How to spot greenwashing

We want to avoid buying things that harm our health and the environment. Sadly, instead of doing the right thing and making their products ethically, some companies just pretend to! This is called ‘greenwashing’, and we’re going to learn how to spot it.

Why companies greenwash

People are willing to spend more money on ethical products — we want to support companies doing the right thing. It’s also been shown that most people believe sustainable items are higher quality. Some companies decide to greenwash instead of making a real change — often due to poor regulation and workplace cultures that don’t encourage change.

Examples of greenwashing

· Huggies advertised that their “pure and natural” nappies are made from organic cotton, but only a small part is cotton — the rest is made from the same plastics and synthetics as other disposable nappies. A class-action lawsuit was filed against Huggies, and the nappies were discontinued.

· Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner was marketed as a “totally organic experience” (remember those terrible ads? yikes) but the ingredients are far from totally organic — and some of them, like 1,4-dioxane, are harmful. After the company was criticised, they decided to remove some of the worst ingredients from their products.

How to tell if it’s the real deal, or just greenwashing

The best way to be sure is to do your research — but it’s not possible to research everything you buy! Here are a few things to look out for, to see if it really is ‘green’:

· Is there a third-party certification? Look for a certification — organic, fair trade, free range, recycled, etc. — to check how true their claims are. While not every genuine product is certified, it’s a good place to start.

· Is the product description vague? If it just tells you it’s ‘green’, ‘guilt-free’, ‘all-natural’ or something else ambiguous, it might be avoiding something.

· Does it brag about something irrelevant? If a product’s marketing tells you things that have nothing to do with the product itself, it could be trying to distract you.

Greenwashing isn’t just unethical, it’s also illegal in a lot of places — for example, in Australia, it’s illegal to market a product using “misleading or deceptive” claims. The Australian government even has a guide explaining how the law applies to environmental claims! Know the signs and know your rights, and you won’t fall for greenwashing again.