We live in a society in which we have already become aware, to a greater or lesser extent, that everything we do and do not do has an impact on the environment. This is why the environmental or sustainability variable comes into the balance when making choices in favor of more responsible consumption habits.
This awareness makes many companies or brands look for communication strategies and ways to convey their values and responsibility to their audience. But many times these formulas are only communicative and have nothing to do with the real practices of companies, which continue to produce products through highly polluting processes, without social responsibility, without any notion of the impact of their supply chain or the waste they generate. This practice is known as greenwashing.
Its literal meaning in Spanish is "greenwashing". It applies to communication practices that appeal to the environmental variable to wash the image of something or someone.
Greenwashing is a practice or strategy employed by some companies, which consists of showing the audience that they are environmentally friendly when presenting their products or services. This strategy, in the end, is a deception because, in the end, neither the processes are environmentally friendly, nor the products or services they offer to their public.
It is a way of selling the public a false corporate social responsibility that is never seen in the company's policies or culture, nor in the product or service they are selling as such.
Basically, it is to make it seem that what I am selling is doing something to protect the environment, which is exaggerated or misleading since it has no support to validate this action.
How do I avoid falling into greenwashing traps?
It is clear that if as a consumer you want to choose products with less socio-environmental impact, you will not be very happy to find out that many of the products on the market claim to be "greener" than they really are. That is why it is crucial to know that this practice exists in order to use it as a tool to make informed decisions and to know how to differentiate when each case arises and ultimately make an informed decision, whatever that decision may be.
1) Use of exaggerated or excessive terms, concepts and characteristics.
Pay attention to cliché terms such as "sustainable", "ecological", "bio", "green", "biodegradable", "natural", "organic". These are warning signs since in many cases they are used indiscriminately because they sound good, but are rarely accompanied by real fundamentals. The same is true when exaggerated, too-good-to-be-true characteristics are highlighted, such as "zero emissions", "made from 100% recycled materials". Especially when these claims are made by companies associated with fossil fuels, plastics, fast-fashion and other industries that we know are far from selling sustainable products.
In many cases there are standardized methods to quantitatively and qualitatively back up what is claimed with mere terms and phrases, which brings us to the next point.
2) Certifications and accreditation seals
Many organizations offer certifications and accreditation seals for products and companies which are an effective tool against greenwashing, as they allow independent verification of whether a product meets certain criteria and whether it actually complies with the practices and claims it promises. Examples such as B-Company System, "Organic Argentina" seal, Energy Efficiency Labeling, FSC seal, Leaping Bunny certification, Energy Star, etc.
3) Colors and images
Similar to the first point, pay special attention to the use of colors or trite images to generate the sensation of environmental care. Do not fall into the "green" marketing, that is to say that by the simple fact of seeing this color and elements of nature such as leaves and trees, our subconscious is triggered to make us believe that certain values of sustainability prevail in the company.
4) Transfer of responsibility
Another important red-flag is what is known as "greenshifting", the practice of shifting the blame for environmental problems to the consumer, making them feel responsible for taking measures to solve them instead of assuming responsibility and taking effective measures to reduce their environmental impact. This practice is especially prevalent in industries that inherently negatively impact the environment. Examples such as electronics companies include legends on their products for the consumer to recycle at the end of life instead of providing repair alternatives, accessibility of spare parts, technical service, improving their processes to delay obsolescence and ultimately proposing their own convenient and accessible recycling programs.
To conclude
In conclusion, it is true that more and more consumers are looking for products with less impact, and it is understandable that companies want to take advantage of this trend to improve their image and increase their sales. However, it is important that we know how to recognize when we are dealing with true sustainable practices and when we are dealing with greenwashing.
The key is to be very attentive to the communications of products, companies and brands that claim to be "green". Very often green is just talk, and in fact they invest more in advertising "being green" than in actually implementing green practices.
We need to question what is behind these "green" communications and look at them with a critical eye. Let's doubt, let's search, let's investigate, let's ask questions to finally make informed decisions and be responsible consumers.
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