LibGuides: Green Living: Greenwashing

What is greenwashing?

Greenwashing is whitewashing with a green brush. It happens when a company spends more time and money claiming to be green than it does implementing green business practices.

Be a smart consumer

Environmental claims should be specific. Look for specific amounts (recycled content, a certain percentage less packaging, etc.)
Some claims are too vague to be meaningful. Terms like "eco-friendly" and "environmentally friendly" don't mean anything unless there is more specific information.
Degradable products don't save landfill space. Anything degradable put into a landfill degrades very slowly. Degradable does matter if you're composting because degradable materials will break down quickly into useful compost.
Symbols are useful. Look for the recycling symbol or green certification symbols like Energy Star, Green Seal, EPEAT, and WaterSense. See the Product Guides/Certifications page for more information about ecolabels.

Eco-Friendly and Green Marketing Claims
Many companies make claims and design packages that promote their products as safe for people or the environment. The law requires these “eco-friendly” or “green” claims to be truthful, and the FTC’s Green Guides tell businesses how to comply with the law when they make environmental claims. Here’s what you need to know when you shop about common green claims that appear on products and packages.
The Six Sins of Greenwashing
Is green marketing just a series of lies? That's one conclusion to be drawn from a study that examines hundreds of environmental labeling claims and found pretty much all of them wanting, suffering from sins of either omission or commission.
How To Use the EnergyGuide Label To Shop for Home Appliances
The less energy an appliance like a refrigerator or dishwasher uses, the less it costs to run — which means more money in your pocket each year. The EnergyGuide label is the yellow tag you’ll find attached to most home appliances, and it tells you how much energy that appliance uses. Here’s what to know about using the EnergyGuide label when you shop.