Yes, I have been Greenwashed. This is How I Avoid it Now.
I have been greenwashed.
Maybe you have too.
I am not afraid to admit that yes, I have been greenwashed. I bought brands with words like “organic,” “green,” and “all-natural” without really investigating what these words mean and what else the product contained. And, I likely paid a little more for it than I would have otherwise.
Consumers are showing increased interest in clean and ethical beauty, and mainstream brands have taken note. They know that many of us will pay a bit more for something we consider sustainable or ethical. Some of these companies have embraced cleaner beauty, more ethical practices, and more sustainable packaging but more often they just embraced the marketing jargon associated with ethical beauty.
Until I started really paying attention I fell for the “green” marketing.
It is often close to impossible to figure out what is safe and what is not, what actually is entirely organic and what just has a few (or barely any) organic ingredients. To make things even trickier, some companies are actually blatantly misleading consumers. What is clean and ethical and what has a few clean ingredients but is mostly conventional and potentially toxic.
What is Greenwashing?
Greenwashing is a form of marketing which deceptively promotes a product as ethical, made from organic ingredients, or generally environmentally friendly.
Greenwashing is used to convince unknowing shoppers that a brand or product is eco-friendlier than it actually is and get them to spend more on it. Usually, it involves unsubstantiated or exaggerated claims. They are appealing to a consumer’s desire to purchase sustainable, healthy, non-toxic products.
In beauty, greenwashing is when a brand makes false or deceptive claims about how safe, natural, or organic their products are. It is when brands try to promote themselves as non-toxic, safe and healthy, and made from all-natural ingredients but are far from it. Brands have come to realize that consumers want clean and eco-friendly products, but haven’t done anything to change their products. Just their marketing.
Usually, the brand has spent more money on trying to convince us that they’ve created an eco-friendly, ethical, healthy product than they have on actually creating such a product.
Not only is this unethical, it is potentially unsafe.
Greenwashing is a Problem
Brands spend a lot of marketing dollars trying to convince us that their values are the same as ours.
They want us to believe they care about the environment, that they are concerned about the people that are making their products. That they consider your family’s health when creating their products.
And some do. But many do not.
Greenwashing is a problem because, unfortunately, it works.
Consumers end up with unhealthy, exploitative, and damaging products while a company maintains an image of a “good brand.” Greenwashing convinces us that an unethical company is doing what it can to earn the dollars of conscious consumers, while still doing the environmentally damaging and worker-exploiting things they’ve always done.
It is difficult for a brand to pivot from an environmentally unfriendly, unethical company without enormous R&D costs, supply chain efforts, and in some cases and entire overhaul of product and packaging. It is much easier to market an existing product with a few minor changes (adding a dash of organic essential oil, for example) than to do all of this.
No Regulation
Currently, there is little to no regulation regarding the use of words like “organic,” and “all-natural” so brands are free to use these words almost anyway they choose. And, without knowing, it is easy to unknowingly purchase something you think is clean and ethical only to realize later that it is nothing of the sort. It may have a few ingredients that are clean and ethical, but the remainder are not.
So, without knowing what ingredients are clean and healthy, and which ones to avoid it can be impossible to tell the difference. I am sure you’ve seen it before. A product is labeled something like “with organic argan oil,” or “moisturizes your skin, naturally.”
How to Identify Greenwashing
Sometimes it is incredibly obvious. A conventional brand switches its packaging to a green bottle, throws on a few words like “natural” or “with organic ingredients” and is vague about what that means. Very little has changed, other than the packaging and the price.
Other times it is more difficult to identify greenwashing.
The best way to determine if something is greenwashed is to look for the eco- and ethical credentials. If you can’t find them, or they are vague in any way, it is likely greenwashing.
Most ethical brands are proud of it. They display their ethics and eco-friendliness everywhere they can and are transparent about the areas that could use improvement. Their containers will list the ingredients proudly and their website will discuss how they deal with disposal, their workers’ rights practices, info on their factories (including where they are, why they chose them, what health and safety regulations are in place, and any corporate social responsibility or philanthropic practices), and supply chain and manufacturing processes.
No info or vague and ambiguous info is a red flag.
