What Is Greenwashing & How to Be a Conscious Consumer
We’ve all been greenwashed before, whether we realize it or not. But what exactly is greenwashing, & how can we look out for it?
On April 4th, I was featured on my friend Sarah’s podcast @sassyandsustainable, a two-part conversation to discuss sustainability and how being kind to yourself goes hand-in-hand with being kind to the Earth.
Part 1’s podcast focuses on the basics of greenwashing & what to do about it.
I’ve gathered and reworded a few snippets from the first podcast episode (in bold), as well as elaborated on a few thoughts that came up during our chat. This post is a bit of a longer read, but I promise it’s packed solid with information you won’t want to overlook!
Let’s get right into it :)
Sarah: Something I really wanted to talk about today is greenwashing; what it is, why it’s important, and why an individual should be aware of these different signs & patterns as a consumer.
Chanelle: The basics of greenwashing are: claiming that something is sustainable without providing evidence, and so making the consumer believe that they’re doing something good for the Earth (by buying or using certain products), when it may not even be the case. It usually involves leaving out evidence of an item’s environmental friendliness such as its exact contents/materials and what happens once the consumer is done with it. A lot of companies are catching on to (and taking advantage of) the fact that sustainability has become somewhat “trendy”, and so a lot of brands are seeing the financial possibilities associated with greenwashing. They know that if they write certain words on their products, people will be more likely to buy it. These words could be anything from “green”, “eco-friendly”, or even “biodegradable”, etc. New businesses worldwide are starting up based on this marketing tactic. A lot of recent “inventions” in the realm of sustainability are specifically produced to sell something that the consumer will believe is helping the environment, when really it often does the opposite by creating more “stuff” that you don’t need. This happens in almost every single industry, including fashion. Greenwashing is basically a big lie, and it’s exploding worldwide right now.
Sarah: Makeup is one of the areas where I’ve really noticed greenwashing being common. A lot of times with beauty products, companies will say “pure”, “simple”, or “natural”. I’ve also seen it with self-care products (especially those marketed towards women), and cleaning products. You know, the ones where the packaging will be green and have leaves all over…
Chanelle: Yes, leaves on the packaging! So common. It catches your eye and can easily be deceiving. You have to really look at the label and the background of the company to know if their products are actually sustainable or not.
Sarah: It is hard to know. I find the best thing is to try to create your own cleaning products if you can. But then as soon as companies catch wind of some sort of consumer pattern that could cause a loss of profit, they figure out a way to convince the consumers that their product is good, almost “healthy“, and minimally invasive or harmful to environment.
Chanelle: Yes a LOT of companies now claim their cleaning products are “green”, because they know cleaning products are a common item that is homemade.
Sarah: I think people need to take more seriously the fact that anytime you spend money, you are voting. When you buy something, a lot of resources were used to create just that one product, including the packaging, the product itself, etc. Whereas if you make your own, no one is making extra money off that homemade product.
Chanelle: Yes and be aware that whatever is written on the product, it’s there to sell that product, and not to inform the consumer of its environmental impact. So whatever you see on there, all those key words, it’s to sell it to you, not because the government forces them to write those words on there. There’s actually a lot of freedom around what the producer writes on the product because a lot of words are not legally binding. So someone can say that their product is “green”. But what does that mean? If there’s no legal definition, they can write that word and make you think that their product is good, but it might not be. Like what is “green”? And what is “natural”? When we think of “natural” we think “no chemicals”. But it doesn’t actually mean “chemical-free”. So for example, if you’re wanting environmentally-friendly makeup and you get a product that says “natural”, it doesn’t actually mean that it all comes from the Earth and is healthy and good for the environment. Whatever labels producers put on their product for marketing, that’s all that is: marketing. So the consumer has to be aware that they have to look at the ingredients list and look up a company’s values if they want to ensure getting a sustainable product. But most people don’t do this, especially if they’re in a rush and need a product ASAP. So greenwashing is hard to control because no matter what, people will be buying things and companies will want to sell their stuff.
Unfortunately, most words used in eco-labeling are not legally binding. This means that there are no legal definitions for these words, and so companies are free to use them in their marketing without any repercussions. Although faulty marketing itself is illegal, companies get away with using greenwashing vocabulary due to the vague definitions.
On the contrary, the term “organic” does have a legal definition (although specifics vary from country to country), and so usually a product containing this word on their packaging would have a certification from an organization to prove their organic classification. But since this isn’t the case for most sustainability-related terms, any company can claim their product is “eco-friendly” without having to explain environmental impact specifics.
Chanelle: Here’s a really big and scary example of greenwashing: have you ever been to the gas station and seen a poster by the pumps that advertises that the gasoline content includes “plant” ethanol. They’re literally trying to make you think that the gas going in your car, which contributes to millions of carbon emissions around the world, isn’t as bad as how it used to be thanks to this newly added “plant ethanol”. They want the consumer to think that gasoline (one of the most polluting industries in the world), is not that bad for the environment.
Let’s get real, that would be like if a tobacco company would claim to be concerned for your health by adding kale extract to their cigarettes, while still including hundreds of carcinogenic compounds into their products.
The big corporations are definitely the biggest culprits when it comes to greenwashing, by trying to make the consumer responsible for the climate crisis rather than owning up to the huge damage they are doing daily. I could go on a huge tangent here on capitalism, but more on that another day…
Chanelle: It’s scary, because people believe (the companies) and it happens in all of the big industries that basically own the world. This type of greenwashing is part of the reason why so many people don’t believe in climate change, because it gives people a false sense of security regarding how sustainable their daily activities are becoming when it’s not the case.
