Shades of Green: The Truth Behind Greenwashing
“Sustainability is often used [by companies] so we as consumers don’t feel as guilty about buying things,” says Wren Montgomery in an interview with Anwar Knight of the Big Blue Marble Podcast. Greenwashers attempt to take away the guilt of making purchases by using jargon, being vague, and not giving proof to back their claims.
Wren and Anwar had a fruitful conversation about this and more, including the current state of greenwashing, legislation in Canada and globally, and common greenwashing strategies to look out for.
Listen to the podcast here, or read on for some highlights from the conversation.
The State of Greenwashing
Wren points out how pervasive greenwashing is, saying that the European Union (EU) believes 50% of environmental claims commit greenwash, in many different forms. She notes that companies are getting trickier with their greenwashing in order to not be penalized, often using visuals rather than text that could easily get them in ‘hot water.’ “The poor bee is the greenwash icon, it seems,” says Wren.
However, greenwashing is now top-of-mind for many and not necessarily achieving its intended outcomes anymore. Anwar notes that a Deloitte publication reports that 57% of surveyed consumers no longer trust environmental claims made by brands. In addition, 46% aren’t willing to pay the ‘green’ premium because of the difficulty of determining what a genuinely sustainable product is.
Photo by Brian Yurasits
Greenwashing Legislation: Canada and the World
Wren tells Anwar that Canada is certainly falling behind its major trading partners regarding cracking down on greenwashing. New legislation out of the EU requires companies to submit environmental marketing claims for approval before using them. Buzzwords such as natural, biodegradable, and carbon-friendly are also banned. None of this is happening in Canada yet.
The uneven regulation between the EU and Canada may be causing Canada to become a “dumping ground” for unapproved products. In the Netherlands, H&M was instructed to remove the slogan ‘Conscious Choice’ from its tags, but these are still distributed to marketplaces like the Canadian one.
As a business school professor, Wren knows that greenwashing is anti-competitive behaviour. This is why the Competition Bureau oversees it.
Unfortunately, making a complaint to the Competition Bureau is incredibly complicated. “I study greenwashing, and I wouldn’t know where to make one of these complaints tomorrow,” Wren remarks. She also notes that the process determining approval or dismissal of a claim is very unclear, and “it takes an organization that’s fundraising to push this,” such as Stand.earth, who is currently holding Lululemon accountable.
Common Tactics of Greenwashers
Throughout the interview, Wren and Anwar highlighted some tactics firms use to greenwash as consumers become more cognizant.
These include:
Visuals
As mentioned above, companies concerned that their marketing text could be contentious and controversial will resort to green, nature-based visuals to imply sustainability, without any evidence backing them up.
Labels
Marketers often use brown, recycled-looking labels to hint at a sustainable product. However, the label is not necessarily an extension of the product and can deceive.
Carbon Offsets
Carbon offsets have been under fire a lot in the last few years. Companies everywhere have been using these to ‘cancel out’ their emissions, but Wren knows that in reality there isn’t enough room on the planet to plant the promised trees. In fact, the trees that Shell’s carbon offsets have pledged could take up the same amount of space as the country of Italy.
Listen to the full interview to learn more about the truth behind greenwashing.
Photo by Marco Tjokro