Hippyshopper's guide to: spotting greenwash
In today's Guardian, Lucy Aitken talks about the ethical shopper's worst nightmare: Greenwash. We're all aware that the claims to greenness made by many companies are at best, exaggerated, but how clued up are we really about being tricked into buying eco-friendly products that are anything but?
Firstly, if you've been taken in, don't panic. Marketing bods do everything in their power to make us believe the stuff they sell us is greener than freshly-cut grass, so you shouldn't be ashamed to admit it when you buy the latest bit of 'green gear' only to twig later that it came in yards of plastic packaging, or was transported halfway across the world to get into your eager hands. There is even an award for the worst examples of greenwash, whose 'winners' will be announced later this month.
So, if it's happened to you and you'd like to prevent future mishaps, we've prepared a brief guide to detecting greenwash before it hits you in the pocket. Follow the jump for the rest of the tips.
1. Watch out for over-use of jargon.
By and large, companies that make the most noise about helping the environment are the ones that are actually doing the least, and those that do make a difference will be honest about what they are doing and - crucially - what they're not. Two companies being very honest about their efforts at the moment are Eurostar and BSkyB.
Both companies are putting measures in place to help the environment: you can read about BSkyB's efforts here and Eurostar's here. But they are not making any bones about the fact that some things they do are still not very green at all. In the case of BSkyB, it's their set-top boxes that are to blame, since the current models need to be kept on standby, and Eurostar has set itself a number of goals it needs to reach to be as green as it can be. But these things are trackable, and entirely visible to consumers who can then make an informed choice.
One of the worst examples of greenwash I've seen is the Future Friendly label, launched by Procter & Gamble to appear on some of its products that were giving a nod to environmentalism, by (for example) coming in a smaller bottle than the millions of other items the company sells each year.
Not everyone will be aware of the fact that all the products bearing this label are made by the same company, but if that doesn't set alarm bells ringing, the use of language should: for starters, 'future friendly' is a term invented for its own purpose, that could really mean anything.
2. Bear in mind what a company really exists to do
Lots of companies are starting to adopt greener 'niche' areas of business and using these to try and 'green up' the image of the brand as a whole. Think Tesco encouraging us to re-use our bags, Starbucks selling a fairtrade blend, BP investing in some renewable power sources, etc. These are all good things to be doing, but bear in mind that there are other companies that exist to do nothing else. Quite a few are mentioned regularly on this site - try and support them where possible!
3. Recognise the labels you can trust
If all else fails, there are certain labels and marques to look out for that will tell you for certain if a product is as green as it claims to be - and how. If it's claiming to be organic, the most trustworthy seal of approval is the Soil Association's logo. There are others, and the official list of UK government-sanctioned organic certification bodies is here.
Meanwhile, the Fairtrade foundation certify products whose makers have been paid a decent living wage. This includes trading contracts and a price that covers the cost of sustainable production and living. Farmers and workers' organisations receive a premium to invest in social and environmental projects benefiting their communities.
There are now a number of symbols relating to recycling: you can see the official ones (along with what they mean) here.
You can find a 'shopper's guide to green labels' from DEFRA, here.
These are all pretty well-known and you might wonder why I'm reminding you of them. But if you see a label you don't recognise, chances are it's not what it claims to be.
