In the face of the looming environmental crisis, companies are aiming to go greener. The marketing platforms from social media to store shelves are full of products and brands that claim to make consumers’ lives more environmentally-conscious. More and more companies are joining in the trend of using green business as a marketing tool. Now the burning question is, where lies the line between green advertising and greenwashing?
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What is greenwashing?
Greenwashing is an advertising technique which intends to mislead consumers who prefer to support and purchase products and services from environmentally conscious brands. It is closely connected to green advertising and due to their close nature, it is sometimes hard to draw the line between the two. In green advertising the advertiser showcases the actions taken towards a greener future while in greenwashing the organization spends more time and money on marketing themselves as environmentally friendly than on minimizing their environmental impact, making the essence of greenwashing to profit over the environment.
Unlike commonly thought, not all greenwashing is done by purpose. By learning to objectively look at the advertising actions taken and more importantly, understanding why those actions were taken, it is easy to judge whether the advertising done is greenwashing or genuine green advertising.
Hiding behind one environmental act
In the past years, many brands have launched environmentally-conscious collections with big marketing campaigns. While environmentally-conscious products are brilliant, it is important to notice that if the rest of the brand’s offering is produced by harming the environment, the green PR hype around the collection is greenwashing.
Focusing on one good act and using it as a publicity stunt is greenwashing, no matter if the intentions behind the act are good and the company truly believes that they are doing good. The key thing is to bear in mind that the positive impact of that one act doesn’t overpower the negative effects the company makes at large.
Lesser of two evils
Comparing an environmentally-damaging product with another even more damaging one is greenwashing. Being lesser of two evils does not equal better for the environment and should never be advertised like it.
Hiding behind legal requirements
Laws set requirements that products need to meet. If the product doesn’t have a specific environmentally-hazard component because it is banned by law, mentioning it is not only irrelevant but also an act of sending a more environmentally-conscious message to consumers, making it greenwashing.
Misleading slogans and taglines
The taglines about a more sustainable future are all around us, from the slogans of banks to the t-shirts demanding less ocean pollution. If the company policies are not aligned with these slogans and taglines, and the production of the said t-shirt creates ocean pollution or the bank behind the tagline is not genuinely invested in the sustainable future, the taglines fall under the category of greenwashing.
Using environmental images and visuals
Using imaginery that sends an environmentally-conscious image to the audience, such as the colour green, plants, animals, and other aspects our minds associate with nature, is a one of the most common methods of greenwashing. Storefronts filled with plants and natural materials fall into the same category.
Take a look at some examples of advertising campaigns that got accused for greenwashing in 2021.
