically associated with something good, having a positive impact on the environment. However, not always what is natural is at the same time ecological. For example, mercury is found in nature, so it is natural. But does that mean she’s healthy? No, it is a highly poisonous element.

Source: https://semcore.pl/greenwashing-co-to-jest/

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.