Top 10 signs of greenwashing
By on 03/22/2010
- Fluffy language: Words or terms with no clear meaning (e.g. “eco-friendly”).
- Green product vs. dirty company: Such as efficient light bulbs made in a factory that pollutes rivers.
- Suggestive pictures: Green images that indicate an unjustified green impact (e.g. flowers blooming from exhaust pipes).
- Irrelevant claims: Emphasizing one tiny green attribute when everything else is not green.
- Best in class: Declaring you are slightly greener than the rest, even if the rest are pretty terrible.
- Just not credible: “Eco-friendly” cigarettes, anyone? “Greening” a dangerous product doesn’t make it safe.
- Jargon: Information that only a scientist could check or understand.
- Imaginary friends: A “label” that looks like a third-party endorsement — except that it’s made up.
- No proof: It could be right, but where’s the evidence?
- Outright lying: Totally fabricated claims or data.
Source: https://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/08/13/preventing-greenwashing-one-company-time.