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In 1999, "greenwash" was added to the
Oxford English Dictionary, where it is defined as: "Disinformation
disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally
responsible public image."
Why do you care?
- As a consumer you have a right to know that when a company
says they are "green", they really are.
- Manufacturers watch the trends and know that consumers are
increasingly aware of environmental and social issues, some
brands have found it hard to resist exploiting and profiting
from the emerging ‘green market’.
- An interesting look by Terrachoice
at the 6 sins of Greenwashing:
- Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off: e.g. Office technology
(printers, fax machines) that promotes energy efficiency
without attention to hazardous material content.
- Sin of No Proof: e.g. Personal care products
that say they haven't been tested on animals, but offer
no evidence to support this claim.
- Sin of Vagueness: e.g. "All Natural".
Arsenic is natural. So are uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde.
All are poisonous.
- Sin of Irrelevance: e.g. Products claiming to
be CFC-free, even though CFCs were banned 20 years ago.
- Sin of Fibbing: e.g. Products falsely claiming
to be certified by an internationally recognized environmental
standard like EcoLogo, Energy Star or Green Seal.
- Sin of Lesser of Two Evils: e.g. Organic cigarettes
or “environmentally friendly” pesticides.
The Know How
- Cosmetics and personal care products must list all ingredients
on their labels, which can help you decide if their "green"
claims are true. Take alook at these two past e-bulletins
What's in a Label Mabel? and
Read me.
- Cleaning products are more difficult to substantiate, as
they don't need to list ingredients. However the ones that
are green tend to list ingredients. So if they're not listed
leave them on the shelf.
- Look for products that have been certified by qualified
and independent third parties. Such as Green Seal, EcoLogo
and USDA Organic.
- A new
study commissioned by the Organic Consumers Association
found the carcinogen 1,4-Dioxane in a large number of leading
personal care products misbranded as organic.
- There are currenty no regulation of claims of "green"
or "Earth friendly" products. Manufacturers can
basically print anything they want on their products, with
no proof.
- Be skeptical when shopping, look for products with specific
claims. For example, "90% biodegraded in 3 days"
means more than just "biodegradable." "Contains
no phosphates" is more specific than "environmentally-safe."
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Know and Tell
- Patti’s always says “you can’t pull the wool
over her eyes” and “you can’t fool a fool”
– apt sayings for being skeptical of greenwashing claims.
And when you find products that really are what they say they
are – buy them, tell your friends about them and tell
the manufacturer that you like them just the way they are.
- Tamey and Patti both had difficulty remembering many of
the chemicals that they wanted to avoid. So they created Pure
Know How Look Out Card, which
lists body, face and hair products and the chemicals found
in them that should be avoided.
1. The greenwashing of toxic consumer products,
by Mike Adams, November 12 2007
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