If you don’t see this info anywhere on a website or packaging, ask. Ethical brands will often supply you with the info you want. Others will answer in uncertain terms or not at all.
The way to see through greenwashing is to know your ingredients, read the fine print, purchase from known and trusted brands or brands with eco-friendly and ethical certifications, and to ask questions when it isn’t clear. Basically, you need to do a little research. The EWG is a great source for checking on the health and safety of mainstream brands.
How to Spot Greenwashing:
Greenwashing Keywords
Check for certain keywords that hint at greenwashing. Words like:
- Naturally Derived
- All-natural
- Recyclable. This might be the claim that angers me the most. Almost everything is recyclable. That does not mean that 1. It will get recycled or 2. It is good for the earth in any meaningful way. Plastic water bottles and plastic bags are recyclable and they are one of our biggest problems.
- Biodegradable
- Clean
- Pure
- Safe
- Botanicals
- Botanicals
- Chemical-free (another one of my least favorites – as everything is a chemical. The most ethical products contain chemicals.)
- Compostable
- Cruelty-free
- Eco-friendly (or any variation: earth-friendly, sustainable, conscious, etc.)
- Gentle
- Herbal
- Mineral
- Non-toxic
- Organic (should be certified, and should contain mostly organic ingredients, not just one or two way at the end of the list)
- Raw
- Reusable (but will it actually be reused? Does the company have a program in place that refills the product? Because anything is reusable. I have an enormous vinegar container that my toddler loves to play with. Is it “reusable”? Yes. Is it still a big plastic jug? Yes.
- Sulfate-free
- Vegan-friendly (look for vegan certified). Vegan-friendly products often contain vegan ingredients but are still tested on animals. Hardly ethical.
- Wholesome
- 100% Natural coconut oil (or other really great ingredient): This is another one that bothers me the most. I think it is perhaps the most misleading. You see the claim that your cream has all-natural moisturizers, like argan oil or soybean oil, and you feel relieved. That sounds safe, right? And eco-friendly. Definitely. But, containing 100% natural coconut oil does not make something natural. Usually, the other ingredients are entirely not natural. Also, how much of the 100% natural coconut oil is actually in the product.
Many of these words mean absolutely nothing and are completely subjective. Pure what? Pure crap? Pure organic ingredients? Pure toxins? Obviously this is an exaggeration, but I think you get my point.
These “green” keywords, without any backing, should be investigated, especially the ones that have almost no meaning or aren’t actually helpful.
Greenwashing Images
Images that include green packaging or pictures of flowers, trees and other plants. Most eco-friendly brands use simplified packaging because it is better for the environment.
If you find a brand that promotes its “eco-friendliness” through imagery, investigate a little deeper. What do you find? What can they tell you about that leaf or flower? Does it really ean they are earth friendly?
Vague Information
When I was a teenager, I used a very popular apricot scrub that claims to have “100% natural exfoliants and extracts” (you likely used it too). I could not find the ingredients anywhere. Big red flag.
Lack of information is usually an effort to keep the information from the consumer.
Fake Labels and Certifications
Sometimes you will see that something is labeled ethical or cruelty-free and has a certification. If you have never heard of this particular certification before or it seems to be only on this one brand, it is likely a fake certification.
Look for trusted labels, like Fair Trade Certified or Non-GMO Project Verified. If you aren’t sure about a certification, look it up and read about its processes and criteria.
What You Can Do:
Just by reading this, you are making an enormous effort to avoid greenwashing (and rewarding the brands that practice this), so thank you!
To me, there are three important things you can do:
- You can research companies, ingredients, and practices to make the best choices for yourself.
- You can then reward actual ethical companies by supporting them.
- You can reach out to companies that you think are greenwashing and question them on social media about their products and polices.
scIf you’d like a list of beauty products that are most definitely greenwashing, take a look at my big list of ethical beauty. Keep in mind that a company doesn’t have to be doing everything perfectly to not be greenwashing. They just need to be up front about their ingredients, practices, packaging, and processes. Most companies (especially ethical ones) know they have a ways to go to be a “perfectly ethical” brand. But being transparent about where they are is a great step.