Consumers Beware

98% of Products Are Committing the 7 Sins of Greenwashing
Wouldn’t it be nice if all the green claims made for green products were true? It would be nice, but it wouldn’t be true. What is true is that consumers have to be skeptical of all the environmental claims, and practice smart and savvy shopping. This is especially true for baby products, recycled paper, kids toys, cosmetics, and cleaning products—where the false claims run most rampant.

• More products are making environmental claims. The total number of ‘green’ products increased by an average of 79% in stores that were visited in both 2007 and 2008.
• Greenwashing is still rampant, with more than 98% of ‘green’ products committing at least one of the Sins. Of 2,219 products making 4996 green claims in the United States and Canada, only 25 products were found to be Sin-free.
• Eco-labeling is on the rise. Legitimate eco-labeling is nearly twice as common as it was last year, increasing from 13.7% to 23.4% on all ‘green’ products in the report.
• Kids (toys and baby products), cosmetics and cleaning products are three categories in which green claims – and greenwashing – are most common. These products, among the most common products in most households, deserve particular scrutiny from consumers.
• Greenwashing is an international challenge, with very similar patterns in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The most significant differences between these countries are the environmental issues associated with the claims made on products. Water conservation was more common in Australia for example, and recyclability in the United States.

Perhaps the most important finding is that greenwashing is changing in creative ways. As a result, a new sin has been identified. The ‘Sin of Worshiping False Labels’ means that some marketers are faking third-party environmental certifications on their products to entice consumers to buy.

What Are the Seven Sins?

The Seven Sins of Greenwashing, from most common to least common, are:

1. The Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off occurs when one environmental issue is emphasized at the expense of potentially more serious concerns. Paper, for example, is not necessarily environmentally-preferable just because it comes from a sustainably-harvested forest.

2. The Sin of No Proof happens when environmental assertions are not backed up. One common example is facial tissue products that claim various percentages of post-consumer recycled content without providing any supporting details.

3. The Sin of Vagueness occurs when a marketing claim is so lacking in specifics as to be meaningless. ‘All-natural’ is an example of this Sin. Arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde are all naturally occurring, and poisonous. ‘All natural’ isn’t necessarily ‘green’.

4. The (new) Sin of Worshiping False Labels is when marketers create a false suggestion or certification-like image to mislead consumers into thinking that a product has been through a legitimate green certification process. One example of this Sin is an increasingly used certification-like image that claims the product ‘fights global warming.’

5. The Sin of Irrelevance arises when an environmental issue unrelated to the product is emphasized. One example is the claim that a product is ‘CFC-free’, since CFCs are banned by law.

6. The Sin of Lesser of Two Evils occurs when an environmental claim makes consumers feel ‘green’ about a product category that is itself lacking in environmental benefits. Organic cigarettes are an example of this Sin.

7. The Sin of Fibbing is when environmental claims are outright false. One common example is products falsely claiming to be Energy Star certified.

What Can Consumers Do to Protect Themselves?

The growing availability of green products shows that consumers are demanding more environmentally responsible choices, and that marketers and manufacturers are listening. Addressing the growing sin of false labels, “Consumers do have greener choices in products, but need to recognize the legitimate labels and ask questions of unfamiliar ones.”

Consumers are encouraged to “support all retailers, companies, and products that are offering green benefits and, at the same time, to demand better and clearer green claims. After all, choosing any green product, even if there is some greenwashing involved, is better than choosing products that aren’t even trying. As consumers, we have enormous power to shape the marketplace. The worst result of greenwashing would be to give up.

So you can trust that the products are genuinely greener products.