Greenwashing: The Basics
To begin our journey in understanding what greenwashing is and the effects it has on the environment and society, lets first understand the basics and background of it.
A simple definition of greenwashing is a corporation’s proclamation that they are environmentally conscious in one way or another, while they just are not. The idea of greenwashing came about in the 1970’s and 80’s in the United States when citizens became increasingly aware of the environmental issues at hand, pushing them to look for environmentally conscious products and services (Rotman et al. 2020). Once this movement gained momentum, corporations wanted to position themselves as the “green”, “organic”, or “environmental” choice for these consumers, allowing them to cash in on these trends.
In some cases, corporations have been allowed to label their products, services, and processes as “green” without proving how exactly these things are environmentally friendly, and this is the problem. This infringes upon the consumer’s ability to make an educated decision on what products they buy based upon their values, weakening the relationship between consumers and producers. Consumers no longer know who is telling the truth, which can lead to the skepticism of “green” products, whether they are or are not environmentally friendly (Gergely et al. 2014).
This fraudulent behavior is also the cause of continuing environmental damage because some corporations are continuing business as usual while profiting from the environmental movement.
Still today consumers have a difficult time differentiating environmentally friendly companies from those who are not, so in my next post I will provide an example of a company that greenwashes and one who is truly environmentally conscious.
Works Cited:
Gergely Nyilasy, Harsha Gangadharbatla, & Angela Paladino. (2014). Perceived Greenwashing: The Interactive Effects of Green Advertising and Corporate Environmental Performance on Consumer Reactions. Journal of Business Ethics, 125(4), 693–707. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1944-3
Rotman, R., Gossett, C., & Goldman, H. (n.d.). (2020). GREENWASHING NO MORE: THE CASE FOR STRONGER REGULATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING. Administrative Law Review, 72(3), 417–443. Retrieved 2021.
