The Six Types of Greenwashing

Unfortunately, greenwashing is a phenomenon that we experience more and more in everyday life, whether we’re aware of it or not. It is generally recognised as the process through which companies present themselves or their product as more environmentally friendly than they are/it is in order to attract customers. 

For the average consumer it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate the companies who are actually trying to promote positive change from those who are greenwashing. In light of this, we have created a guide describing the six types of greenwashing with examples to demonstrate each.

(1) False Claims

The first form of greenwashing, false claims, is where companies simply lie about their environmental credentials to make themselves look more ‘green’. This can range from bending the truth to simply ignoring it, and it can be intentional or inadvertent. ‘Eco-friendly’ is a phrase that’s often added to the names of products, yet it is rare that these products actually hold any environmental advantage over their competitors – this is perhaps a more subtle example of a false claim.

A more explicit case of false claims is Volkswagen purposefully cheating on emissions tests. The car brand installed software on 11 million diesel vehicles which was designed to alter their performance during tests to make the vehicles’ emission levels seem lower than they actually were. On the basis of these falsified readings, Volkswagen then began describing low emissions and eco-friendly features in their marketing. However, without the special software, it was found that the vehicles were actually emitting up to 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide pollutants. Clearly then, Volkswagen lied about the environmental credentials of their vehicles to attract more customers.

(2) Unproven Claims

In some cases it is impossible to know whether the environmental claims made by companies are true or not as they don't provide enough valid evidence. To be clear, valid evidence might include well regarded certifications or carbon footprints calculated by a third party. It can be quite tricky to disprove certain statements about the products also, meaning a sort of stalemate situation arises.

An example of this is H&M’s ‘Conscious’ range. The clothing line is marketed as having “a little extra consideration for the planet” in relation to the use of organic cotton and recycled polyester – limited information is given beyond this. It’s hard to decipher if the Conscious range holds any significant environmental advantage based only on this evidence, as such, some have argued that it marks “nothing but a marketing tactic”. A study by Changing Markets Foundation found this type of marketing to be more broadly spread across large fashion brands whereby 60% of their environmental claims were found to be unsubstantiated or misleading.

(3) Vagueness

The third type of greenwashing involves making generic statements about the environmental impact of products. By remaining vague, companies don’t technically have to lie to sound good to the consumer; this often involves using terms like 'non-toxic', which need a specific context to be meaningful. Additionally, as the vague terms are not legally defined and can be claimed by anyone, companies often perform this type of greenwashing without getting into trouble.

Simply Green All-Purpose Cleaner provides a good example of how vague claims work. The cleaning spray has often been advertised as ‘non-toxic’, which would perhaps lead the consumer to think that the product wasn't harmful to humans or animals. However, it has later been pointed out by outside parties that the spray contains potential human carcinogens, and many have attested that it causes irritation to the lungs and eyes. As such, it was misleading to advertise this product using the vague terminology of ‘non-toxic’.

(4) Irrelevance

Irrelevant facts are also sometimes included in marketing to gain some environmental footing. This once again involves making claims which are technically true, but these claims are not useful for the consumer trying to evaluate a company's environmental impact. Commonly this revolves around companies “abiding by the law and then praising themselves for it” – for instance, advertising a product as free from a chemical which is illegal anyway.

Greenwashing through irrelevant claims can be exemplified by the marketing of Hunt’s, who sell preserved tomato products. In 2016, the company advertised: “No matter how far afield you look, you won’t find a single genetically modified tomato among our vines” and “No GMOs in sight”. Observers were quick to point out that actually there are no GMO tomatoes available to the market, so none of the competing brands contain GMO tomatoes either. In this way, the claim by Hunt’s is almost entirely irrelevant.

(5) Lesser of Two Evils

The 'lesser of two evils' is a method of greenwashing whereby products and services are compared to other more damaging products and services to make them seem more environmentally friendly than they actually are. Companies usually achieve this by comparing their product within the same environmentally damaging industry.

There are many cases of this type of greenwashing in the airline industry, one of which is a 2008 advertisement by easyJet. The airline stated that their plane emitted 22% less carbon dioxide than other planes on the same route. This claim was firstly found to be misleading as it was based on emissions per passenger, and the reduction was only because the plane could carry more passengers. But also, by comparing their service within the same industry, easyJet divert the focus from the fact that their planes are inherently damaging to the environment even if they have slightly fewer emissions than competitors.

(6) ‘Natural’ Imagery

In many cases companies simply use 'natural' imagery in their branding without making any form of practical action – this is done with the hope that “consumers associate them with positive environmental attributes”. Common images include wild landscapes, trees, and animals. It has been argued that this type of greenwashing is so subtle and widespread that it largely goes unchallenged.

As a recent example, earlier this year the car brand Mercedes released a series of posters for Earth Day. Each poster positioned the Mercedes logo over ‘natural’ images such as a leaf, ice sheets, and a honeycomb. It didn’t take long for people to point out the hypocrisy of the posters given that the company's owner was at that time facing legal action in Germany over the environmental impact of Mercedes cars.

To sum up, it is crucial to identify greenwashing to ensure that companies are fully accountable for their actions, however, as the tactics of greenwashing have become increasingly advanced and diverse it can be very difficult. Hopefully after reading through the six types of greenwashing covered in this blog you feel like you have more of a grasp on it and are better equipped to spot the greenwashing around you. Good luck!