greenwash

Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term used to describe the practice of companies disingenuously spinning their products and policies as environmentally friendly, such as by presenting cost cuts as reductions in use of resources.^[1] It is a deceptive use of green PR or green marketing. The term green sheen has similarly been used to describe organizations that attempt to show that they are adopting practices beneficial to the environment.^[2]

Usage

Greenwashing was coined by NY environmentalist Jay Westerveld^[3][4][5] in an essay regarding the hotel industry's practice of placing green placards in each room, promoting reuse of guest-towels, ostensibly to "save the environment". Westerveld noted that, in most cases, little or no effort toward waste recycling was being implemented by these institutions, due in part to the lack of cost-cutting affected by such practice. Westerveld opined that the actual objective of this "green campaign" on the part of many hoteliers was, in fact, increased profit. Westerveld hence monikered this and other outwardly environmentally conscientious acts with a greater, underlying purpose of profit increase as greenwashing.

The term is generally used when significantly more money or time has been spent advertising being green (that is, operating with consideration for the environment), rather than spending resources on environmentally sound practices. This is often portrayed by changing the name or label of a product, to give the feeling of nature, for example putting an image of a forest on a bottle containing harmful chemicals. Environmentalists often use greenwashing to describe the actions of energy companies, which are traditionally the largest polluters.^[6]

Norway's consumer ombudsman has targeted automakers who claim that their cars are "green", "clean" or "environmentally friendly" with some of the world's strictest advertising guidelines. Consumer Ombudsman official Bente Øverli said: "Cars cannot do anything good for the environment except less damage than others." Manufacturers risk fines if they fail to drop the words. Øverli said she did not know of other countries going so far in cracking down on cars and the environment.^{[7][8][9][10]}

In addition, the political term "linguistic detoxification" is used by some environmentalists to describe when, through legislation or other government action, the definitions of toxicity for certain substances are changed, or the name of the substance is changed, so that fewer things fall under a particular classification as toxic. An example is the reclassification of some low-level radioactive waste as "beyond regulatory concern", which permits it to be buried in conventional landfills. Another example is the EPA renaming sewage sludge to biosolids, and allowing it to be used as fertilizer, despite the fact that it often contains many hazardous materials including PCBs, dioxin, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and asbestos. The origin of this phrase has been attributed to environmental activist and author Barry Commoner.

Several activities designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may be considered merely symbolic greenwash. For example, Earth Hour encourages consumers to switch off electric appliances for 1 hour. This may make people feel good about a minor inconvenience without creating any sustained reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Similarly, introduction of a Carbon Emission Trading Scheme may feel good, but may be counterproductive if the cost of carbon is priced too low, or if large emitters are given 'free credits'. For example, Bank of America subsidiary MBNA offers an Eco-Logique MasterCard for Canadian consumers that rewards customers with carbon offsets as they continue using the card. Customers may feel that they are nullifying their carbon footprint by purchasing polluting goods with the card. However, only 0.5 percent of purchase price goes into purchasing carbon offsets, while the rest of the interchange fee still goes to the bank.^[11]

"Six Sins of Greenwashing"

In December 2007, environmental marketing firm TerraChoice gained national press coverage for releasing a study called "The Six Sins of Greenwashing" which found that more than 99% of 1,018 common consumer products randomly surveyed for the study were guilty of greenwashing. A total of 1,753 environmental claims made, with some products having more than one, and out of the 1,018 studied only one was found not guilty of making a false or misleading green marketing claim. According to the study, the six sins of greenwashing are^[12][13]:

• Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off: e.g. “Energy-efficient” electronics that contain hazardous materials. 998 products and 57% of all environmental claims committed this Sin.

• Sin of No Proof: e.g. Shampoos claiming to be “certified organic,” but with no verifiable certification. 454 products and 26% of environmental claims committed this Sin.

• Sin of Vagueness: e.g. Products claiming to be 100% natural when many naturally-occurring substances are hazardous, like arsenic and formaldehyde (see appeal to nature). Seen in 196 products or 11% of environmental claims.

• Sin of Irrelevance: e.g. Products claiming to be CFC-free, even though CFCs were banned 20 years ago. This Sin was seen in 78 products and 4% of environmental claims.

• Sin of Fibbing: e.g. Products falsely claiming to be certified by an internationally recognized environmental standard like EcoLogo, Energy Star or Green Seal. Found in 10 products or less than 1% of environmental claims.

• Sin of Lesser of Two Evils: e.g. Organic cigarettes or “environmentally friendly” pesticides, This occurred in 17 products or 1% of environmental claims.

