Companies have a history of spending more money advertising their products as ‘green’ than on actually implementing sustainable materials and ethical practices into making them. This is called greenwashing, and it’s a problem.
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Source: Eluxemagazine.com |
Why? Because consumers are tricked by misleading information and vague terms into thinking that they are making a conscious purchase. We see greenwashing everywhere as businesses know that being green sells (research shows that 66% of consumers are willing to pay more for a product if they know it comes from a sustainable brand), however, it is not often reported.
Greenwashing can also be executed more subtly – making it harder to be called out for. For instance, you may see products in earthy tones (e.g green and brown) or with pictures of nature on them, and come to the conclusion that they are natural and sustainable.
How to avoid greenwashing?
Checking Legitimacy
If a product is marketed as sustainable, then this is relatively easy to confirm and fact check yourself. Just lookout for the following:
I hate when companies greenwash!
Jennifer
Curated By Jennifer