How to Spot Greenwashing: 5 Red Flags to Look For
"I'll never understand why these companies will spend tons of money to convince you that their product uses clean ingredients, but won't spend the money to actually make it clean.”
-Wendy Kathryn
HOW TO SPOT A GREENWASHED PRODUCT
By the time you are done reading this blog post, you will feel confident walking in to a store isle full of products like shampoos and body washes and quickly spotting greenwashing tactics, you’ll know how to read labels and you’ll be able to purchase safe and non toxic products for your family without wondering whether you are putting toxins on your body. Sound like a plan?
WHAT IS GREENWASHING?
Greenwashing is marketing ploy companies use to convince you, the consumer, that their product is "clean" with packaging and phrases like "all natural ingredients, eco friendly packaging, cruelty free, vegan, & organic." When indeed the products are loaded with toxic ingredients. The trendiness of caring about toxins in our products is sort of a catch-22. Being interested in safer, non toxic products is obviously a good thing, however, as consumer interest in “eco-friendly” products increase, so does corporate greenwashing. Many companies are more focused on marketing their products as toxin free rather than actually creating toxin free products. What makes this phenomenon even worse is that the companies guilty of greenwashing choose this branding to manipulate consumers into feeling that they have made a safe and clean choice.
Research shows that two-thirds of Americans consider whether something is toxin free or “eco friendly” when making a purchase and 47 percent are willing to pay more for a cleaner product. Among Gen-Z consumers, this number jumps to 68 percent. Companies know that people are willing to pay, so they sell the illusion instead of a clean product.
These greenwashing strategies can be hard to spot, so to help you be a more educated consumer here are 5 things to look out for. When you know better, you can reward the companies that are doing the right thing with your hard earned dollars.
5 THINGS TO LOOK FOR
#1: LOOK FOR VAGUE TERMS
When perusing the grocery store you’ve probably noticed a lot of products labeled “all-natural” or “eco-friendly.” Even things like bleach and chemically harsh cleaning supplies commonly boast this branding. But these phrases are completely meaningless. There are no strict regulations for what constitutes a “natural,” “green,” “plant based” or “eco-friendly” product. While they may sound great, they tell you nothing about the toxicity of the product. For example, arsenic and uranium occur naturally but that does not mean these products are beneficial to human health or the environment. Similarly, buzz words like “conscious” and “clean” are used to make a brand appear more ethical and sustainable than they really are. Vegan and Cruelty Free labels are also used to greenwash. Just because a product doesn’t contain animal products or isn’t tested on animals doesn’t mean the rest of the ingredients aren’t clean.
#2: NATURE BASED DESIGNS
Nature based imagery is the visual equivalent of buzzwords. Greenwashed packaging will often use muted, earthy tones that are trying to subconsciously make you believe that this product is from the earth. Often, companies will display images of leaves, tropical forests, mountains, or animals on their products, subliminally implying that these products are beneficial to the environment. To avoid falling for these tactics, be sure to research the companies, and actually read the ingredient labels. Don’t just fall fall for the packaging.
#3: IDENTIFY THE PARENT COMPANIES
As I mentioned above, being toxin free and environmentally friendly is becoming mainstream and the Big 8 brands are taking notice. The brand Love Beauty and Planet is a classic example. The packaging of Love Beauty and Planet is minimalistic with flowers and other plants, but they use toxic ingredients and Unilever, their parent company, is the opposite of and clean and ethical company. Burt’s Bees is owned by Clorox, Native is owned by Proctor & Gamble and Method is owned by Johnson and Johnson. Method is greenwashed and uses toxins (including toxic dyes to make their products pretty colors), but even if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t want my dollars supporting Johnson & Johnson, a company that spends millions to lobby our government in an effort to continue selling toxic products. Though certain smaller brands might be marketed with an eco-friendly aesthetic, knowing who the parent companies are is key to determining if a product is greenwashed. Sometimes small, clean brands are bought and while it started clean, the parent company will change the formulations to increase their profit margin.
#4: LACK OF TRANSPARENCY
Lack of transparency is a particularly useful way to spot greenwashing. Most ethical and sustainable brands are proud of their ingredients and shout them from the rooftops! If you have to go hunting for the source of a fragrance, it’s probably not a good thing. Any clean brand will brag about it and put it right on the label.
#5: READ THE LABELS
80% of the messages I get are someone asking me if a product is non toxic or greenwashed. I am usually more than happy to take a look and point out the obvious red flags. But, what I really want is for you to be empowered to read a label on your own. I want you to know what you are looking at, what the ingredients are and what the impact to your health is. I want you to be informed and I want you to teach your kids. I want to see any entire generation grow up knowing what they are putting in their bodies so that that they can choose for themselves if it’s worth it. I’m going to teach you to fish. Below are my top 10 toxins to avoid. Screen shot this and take it shopping with you. You have the knowledge, trust yourself. You’ll notice phthalates isn’t on the list. That’s because it’s not going to be on the label, it’s not required. Avoiding fragrance will capture the phthalates in personal care products. I’ve got a whole blog post on why you need to avoid phthalates here.
THE WRAP UP
What you buy matters, who you give your money to matters and YOUR health matters. Now that you know better, next time you are shopping for personal care products, I challenge you to pay closer attention to the colors, the words and the actual ingredients on the label. You know what to be on the lookout for and you can feel confident in your choices. But if you need a little nudge, my inbox is always open.