In April 2009, TerraChoice published a second report on the subject. This report note the emergence of a seventh Sin – the ‘Sin of Worshiping False Labels’.^[14]

• The Sin of Worshiping False Labels is committed by a product that, through either words or images, gives the impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement actually exists; fake labels, in other words.

In addition, the 2009 study pinpointed three areas of consumer goods with the greatest level of greenwashing: children products, cosmetics, and cleaning products. In all three cases, marketers manipulate a consumer’s safety concerns and fears by capitalizing on the supposed health and safety benefits of “green” living.

In the case of children products, one might look primarily to toys and baby products like “biodegradable” building blocks or BPA-free silverware. For cosmetics, companies often use labels such as “naturally pure” to offer a seemingly “organic” personal care product. Finally, the greenwashing in cleaning products is evident in the “biodegradable” toilet paper, or the “non-toxic” bleach, or the “100 percent recycled” paper towels.”

Across the three product platforms of marketing, vague and ambiguous labeling allows a consumer to believe he/she is purchasing a product with greater eco-friendly benefits. Yet just as greenwashing misleads, these labels do not always carry substantial accreditation or scientific backing to prove the assertions and exacerbate the backlash of green marketing.

Examples

The Airbus A380 described as "A better environment inside and out".

• A commonly cited example of greenwashing is the Bush Administration's Clear Skies Initiative, which environmentalists have argued actually weakens air pollution laws.^[15]

• Many food products have packaging that evokes an environmentally friendly imagery even though there has been no attempt made at lowering the environmental impact of its production.^[16]

• An article in Wired magazine alleges that slogans are used to suggest environmentally benign business activity: the Comcast ecobill has the slogan of "PaperLESSisMORE" but ComCast uses large amounts of paper for direct marketing. The Poland Spring ecoshape bottle is touted as "A little natural does a lot of good", although 80% of beverage containers go to the landfill. The Airbus A380 airliner is described as "A better environment inside and out" even though air travel has a high negative environment cost. ^[17]

• According to Fred Pearce's Greenwash column in The Guardian, "clean coal" is the "ultimate climate change oxymoron" -- "pure and utter greenwash" he says.^[18]

Opposition to greenwash

Organisations and individuals are making attempts to reduce the impact of greenwashing by exposing it to the public. CHOICE^[19] in Australia offers a chance to report greenwash claims. Greenwashing Index^[20], operated by the University of Oregon, allows cases of greenwashing to be rated. Greenpeace, the international environmental organisation, has a blog that allows greenwashing claims to be rated.^[21] Greenwashing blogs^[22] also exist to reveal any untruths in claims that are made.

See also

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Use of environmental claims in the marketing of vehicles

• Green PR
• Green brands
• Green marketing
• List of environmental issues

References

Further reading

• Clegg, Brian. 2009. Eco-logic: Cutting Through the Greenwash: Truth, Lies and Saving the Planet. London: Eden Project. ISBN 9781905811250.
• Greer, Jed, and Kenny Bruno. 1996. Greenwash: The Reality Behind Corporate Environmentalism. Penang, Malaysia: Third World Network. ISBN 9839747169.
• Lubbers, Eveline. 2002. Battling Big Business: Countering Greenwash, Infiltration, and Other Forms of Corporate Bullying. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press. ISBN 1567512240
• Tokar, Brian. 1997. Earth for Sale: Reclaiming Ecology in the Age of Corporate Greenwash. Boston: South End Press. ISBN 0896085589.

External links

• Los Angeles Times
• Roberts Environmental Center. [1] Accessed 5-29-09. Ratings of corporate sustainability claims.
• How Greenwashing Works at HowStuffWorks
• Tools Of Greenwashing: Adverts - Article from The Unsuitablog, an anti-greenwashing blog
• Beware of Greenwashing: Not All Environmental Claims are Meaningful - How to avoid being fooled
• Questioning "corporate social responsibility" - Greenwashing article from London's Southern OnTrack magazine
• Greenwashing in Popular Culture and Art
• Are You Being Greenwashed?-the reality of Greenwashing in our society, documentary presented by George Monbiot.
• Turn Up The Heat - Greenwashing critique by George Monbiot
• What is Greenwashing, and Why is it a Problem?"
• FOOTSIE 100 Green Winners and Green Washers Survey
• DuPont and Greenwash "An Examination of the Limits to DuPont's 'Sustainability' Commitments" by United Steelworkers Union 11/03/07
• Greenwashing and the corporate mind.