The dangers of greenwashing and how not to fall for it: a practical guide

A friend suggested to me the other day to write an article on greenwashing. She was looking up different construction materials (she likes building stuff) and was baffled to see how companies just use greenwashing to sell things that are detrimental to the planet. I hesitated a bit, because I felt like greenwashing was already discussed so much: what could I possibly bring to the table? However, after a wee scroll on the internet to take stock of what had been written on greenwashing recently, I was surprised to see that the answer was "not much". I was struck to see that many articles, blogs or social media posts were calling companies out to be more transparent, which is great, but there was also a lack of information for the consumer on how not to fall for greenwashing in the first place. I'm sure it exists, but I (we) don't have 45,768 hours to look all over the internet, I'm just speaking about what is available to me in a short amount of time.

I therefore decided to write about what greenwashing is and to provide you with a simple guide of how not to fall for it. Hope you enjoy!

What is Greenwashing?

"Greenwash" is defined as "Disinformation disseminated by an organisation so as to present an environmentally responsible public image". Greenwash started to be used in the 1980's and comes from the word "whitewash", which is a deliberate attempt to conceal unpleasant facts about someone. If you're into the specifics, it was coined by environmentalist Jay Westerveld in 1986 and you can find more information about the history of the concept and its increasing use by companies here.

To put it in (my) simple words, greenwashing is a concept used by companies and corporations to sell more stuff, exploiting consumers' will to care about the environment. Indeed, people generally feel better when they buy stuff that are ethically-made and environmentally-sound. Most importantly, people are ready to pay more, which is at the heart of greenwashing campaigns: 66% of global consumers are ready to pay more for sustainable brands, and 73% of global Millenials are willing to pay extra for sustainable offerings.

Well, that's plenty of potential extra money for sure.

How to counter Greenwashing: a simple guide

These greenwashing strategies are purposefully confusing: we are overwhelmed with marketing against our will (apart from if you live in the middle of the forest with no access to internet). It's hard, sometimes impossible, to know whether a product is actually green or not, whether people were harmed in its process, or whether it causes damage to the environment. You almost need a degree to understand the ingredients or the components of a product. Because governments don't seem ready to regulate this, it's also (but not only) your responsibility to vote with your money (and I don't say this often). So I came up with five simple questions you can ask yourself every time you buy something to counteract greenwashing. If the answers are 1) easy to find, and 2) satisfactory, then the products usually passes basic environmental and ethical standards.

1) Who made it?

The overwhelming majority of workers who produce goods in the East for the West are over-exploited, not well-paid and lead miserable lives. Although the emphasis is put on fast-fashion, many other industries benefit from Asian cheap labour, like technologies (Apple, Google, Microsoft or solar panels), precious metals or even furnitures. You can usually find where it's made on the label inside the garment or product. Employees and/or the website should always be able to answer this question. If they can't, that's a first red flag.

2) Where was it made?

The further away it was made from the location of purchase, the more CO2 emissions are involved in shipping it to where you are. Because corporations are opaque when they do business, we don't have access to the information on where a product has been before we buy it; most of the time, it's been to several countries before being assembled. It's a good start to look for the country of production - hence why most of the time buying in small shops rather than international brands, who usually put forward local or national artists/makers is easier.

3) What is it made of: does the materials harm the environment?

This is tricky, because it obviously varies greatly from product to product. In general, you have a rough idea for food or fast fashion whether the ingredients or materials. It's trickier for furniture, or objects. Have a look at the company's website, check what they say about the materials they use, where and how they source them. You can also ask the staff. Once again, if a company is aiming to be environmentally-friendly and ethically-sound, these informations shouldn't be hard to find. If they are, you can look somewhere else.

4) How much does it cost it?

Once again, this is quite a tricky question. High costs don't necessarily mean that it's either environmentally-friendly or ethically made (look at Chanel or diamonds). However, low costs always means that it's not. This is why I put this question at the end of the guide: having replied to the previous questions, you can then determine whether the cost matches the answers you managed to get.

The overarching question that we need to keep in mind when purchasing products is: does this take us closer to humankind surviving the climate emergency? If the answer is no, then it's greenwashing.

Case study: The H&M Conscious collection

I did a little experiment to provide you with a concrete example: I strolled the H&M Conscious collection which is deemed to be more sustainably-made, and looked at one of their jumpers.

1) Who made it?

The website tells us it was workers in factories that employ between 100 and 3500 workers. I don't really see how a factory in Asia where most countries don't have stringent law about human rights to protect workers can ensure that they're treated and paid properly. No information can be accessed despite H&M saying that they're improving their transparency about this. H&M does state on its website that: "All of our products are made by independent suppliers, often in developing countries where our presence can make a real difference. Our business helps to create jobs and independence, particularly for women — consequently lifting people out of poverty and contributing to economic growth." This statement contrasts greatly with the multiple evidence of factory workers being exploited, working overtime, unable to take bathroom breaks or to be granted maternity leave. I don't see this as freedom or independence.

2) Where was it made? This garment has been made in either China or Myanmar (we don't know which one). H&M gives us the names of the factories but nothing else. I couldn't find any further information online about these factories.

3) What is it made of: do the materials harm the environment?

This jumper is made out of acrylic (plastic from oil, a fossil fuel), elastane (made from oil), polyester (plastic, made from oil) and wool (natural material). The only material which is recycled is polyester which composes 52% of the garment. It doesn't prevent the issue of microplastics, which are released in the water ways every time we wash garments made from the stuff. For the rest, H&M says it's working hard to "develop sustainable alternatives". We don't know how or when they intend to put this into practice.

4) How much does it cost it? This jumper is just under US$20. Considering that it has been made and shipped from around the world, potentially travelled to many countries before landing in the United States, US$20 is an awfully cheap price, and confirms that the materials used are low-quality (it therefore won't last you long and you're going to have to buy more of it soon) and the people who made it weren't paid properly.

Finally, H&M tells us that we can too help the environment by being "fashion recyclers" and bring back old clothes to any stores so they can get reused or recycled. While the concept is great, it doesn't overcome the initial problem: overproduction of garments that are detrimental to people who make them, destructive to the environment and that purchasers mostly don't need. Putting the responsibility on consumers is part of the greenwashing strategy too; the consumer isn't here to clean up the mess of corporations. I wrote more on ecological guilt and the potential of individual action here. Of course, the greenest you can be when you buy something is either not to buy at all or to buy it secondhand.

The overarching question that we need to keep in mind when purchasing products is: does this take us closer to humankind surviving the climate emergency? If the answer is no, then it's greenwashing.

Businesses remain the main source of carbon emissions today and have the greatest environmental impact. Greenwash is a way for them to keep doing things as usual - without questioning their systems or their way of operating (because it's way too lucrative). But businesses rely on us to survive, and most of us can choose what we buy, where and the frequency of our purchase.

So now you know for next time.