Greenwashing. Maybe you’ve heard of the term, maybe you haven’t. Either way, after reading this article you’ll know what it means and maybe you’ll even spot a greenwasher when you come across one.
Basically, greenwashing is when a company markets itself as environmentally friendly and sustainable, when in reality they spend more time and money on pretending than actually being it. Unfortunately, it is not always that easy notice when you’re dealing with greenwashers.
But why is this a problem?
The problem is that greenwashing misleads people. A lot of people are consciously concerned with the environment and would like to do their bit. They therefore look for companies who act in an eco-friendly and sustainable way. If companies say that they are eco-friendly, you are more likely to buy products there. If these claims turn out to be false, you've accidentally contributed to harming the environment, which is just such a shame, because you had the best intentions.
Why would companies greenwash?
In essence, companies use greenwashing as a marketing strategy. By appearing sustainable and corporate social responsible, they attract customers. And more customers equals more profit. You do the math.
How am I supposed to recognise greenwashers?
We understand that recognizing greenwashers might be difficult. To get you going, we’ll introduce you to probably the biggest greenwash red flag: everything that is covered in green, trees or other pictures of nature with nothing to back it up with. These things arouse something in you that you associate with sustainability and eco-friendliness, when in fact green things don’t have to be sustainable at all.
Luckily, there are some ways for you to identify greenwashers, which we would like to tell you all about in our next blog.
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