Greenwashing
Greenwashing is a phrase that describes the act of pretending to be green just to look good. Greenwashing companies miss-lead consumers about the benefits of their brands, products and services. Generally, they will accentuate minor green attributes whilst downplaying bigger, environmentally damaging effects.
The practice of greenwashing is absolutely rife, most brand-name products are guilty. This is because green, eco-friendly and environmentally conscious ideas sell more units.
It’s fantastic that green issues are now front page news and part of public debate, but unfortunately this also means that companies are cashing-in on this valuable marketing spin.
My fear is not that people will stop talking about climate change. My fear is that they will talk us to Kingdom Come. ( Source: Monbiot )
It could be dubious claims of sustainability, clever use of terms like “green”, “eco”, “organic” or simply excessive use of the colour green. My own personal favourite is British Petroleums re-brand in 2000. At the time I remember thinking how blatant, but at the same time how powerful the effect is. Here is an oil company, the antithesis of green living, assuming the green guise with this bold sun flower logo.
British Petroleum: a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Environmental marketing agency TerraChoice recently published the 6 sins of greenwashing:
- Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off
e.g. paper (including household tissue, paper towel and copy paper): “Okay, this product comes from a sustainably harvested forest, but what are the impacts of its milling and transportation? Is the manufacturer also trying to reduce those impacts?” Emphasizing one environmental issue isn’t a problem (indeed, it often makes for better communications). The problem arises when hiding a trade-off between environmental issues. - Sin of No Proof
e.g. Personal care products (such as shampoos and conditioners) that claim not to have been tested on animals, but offer no evidence or certification of this claim. Company websites, third-party certifiers, and toll-free phone numbers are easy and effective means of delivering proof. - Sin of Vagueness
e.g. Garden insecticides promoted as “chemical-free.” In fact, nothing is free of chemicals. Water is a chemical. All plants, animals, and humans are made of chemicals as are all of our products. If the marketing claim doesn’t explain itself (“here’s what we mean by ‘eco’ …”), the claim is vague and meaningless. Similarly, watch for other popular vague green terms: “non-toxic”, “all-natural”, “environmentally-friendly”, and “earth-friendly.”
e.g. CFC-free oven cleaners, CFC free shaving gels, CFC-free window cleaners, CFC-disinfectants. Could all of the other products in this category make the same claim? The most common example is easy to detect: Don’t be impressed by CFC-free! Ask if the claim is important and relevant to the product. (If a light bulb claimed water efficiency benefits you should be suspicious.) Comparison-shop (and ask the competitive vendors)
e.g. Shampoos that claims to be “certified organic”, but for which our research could find no such certification. When I check up on it, is the claim true? The most frequent examples in this study were false uses of third-party certifications. Thankfully, these are easy to confirm. Legitimate third-party certifiers – EcoLogoCM, Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Green Guard, Green Seal (for example) – all maintain publicly available lists of certified products. Some even maintain fraud advisories for products that are falsely claiming certification.
e.g. Organic tobacco. “Green” insecticides and herbicides.
Is the claim trying to make consumers feel ‘green’ about a product category that is of questionable environmental benefit? Consumers concerned about the pollution associated with cigarettes would be better served by quitting smoking than by buying organic cigarettes. Similarly, consumers concerned about the human health and environmental risks of excessive use of lawn chemicals might create a bigger environmental benefit by reducing their use than by looking for greener alternatives.
At PickupPal we’re very careful to manage the ecological benefits of our product. Fundamentally, our product can improve air quality and have an impact on CO2 emissions, but we need the help of our community to do this. As a company we work in a paper-less and office-less fashion, using technology to reduce our burden on the environment and when the team needs to meet face-to-face we do so in shared meeting spaces.
Nevertheless, our product does come under some criticism. This normally centers around the 7% fee that we charge to Drivers for using our website. We came up with this as a way to pay for and maintain our service, but in an effort to make our service as accessible as possible we’ve decided to abandon the 7% fee, making our website completely FREE for everyone to use. There will be an official announcement on this shortly, but I mention to here to further illustrate our commitment to building a product that is serious about green-issues.
- Jonathan