Building Green Homes
Beware of Greenwashing!
Greenwashing is a vital component for any homeowner, who wants to make real impacting green choices, to understand. In today’s market there is “go green” advertising virtually everywhere. “All Natural”, “Organic”, “Toxic-Free”, “Eco-Friendly” etc. are all environmental phrases that consumers come across everyday, but what do they really mean? Did you know that arsenic is organic? It is a naturally occurring element in our earth. So if your favorite brand of apple juice claims to be “All Natural” it can contain the metalloid arsenic and the advertising would be technically 100% truthful.[1]
Greenwashing is the difference between deceitful euphemisms and honest facts. Greenwashing is the overstating of the environmentally or socially conscious attributes of a company’s offering and the understating of the negative attributes for the company’s benefit.[2] This is when a company spends more money on claiming to be green than it does on choices to reduce environmental impact. The most famous example of this is if an oil industry claims to be making a move toward renewable energy but in reality only 0.20% of their budget is going toward that cause. This is a problem because it can encourage consumers to buy a product, and in some cases pay a premium for that product, that they believe is benefitting the environment but in actuality it is damaging it.[3]
[1] Charles Patrick Davis, “Arsenic Poisoning”, Accessed 10 Sept. 2014
[2] Tima Bansai, “Definition of Greenwashing”, Accessed 10 Sept. 2014
[3] Greenwashing Index, “About Greenwashing”, Accessed 10 Sept. 2014
Companies can deceive customers into thinking their product or products are green in many different ways. An environmental marketing company, TerraChoice, has categorized the different ways companies can fool consumers into believing their products are green into what they call "Seven Sins of Greenwashing". According to a study conducted by Terrachoice, since 2009 the number of greener products on the market has increased by over 70%, yet only 4.5% of products were examined to be sin-free in 2010. The following is a poster created by TerraChoice describing the different ways advertising can be deceptive.
Do not be fooled by green labeling, understand that green claims are not always true. Learn about certified labels and look for companies that have proven to take substantial steps to decrease environmental impact. This is a list, created by TerraChoice, of legitimate environmental standards and certifications.
For more information about greenwashing please visit the Underwriters Laboratories' website "The Sins of Greenwashing: Home and Family Edition"!
Here are some videos of TerraChoice representatives on Good Morning America and CBC World News discussing greenwashing.
This video by Climate One further discusses greenwashing with three sustainability experts.
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