greenwashing

Greenwashing is a term used to describe marketing or communication practices that mislead consumers into believing a product, service, or organization is environmentally friendly when its actual environmental benefits are unproven, minimal, or non-existent. It involves presenting a false impression of sustainability to capitalize on public concern about environmental issues.

The term is commonly attributed to Jay Westerveld, who in 1986 used it to critique hotels’ towel reuse campaigns as a marketing tactic rather than a substantive environmental effort. It entered wider public discourse in the 1990s and has since become a widely used label for dubious claims across various industries, including consumer goods, energy, and transportation.

Common tactics include vague or non-specific claims such as “green” or “eco-friendly” without supporting data; the use of irrelevant or misleading certifications; cherry-picking data to highlight a single benefit while ignoring broader impacts; hidden trade-offs (for example, a product that is recyclable but produced with high energy use); the use of green imagery and slogans without substantiation; and reliance on offsets or third-party programs without independent verification.

Regulation and criticism: many jurisdictions require substantiation of environmental claims, with guidance from bodies such as the FTC’s Green Guides in the United States and similar consumer-protection regulations in the European Union. Critics argue that greenwashing erodes trust and undermines legitimate sustainability efforts, prompting calls for clear, verifiable, and standardized reporting. Best practices for avoiding greenwashing include transparent lifecycle assessments, third-party verification, and measurable, specific claims tied to verifiable performance.