Sarah: The amount of money spent on marketing is astronomical. Companies are really good at selling you their product by convincing you that A) something in your life is wrong, and B) that your life can’t be good until you own that product. It’s really important to realize that every one of your choices as a consumer impacts a lot of different people. You have to be mindful of every dollar you spend, even though you might think it’s very small. What is that dollar supporting? Which companies with which values and beliefs? To me supporting local and my community is really important. Marketing is all a huge psychological game at the end of the day. It’s psychological deception. And this happens beyond the realm of sustainability too.
Chanelle: Ya basically the whole world is out to get you to spend money. It’s kind of scary when you realize that, because then you keep finding more and more lies and corruption in the world. So the best thing to do is just to be a very aware consumer and do your research when it comes to the items you buy. Whatever you support, every thing you buy, unless it’s home compostable, will literally always be on this Earth. That’s a lot of stuff in your home alone, nevermind all the things you’ve thrown out in the past, like take-out containers for example.
Sarah: That is so mind-blowing when you think about it. Think of all the stuff you bought like ten years ago, even if it’s not physically in your home anymore…
Chanelle: It’s somewhere!
Sarah: I’ve noticed companies are very upfront about using post-consumer plastic lately, even if it’s only a tiny portion of the product and if the product doesn’t even have anything to do with sustainability.
Chanelle: This happens so often with take-out containers. Next time you take out food, look at your packaging. Whether it’s a lid from a cup, or a bowl… I guarantee that it will say one of the following: “biodegradable”, “recyclable”, “post-consumer material”… It might even say it’s “compostable”, even though it probably won’t break down in your home compost. A lot of things that say compostable (because the term “compostable“ is not legally-binding), won’t actually decompose in your home compost. Many of these items require an industrial composter to break down completely. A lot of people don’t even compost, and those who do might not compost properly. Even if the claims about the packaging materials are true, that’s still greenwashing right there, by trying to tell you that the packaging is “sustainable” just because it might be partially biodegradable. Plus at this point, all plastics should be from post-consumer sources. And just because your purchase comes in post-consumer packaging, doesn’t mean that your purchase itself is sustainable.
Let’s get one thing straight: plastic, regardless of labels, is NOT sustainable. Even if it’s post-consumer plastic. Every time plastic is recycled (and keep in mind most plastics aren’t recycled), there is a loss of material. Plastic does not recycle infinitely the way other materials like tin and certain types of glass can. All plastic you ever use or own will be on this Earth for the rest of time. It doesn’t matter if they’ve stamped a little leaf into the plastic or not.
As for the term biodegradable, it just means that it will eventually break down into smaller particles (AKA microplastics) without giving you a time frame (which means it could take CENTURIES to break down). It does not mean that it will decompose into dirt the way fully compostable items would. But the thing is, even compostable items do not break down fully if they are simply thrown into the trash in a plastic bag being sent to the landfill. For an item to successfully decompose, the temperature, moisture and levels of carbon versus oxygen are crucial. A landfill does not provide these conditions. In Canada and the US, there are standards in place for specific items (such as garbage bags) to be legally labelled as compostable vs biodegradable, but again, compostable in this sense requires industrial composters.
I’ve also seen the little recycling logo (you know, the one with arrows going around in a triangle) SO often on a variety of items lately, even when I know those items are not recyclable in any nearby community’s municipal recycling program. This includes plastic bags from clothes you order online, take-out containers as mentioned above, even styrofoam!? As mentioned in my previous blog post (7 Ways to Be More Sustainable This Spring), being a conscious recycler is crucial to ensure you aren’t contaminating your community’s recyclables with items that aren’t accepted in your municipal recycling pick-up. That means not relying on whether or not the producer of your items stamped their products with a little recycling logo.
So what else can you do?
Becoming a conscious consumer does take a bit of research at first, but once you become familiar with credible brands for your essential purchases, it becomes easier.
Look for certifications on your products, such as those that guarantee them to be organic & cruelty-free.
As a rule of thumb, vegan-certified products are more sustainable since they do not support animal abuse or animal agriculture (which contributes to more greenhouse gas emissions than all the transportation worldwide combined).
Vote with your dollar by supporting local, ethical brands, and do your best not to support big corporations such as Amazon (who have shady ethics when it comes to how they treat their employees and make it tempting to buy items you don’t need with their practically instant delivery speed).
Consume less in general, and buy secondhand whenever possible.
Try not to get overwhelmed with not being perfect (disclaimer: no one is) and take small steps at a time to learn more about sustainability (more on this in Part 2!).
Now, I do want to point out that even if a product shows signs of greenwashing, it does not mean that the product itself is bad or that you are doing something bad by buying it. Maybe the food inside that plastic container is 100% plant-based with locally grown veggies. Maybe that '“eco-friendly” company really does care for the environment despite not being transparent about where their ingredients come from. And if you do your research, you will be able to find companies that really do put sustainability at the forefront of their values and whose claims are backed up. Which is the goal! :)
Ok, so that was a ton of info to absorb. And most of it was heavy… I’m sorry! BUT, knowledge is power, and it’s now up to you to decide what to do with this power. I believe in you!
To hear our full conversation, find Sarah @sassyandsustainable on Instagram,
Podbean, or Spotify, & look for the episode called “Chanelle Part 1: Greenwashing”. And don’t forget to look out for Part 2 of our conversation next week (can’t wait)!
Happy listening! ♡
- Chanelle oxo