You washed me green, baby!
Today we are jumping into the the world of getting fooled by climate friendly claims
From this post onwards, I will attempt to give a summary for each piece through a meme right at the beginning.
Also, please hit the Like button ♥️ at the end if you like this post so that I can know if what I am writing is worth your time.
Let’s go.
Explain like I’m a memer (move over ELI5, I introduce you to ELIM!)
Have a close look at the images below.
Did you feel positively about H&M?
You know what happened here? You and I got GREENWASHED!
Think of H&M’s Conscious collection as a green tint applied on your eyeglasses such that every time you see this collection, H&M appears green, not in colour but psychologically safe for the environment, especially when it is not. The portrayal positively altered your perception (of the brand) using deception. An investigation by Quartz revealed that the entire narrative was bogus1.
Organizations mass-distribute these ‘tints’, i.e. narratives through PR activities, marketing campaigns and product design & packaging (Hints: earthy looking, cardboard based, earthly-green coloured…see image below.)
Greenwashing is a mind game crafted to tinker with emotions.
Low key psychedelics, eh?
Why do companies greenwash?
To appeal to their consumers (mostly) and enablers - you, me, investors and governments - who are increasingly preferring products & services which are put together with special care for the environment. However, since this care for the environment is often multi-layered and largely undefined, organizations often assume creative freedom to mislead, intentionally or unintentionally, stakeholders. They feed and overfeed creative narratives until they become consumers’ (perceived) reality.
You must have come across a gazillion food products labeled ‘organic’, ‘powered with sustainably sourced ingredients’ and ‘ethically sourced’. Putting out a narrative which polishes their green side, organizations not only become consumers’ blue eyed babies but those blue eyes also hypnotize the metaphorical parents into paying extra for their offering. Because, why not, their care for the environment commands more bucks for the effort. Sounds logically stupid.
What can be called out for greenwashing?
Greenwashing mostly manifests itself in one of the following ways:
Claims based on a narrow view
Two years ago, an oil major, Saudi Aramco, launched an ad campaign that said they were “powering a more sustainable future”2. Sure, they may be doing that by signing climate pledges, funding sustainable technologies and capturing miniscule CO2 they produce because they have a cash stash to be able to do this. But all that seems an eyewash when
they are exploring more oil reserves in parallel (8 new discovered in 2019-2020) to continue the fossil fuel saga, and
these ‘initiatives’ are worth half a drop in the sea of CO2 emissions they’ve drowned themselves in.
Aramco is not alone, it’s pretty much most of the Big Oil.
Words soaked in vagueness
Source: oecotextiles What can you possibly make from the sentence on the cloth tag in the picture above?
If it’s cotton, you’ll know it’s green (even if it’s pink).
A statement so open ended, they probably failed to deliver the message.
Consider the term ‘herbal’ - no one tells you what else is mixed in those herbs or whether those herbs come from farms which practice sustainable agriculture.
Another branding favourite is ‘100% natural’. Amazing! Lead, arsenic and mercury are naturally occurring too, just that they are toxic metals which find an easy way in textiles in the form of dyes 😵💫
Proof-less / unaudited assertions
Source: thesustainableagency In 2020, Ryanair, the European budget airline, announced itself as Europe’s “lowest emission airline” in the UK without any third party certifications or other proof. The ads were eventually banned by the UK's advertising watchdog.
Inexplicit claims through wordplay, imagery and action
A 2021 campaign by H&M (view image below), featuring climate activists as role models on their window displays and online stores, was an attempt to convince the world that they care about the environment, while they supply their carbon intensive fast fashion like free Diet Coke to the world! Not to forget that the very fibre used to make most of their clothes, Polyester, is a synthetic fiber made using plastic3.
Source: Changing Markets Foundation In other events, Coca Cola sponsored a UN led annual climate action meeting of nations (COP 27) which was held in Egypt in 2022. As one of the largest global plastic polluters, Coca Cola getting to splurge on makeup for its dirt, was a big blow to environmentalists’ trust in the UN as was validated by their backlash on the matter.
White lies
Kim Kardashian’s underwear brand, Skims, packages its products in a film which boldly states “I am not Plastic”. It further states that it is compostable and plant based, however, the other side of the same package mentions that it is grade 4 plastic or low-density polyethylene (LDPE). As controversial as its owner? 😬
Have a look at the picture below.
Source: Changing Markets Foundation
All the above manifestations are deep-rooted in the belief that consumers, on an average, are gullible. They are expected to neither have the depth of knowledge nor the motivation to be thorough in validating claims. Rightly so. Most consumers don’t even read the ingredient list on their packaged food!
However, some companies take the assumption too far and score an own goal 🥲Watch stupidity unfold in this product video by beauty brand, SKKN by Kim. Don’t forget to read the caption. Netizens bashed the brand for fooling them in the face.
