Why Is Greenwashing Still Trending in 2020?
Not every ‘green’ initiative you see is authentic
Normally, I would only know it’s Earth Day if I happened to browse the news on the off chance and saw a headline about climate change.
This year, I received 10+ emails from businesses highlighting new ways they are becoming more sustainable with ads embossed with pastel imagery, vegan dishes, and panda cartoons. Even my Instagram feed was filled with #EarthDay memes and throwbacks to nature hikes.
Evidently, in a recent survey by the Pew Research Center — 6 in 10 Americans said global climate change is a major threat to the country. By 2021, U.S. consumers are estimated to spend $150 billion on sustainable products with increased willingness to pay a premium for such goods.
To capitalize on this growing demand for environmentally conscious products, the prevalence of greenwashing in 2020 is astounding.
Brands that engage in greenwashing falsely promote their product or service as ‘green’, without actually implementing business practices that reduce their environmental impact. Not only is this deceptive marketing, but it also detracts from making tangible progress against climate change.
As more companies are using ‘eco-friendly’ marketing and PR to pander to consumers’ values on the environment — recognizing greenwashing has never been more important.
Here are 3 marketing campaigns that slightly missed the mark:
Misdirected Marketing
Despite the ubiquity of buzzwords such as biodegradable, compostable, and certified compostable in advertising — most consumers cannot distinguish these vague catchphrases. Brands rely on the misuse of ‘eco-lingo’ to promote falsely labeled products that appeal to the moral conscience of consumers and boost profits.
Marketed as “certified 100% compostable single-serve pods”, Kauai Coffee claimed that its pods were “designed to go back to the land — not the landfill.” An investigation from the National Advertising Division (NAD) revealed that the pods were only compostable in limited industrial facilities and not “certified for backyard composting”.
Since the NAD released its findings in 2017, Kauai Coffee has since replaced these claims with “single-serve coffee pods that use 35% less plastic”. Despite previously recognizing the environmental impact of single-use pods, Kauai Coffee has shifted gears to instead tout their sustainable farming practices and composting initiatives.
In 2018, Kauai Coffee also became certified by the Rainforest Alliance after undergoing an audit to meet their environmental, social, and economic sustainability standards. The Rainforest Alliance was recently sued for allegations of deceptive marketing, amid criticisms in their auditing practices for their certification.
Power of Packaging
As single-use plastic water bottles have become the poster child of wasteful indulgence, Boxed Water has marketed itself as a more sustainable alternative. Packaged in cartons that are “92% plant-based” with a pledge to donate 10% of annual sales to reforestation and clean water projects in collaboration with 1% for the Planet — Boxed Water truly does sound better.
Although these cartons are recyclable, only a limited number of facilities with specialized equipment accept this packaging — leaving the majority of cartons in landfills. To make matters worse, while the recycling rate for PET in plastic bottles is only 29.2% in the U.S. — it is still significantly higher than the rate for cartons at 16%.
Despite the best intentions to move beyond single-use plastics, switching materials does not eradicate waste nor does it reduce carbon emissions. With the rising popularity of reusable bottles, investments in clean water need to be prioritized — especially since more than 2 million Americans still don’t have access to running water in 2020.
Branding over Business Model
Unsurprisingly, ‘sustainability marketing’ for most companies equates to selectively emphasizing buzz words, using ads with #goodvibes and highlighting collaborations with non-profit organizations to distract consumers from their unethical business practices.
Such marketing tactics are largely profit-driven and serve to exploit the momentum of value-driven consumer behavior in their favor.
H&M’s new Garment Collection Program aims to diverge clothes out of landfills in their efforts to develop a closed-loop supply chain. Customers are incentivized with a $5 coupon to bring in old clothing to be recycled, while also feeling good about their next H&M purchase.
One of H&M’s recycling facilities in Germany receives 25 to 30 trucks of clothing per day from H&M customers in Europe alone. 60% of these donated items are still wearable and shipped for resale to countries in Eastern Europe and Africa while remaining items are downcycled into scrap fabric such as cleaning cloths.
Last year, just 2.2% of recycled materials from H&M’s Garment Collection Program was used to make new clothing — only a 1.5% increase since launching the program in 2013.
As the volume of textile waste in landfills increases annually in the U.S., far less clothing is recycled than the millions sold by multinational fast-fashion retailers.
Money Talks
The love language of corporate America.
As value-centric consumers are increasingly choosing to vote with their dollar, companies need to realize that the demand for ethical and sustainable business practices is not just a trend — but something that is expected in 2020.
While more businesses pivot their branding to attract a more sustainably-minded demographic, we need to call out greenwashing and not buy into the scam that it is — literally.
