Seeing Through Greenwashing: The Reality Behind Environmental Marketing

 

Marketing strategies have undergone significant evolution, from traditional pamphlets to social media dominance, marketing has come a long way. Despite this evolution, underlying theme has remained unchanged, i.e. to stay relevant in market, and today’s effective way to remain relevant in the market is by claiming that ‘we are environmentally friendly’. This is a clever strategy employed by many companies. Moreover, sometimes companies spend more on advertising their environmental efforts than on actually minimizing their environmental impact. This practice is known as Greenwashing.

 

According to Britannica, Greenwashing is a form of deceptive marketing in which a company, product, or business practice is falsely or excessively promoted as being environmentally friendly. 

 

Are Greenwashing and Green Marketing the same?

According to Investopedia, Green marketing refers to the practice of developing and advertising products based on their real or perceived environmental sustainability. 

Examples of green marketing include advertising the reduced emissions associated with a product’s manufacturing process, or the use of post-consumer recycled materials for a product's packaging.

Whereas Greenwashing is a marketing tactic that deceives customers into believing a product is environmentally friendly when, in reality, it is a technique to popularize a product.

Here are some notable examples of greenwashing:

1.     Ryanair Greenwashing Case –

Ryanair is a United Kingdom based low-cost airlines, in 2019 they had advertised themselves as ‘Lowest Emission Airlines’. The UK’s Advertising Standard Agency took down their commercial on grounds of misleading advertisement. ¹

 2.     Coco-Cola and Nestle facing lawsuits for greenwashing

Coco-Cola and Nestle, both had claimed that their plastic bottles are ‘100% Recycled’, consumer bodies and Environmental groups have raised a complaint at the European Commission to further investigate such misleading claims made by FMCG giants. ²

 3.     Volkswagen “Diselgate scandal”

Earlier to counter the hybrid and electric car rise, Volkswagen had advertised their vehicles as ‘Clean diesel’ vehicles.

In 2015 Volkswagen was exposed for installing ‘defect devices’ in their vehicles, whenever the vehicles were tested for emission, the installed ‘Defect devices’ software used to sense it and accordingly tweak the vehicles performance to reduce emissions. Volkswagen had also apologized and recalled their many products. ³

Are there any counter measures available against Greenwashing?

The answer is yes. There are two possible solution which are currently used.

The first solution involves having an eco-label on the products. These are placed on products which indicate that certain environmental standards were followed while making that product. These labels help the consumer to make an informed choice which purchasing anything. These are genuine green marketing tools which can be deployed by companies.

The second solution involves implementing strict legislation with penal provision to deter corporates from making deceptive advertisement claim. Few countries are having direct or indirect statutory provisions to safeguard consumers against greenwashing.

Example:

·       Europeans Union’s Greenwashing Directives released in 2024 which majorly targets Unfair Commercial Practices deployed by companies.

·       In India Department of Consumer Affairs and Central Consumer Protection Authority are preparing Guidelines for “Prevention of Greenwashing by the companies with a view to protect consumer interest”. Until now consumers were indirectly availing remedies under Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to safeguard their rights.

·       Even France do not have any direct provision to deal with greenwashing, the use provisions under the Consumer Code to safeguards citizens against false and misleading advertisement.

·       With an update to its "Green Guides," the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking aim at large firms' misleading environmental marketing strategies. The purpose of this modification is to provide the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) more legal leverage when bringing legal action against businesses that mislead consumers about environmental responsibility and sustainability.

 Conclusion: Greenwashing remains a pervasive issue in modern marketing, undermining consumer trust and environmental stewardship. By raising awareness, implementing stricter regulations, and promoting genuine eco-friendly practices, we can collectively combat greenwashing and promote ethical marketing standards that prioritize both consumer well-being and environmental sustainability.

References:

1.    https://news.sky.com/story/ryanair-adverts-banned-for-making-misleading-co2-emissions-claims-            11926471

2.    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67343893

3.    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772