So you’re perusing the aisles of your nearest drugstore with the good intention of buying some new “green” cleaning supplies that are good for the environment and not harmful to your own health. You also want to pick up some “natural” cosmetics so you aren’t clogging your pores with man-made chemicals. Lastly, you want some “pure” coconut oil because you’ve seen it used in some recipes you’ve pinned on Pinterest!
However, with many products shouting out their various nature-friendly accomplishments, you get confused and decide to grab whatever looks like it’s doing the most for the environment…you think. Hey, I know I’m guilty of this in the past! Have no fear – the real guilty culprits in this scenario are the companies practicing “greenwashing.”
Greenwashing is a term used to describe the phenomenon of advertising “green” products or services in a way that isn’t entirely truthful to the real definition of some “green” terms such as: organic, all-natural, pure, 100% eco-friendly, etc. While you and I love to see that the products we’re buying are not harmful to us or the environment, we cannot always trust a short blurb in an advertisement or a meaningless sticker on the packaging to provide us with this information.
We need to do a little digging!
While digging for more info about this supposed green product, you turn over the product packaging to find a long list of products that you can’t even pronounce! So what gives? Are these products not helping the environment? Are they not organic alternatives to similar products on the market? Is it worth the somewhat higher price tag to buy something with a “go green!” sticker on it that promises to save the world with just one purchase?! How are we supposed to answer these questions ourselves?
If consenting adults want to purchase products regardless of their green status, that’s fine. But should I be allowed to rub formaldehyde on my face if I think it’s just coconut oil and fairy dust?
Remember, the average person has no real reason to know that Bisphenol-A, Perfluorooctanoic acid and Azodicarbonamide are not naturally occurring substances and should probably be avoided. If an item claims it is 100% pure and all-natural, that should mean something…right?
So what claims can be made by these companies? How do we know which stickers are believable and which are not? Here are just a few situations to look out for, and further explanation to a well-known label:
~All-natural – This is an incredibly vague term that shouldn’t (on its own) be your deciding factor when determining whether to purchase or not. FYI – there are poisonous substances that are naturally occurring and therefore could be considered “all-natural.” Not a cute look for your makeup or moisturizer!
~False claims with no proof – No “innocent until proven guilty” here! Some products state that something is “made with __% recycled content” because there’s pretty much no way for the consumer in the grocery store to prove them and their random percentage wrong. (Though you can have the FTC look into it! More about that later.)
~First party “certification” – Aka: “this is green/pure/natural because I say it is.” If a certification on a product isn’t from a second-party (ex: a trade association) or a third-party (ex:USDA), then it likely doesn’t mean anything.
~Carefully named products/companies – With names like Herbal Essences and Organix, you’d expect a more “green” product, right? Well take a quick gander at the ingredients written on the bottles and you’ll see sulfates, red dye, synthetic fragrances and more. No thank you!
~USDA Organic – The USDA uses independent certifiers to check out production of foods and then gives them a label of either: “100% organic” (can only contain organic ingredients; no antibiotics, hormones, genetic engineering, synthetic pesticides, etc.), “organic” (contains 95% organic ingredients), or “made with organic ingredients” (at least 70% organic ingredients and these products can display the certifier’s logo but not the USDA organic logo like the other two levels can).
While wondering what sort of action should be taken against companies that trick consumers like this, I remembered the ol’ FTC. A scroll through the FTC website (www.ftc.gov) notified me that between the careful censoring of Eminem tracks and rating children’s movies, they managed to make some revisions to their “Green Guides” (rules for marketers/companies to follow to avoid inaccurate claims or blatant lies about “green” products) as well as post some press releases regarding recent crack downs on various companies that were accused of greenwashing in their advertisements, including mattress sellers, plastics makers and distributers, major national retailers and many more. Revisions to previous guidance in the “Green Guides” largely deal with cautioning “marketers not to make broad, unqualified claims that a product is “environmentally friendly” or “eco-friendly” because the FTC’s consumer perception study confirms that such claims are likely to suggest that the product has specific and far-reaching environmental benefits.” Basically, don’t make promises you can’t keep!
The next time you pick up an item at the grocery store that makes any sort of “green” claim, check closely in the ingredients section. Remember, labels and advertisements don’t guarantee anything. Protect your fellow consumer by reporting false claims, educate yourself constantly and keep supporting the businesses you know to be honest, wholesome and transparent.
{If you see a company making false claims in the way of promoting pseudo-green products, you can call 1-877-FTC-HELP or visit the FTC’s online complaint assistant. Greenpeace has also provided a platform for people to voice their complaints about companies violating these guidelines. Go to www.stopgreenwash.org for more info.}
WORKS CITED:
1. FTC.gov. News. “FTC Issues Revised “Green Guides.” October 1, 2012. Accessed
November 30, 2013.
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