Greenwashing

Has a company become more sustainable, does it recycle materials, and reduce carbon emissions – or have you fallen for Greenwashing? 

The term Greenwashing describes false, deceiving or misleading claims about environmental action, sustainability and recycling. Private sector organizations like companies and brands make these claims in order to market a product, a service and to promote a greener image. Because the issue of global climate change is as urgent as never before, it is very crucial to be able to distinguish real efforts from misleading campaigns.

Private sector organizations that make use of Greenwashing do not stride for a more sustainable future, instead, they often continue as before or even expand emissions under the guise of false advertisement and deceiving statements. Therewith, their practice fuels climate warming and increases environmental pollution. For example, this is the case with companies that emit hidden carbon dioxide or do not track their waste disposal. By doing so, they slow down much-needed change and hinder progress toward a greener future. Moreover, they profit off environmentally conscious customers with good intentions.

Greenwashing is a practice that appears in many different forms and, as its purpose is deception, it is not always easy to spot. However, Greenwashing is frequently uncovered by climate scientists, investigative journalist and climate activists. If you keep an eye out, you too can detect if a company or brand is green or just Greenwashing. There are multiple hints and indicators within Greenwashing campaigns.

How to spot Greenwashing

The sustainable agency AKEPA mentions vague green language, misleading numbers and percentages, and green or natural-coloured packaging of products. Vague green language includes words like farm-fresh, conscious, or clean. None of these words legally bind a private sector organization to implement sustainable practices. However, these words can evoke a misleading image of environmental and climate consciousness. Next to this, numbers like 100 percent climate-friendly suggest that materials and their production are not harmful to the environment. Similar to green language, these numbers and percentages do not have a concrete meaning legally.

Other forms of Greenwashing are grand gestures or irrelevant claims, which are used to distract from predominantly unsustainable practices. A grand gesture, for example, is contributing to a reforestation project. While it seems like a sustainable effort, it cannot balance out much higher carbon emissions. In many instances, a contribution to such a project aims to distract from the company’s refusal to implement expedient climate action plans. Irrelevant claims frequently appear in the form of focusing on and celebrating a company’s small sustainable aspect. At the same time, unsustainable practices or environmentally damaging conduct remain unaddressed, although they are far more relevant for environmental action.

What Greenwashing looks like in practice

Famous cases of Greenwashing include the oil giant BP (Kaufman, 2020) or H&M’s recycling campaign. In 2004, BP introduced the carbon footprint calculator, which animates individuals to calculate how much carbon dioxide emissions their lifestyle causes. Therewith, the fossil fuel company distracts from the fact that its own emissions are much higher and shifts the blame for global climate change to the individual (Kaufman, 2020). Today, BP is still drilling for oil and gas, which reveals how little they care for the climate and environment.

In 2023, journalists of the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet investigated H&M’s in-store recycling bins. Although H&M claimed that the donated clothes would be recycled or re-sold, the vast majority of garments ended up in waste dumps in the Global South. This investigation adds to the findings of the Changing Markets Foundation from 2021 that revealed 96% of H&M’s sustainable fashion claims were not true.

As climate change becomes more and more threatening to us and the planet, and as waste dumps continue to grow, it is important to be aware of Greenwashing practices. To limit the power of deceiving Greenwashing campaigns, tighter regulations for could be a solution.