Karlo P.

GREENWASHING

2014.

1. What it is?
Greenwash is an environmental claim which is false or irrelevant. Greenwash can be
found in advertising, packaging and PR. Green claims can be made about people,
organisations or products.
Consumers through their purchases show strong will in minimizing the environmental
footprint of economy. Since consumers often rely on adverts and other corporate information
sources in making purchasing choices, they are often victims of greenwashing. As a result of
that, only 10% of consumers trust green information from business and governament. This
damages the whole environmental movement within business because green messages are
losing their credibility.

2. History
In the mid 1960s, environmental movement gained momentum. Popularity of the
movement resulted with many companies creating the green image. Jerry Mander called this
new advertising ecopornography.
The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. After that, eight times more money
was spent on green advertisement that on pollution research.
In 1985, one of the most famous greenwashing campaigns People Do was launched
by the Chevron Corporation. After two years survey showed that people trusted Chevron more
than other oil companies.
Term Greenwashing was first introduced in 1996. by environmentalist Jay
Westerveld. Later in 1999. the term was added to Oxford English Dictionary.
Study published in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing 1991. found that 58%
of environmental ads had at least one deceptive claim.
In 2010 a study was done showing that 4.5% of products tested were found to be truly
green as opposed to 2% in 2009.

3. Seven sins
Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off is committed by suggesting the product is green based
on a single or a narrow set of environmental attributes. Such claims are not usually false, but
are used to point a greener picture of the product. For example Nestle claimed their bottled
water was green based on a single environmental attribute which is eco-shape bottle with
15% less plastic.
Sin of No Proof is an environmental claim that cannot be substantiated by easily
accessible supporting information. For example Sylvania car halogen lighting claiming to be
eco bright for cleaner environment with no supporting information and/or third party
certification.
Sin of Vagueness is commited by every claim that is so poorly defined or broad that
its real meaning is easily misunderstood. Example of this sin is 7up drink that claims to be
100% natural which is a poorly defined claim and its real meaning is likely to be
misunderstood by the consumer.
Sin of Worshipping False Labels is sin where the product through either words or
images gives the impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement exists or
simply fake labels. For example a product with 100% organic logo, that isn't representing any
third-party certificate.
Sin of Irrelevance is committed by making an environmental claim that could be
correct but is unimportant and unhelpful for consumers that prefer green products. Very
frequent example is an irrelevant claim about chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs that is legally
baned for almost 30 years and there are no products manufactured with it.
Sin of Fibbing is a sin commited by making environmental claims that are simply
false. For example world famous company LG was caught cheating to achieve Energy Star
Rating. Their product was marked with false Energy Star.
Sin of Lesser of Two Evils are claims that may be true within the product category,
but that risk is distracting the consumer from the greater environmental impacts of the
category as a whole. For example organic cigarettes which is a category that has a
questionable environmental impact.

4. Conclusion
Increased demand for green products forces companies to create and promote them.
While this can be a good thing, problem is that organizations spend more time and money to
appear green through marketing than actually minimizing the environmental impact. By
that consumers are often mislead into buying products that only appear to be green.
There are seven different sins of greenwashing and only 4,5% products in 2010 were
truly green and didn't commit any mentioned sin.
Only way to differentiate the real green product from fake one is by third-party
certifications that proves environmental awareness. Example of third-party certification is
well known international standard Energy Star. Devices carrying the Energy Star mark
generally use 20 30% less energy than official government standards.

5. Literature
[1] http://www.u.arizona.edu/~baileys1/LRCSOC.ppt Available: 22.08.2014.
[2] http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/findings/the-seven-sins/index.html Available: 23.08.2014.
[3] http://dept.wofford.edu/sociology/Greenwash.ppt Available: 23.08.2014.
[4] http://ecovillagegreen.com/1002/how-to-avoid-greenwashing-sin-1-the-hidden-trade-off/
Available: 25.08.2014.
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Star Available: 27.08.2014.
[6] http://www.wellsphere.com/healthcare-industry-policy-article/greenwashing-do-youknow-what-you-re-buying/1192329 Available: 25.08.2014.
[7] http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/index35c6.pdf Available: 27.08.2014.
[8] http://www.tucsonaz.gov/files/ocsd/6_sins_Terrachoice.pdf Available: 27.08.2014.