OLYMPIA — Today, buzzwords fly around us like mosquitoes on a sultry summer night — “sustainable,” “plant-based,” “eco-friendly.” More and more businesses are describing themselves, their products, and their practices using one “green” term or another. Climate change and the environmental impacts of our purchasing decisions have many of us thinking about making the most responsible choices possible. But good intentions can cause more harm than good when people are being misled, which is why it’s important to recognize greenwashing.
Greenwashing is the attempt to capitalize on the consumer demand for eco-friendly products by falsely promoting their product’s environmental or sustainable benefits, according to a press release from the Washington State Department of Ecology. This includes benefits that are more natural, healthier, free of chemicals, recyclable or less wasteful of resources. It’s all too common in today’s marketplace.
A term that was coined decades ago, “greenwashing” was first used to describe hotels that promoted reusing towels as “saving the environment,” the DOE wrote. These policies saved the hotels money by playing to customer’s environmental values without much positive impact. While reducing water and reusing items are important, the marketing didn’t align with the hotels’ other actions that harmed the environment.
Not all environmental marketing is greenwashing. Many businesses with a genuine culture of eco-friendliness are pioneering new technologies and ideas that are true to their word. The challenge for consumers is learning how to tell the difference.