Commonly abused terms to wash us green
Don’t get me wrong, just because a phrase appears in the above word map doesn’t necessarily mean it will always have a connotation of greenwashing. Many companies are genuine in their efforts and rightfully put across their claims. The above is simply a non-exhaustive compilation of terms which most commonly get misused and abused.
To understand the contextual meaning of some of these terms better, refer to the glossary at the end of this post.
Greenwashing is not limited to food, fashion and fuel; it is rampant in the finance world too in the garb of ESG Funds and Green Bonds
How do regulatory authorities let this happen?
Climate change is an evolving science. Some things are clear, some are hazy and some are simply new. The haze and the newness, understandably, escape standards and regulations. Voila! An ambient breeding ground for greenwashing.
However, with greater focus on this evolving phenomenon, the ability to differentiate spurious from legitimate is being developed. Regulators are clamping down on the spurious bits (we saw some examples above) with penalties and introduction of relevant policies & due diligence processes.
It’s a work in progress.
How can you avoid being greenwashed?
Let’s be real. Discovering that you were successfully greenwashed by someone you trusted feels like a shameful betrayal. One that hurts the ego and sense of intelligence. But it’s a hazy affair with thin lines of difference.
Practically, most of us don’t have the time to validate green claims. However, incorporating a few tiny habits can minimize the chances of being played.
Read product labels well
When it comes to FMCG, it’s fairly easy to deduce if the claim on the label is false - all you have to do is read the ingredient list on the rear label. For example, if the front of the label claims a food item to be “100% natural” or “made from real fruits” while the back label lists flavouring agents or artificial sweeteners as at least one of the ingredients, you can conclude they’re lying. In case you don’t understand an ingredient, it’s one Google search or (now) ChatGPT question away!
Beware of claims with creative terms or wordplays
Now that you have a broad view on the tricks of the game, pull out your antennae everytime you come across them, especially if you’re paying extra for that green claim. Claims that are too good to be true are often false.
Don't repose trust blindly; update it
A brand that was trustworthy 5 years ago isn’t necessarily worthy of it today. Whatever you pay for is afterall a business. Amazon led by Jeff Bezos may not run on the same principles when led by Andy Jassy. Just like you update your phone software for bug fixes, take annual updates on your most consumed brands from ChatGPT for a satellite view of them which will likely keep your trust in check.
Have you come across any other whacky greenwashing? Share it with me in the comments.
Have a lovely weekend!
Commonly misused terms explained:
Biodegradable: A substance that can disintegrate naturally by the action of microorganisms, but over how many years? 20? 100? 1000? No idea! Also, the process is not necessarily clean - depending on the chemical composition of the material, it can release copious amounts of emissions.
Bioplastic: A large family of plastics made partly or fully from plant-based sources or microbes. If the creation of bioplastic consists of even 5% of biomass (rest being conventional plastic), companies are free to call it so while the consumers assume it’s 100% environment friendly.
Closed loop: A term lately used in high frequency in the fashion industry, it aims to indicate circularity in manufacturing and consumption with no waste being generated in the process. However, it is often used vaguely since it may refer only to a tiny fraction of the entire fashion supply chain which has enormous unaccounted indirect emissions.
ESG Fund and green bond: Greenwashing is not limited to food, fashion and oil; it is rampant in the finance world too. With rising conscience based investing (or PR stunts in certain cases), many investors are keen on funding only clean businesses. This has led to the dawn of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) labeled funds which promise ESG principles based investing of money. Similarly, Green bonds are debt vehicles meant to specifically fund sustainable businesses only. A recent FT article reported that many of these funds make dubious claims and use the money for non-stipulated purposes.
Oxo-degradable: Type of conventional plastic with an additive to imitate biodegradation. This plastic quickly breaks down into microplastics, but doesn't break down at the molecular or polymer level, unlike biodegradable and compostable plastics. The microplastics continue to contaminate land and water resources. This term is most commonly found on garbage bags sold online in the garb of a ‘sustainable’ choice.
Recyclable: Generally used in reference to certain types of plastics, it indicates plastics' ability to be recycled to create another form of plastic. Who will take the onus of recycling, nobody knows. On a side note, recycling as a process is energy intensive which can give a new life only to limited kinds of plastic. Hence, not as green as you may expect it to be.
Reusable: No explanation needed. You can reuse ANY carry bag! This is no USP.
Read more about it and the scientific-appearing-but-faulty Higg Index they created to profile the sustainability of their clothes, here
The ads were subsequently taken down pursuant to a series of greenwashing complaints
Great article Sheysha. It is so easy to play around with regulations and who has the time nowadays to read the labels, intentionally printed in the smallest font printer can handle.
This was so informative. Thanks for packing so much information in this edition :)