[Dalya’s Note] This blog post was written by my Assistant, Leslie Rivera.

In honor of Earth Day, I thought we would talk about an important topic for anyone involved in socially and environmentally responsible copywriting (that’s us): greenwashing. It’s a new concept for me; maybe it is for you too! Greenwashing is the unethical practice of portraying a product or service as significantly more environmentally sound than it actually is. I wanted to do some research around this topic to learn more about what it is and how to avoid it.

You’re probably very familiar with words that are often used to greenwash, such as: 100% natural, biodegradable, eco-friendly, green, non-toxic, and sustainable. But do you ever stop to think about what they really mean?

Some writers intentionally apply their own spin to popular terms or buzzwords in ways that sound good, but may be less than completely ethical or accurate. I encourage you to be honest and transparent with the words you use. Deliberately masking your meaning by using deceitful framing or speaking in code may call into question your organization’s integrity.

Here are some resources I found helpful as I learned more about greenwashing:

1. This article talks about the 6 sins of greenwashing, which include hidden tradeoffs, lack of proof, vague claims, irrelevant claims, the lesser of two evils, and outright lies.
2. Perhaps you’re wondering how to spot greenwashing and the answer lies in this article. “It’s whitewashing, but with a green brush.”
3. Several large companies, such as Nestle, are guilty of greenwashing and have to pay the consequences, as evidenced in this excerpt. Look at what happened to Nestle when promoting its bottled water. This is an excerpt from the book Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet by Jay Conrad Levinson and Shel Horowitz.
4. More examples of greenwashing can be found on this blog, which looks at McDonalds, Google, and others.

Now that you know what greenwashing is, my guess is that you’ll start recognizing it everywhere. I hope that you learned more about the concept and will be take a second look at how YOU are using green buzzwords. They’re fine to use as long as the claims you’re making are honest, not misleading, and supportive of genuinely environmentally friendly efforts. Happy Earth Day!