1. Environmental Sociology
The Seven Sins of Greenwashing Products
by: Bailey Schultz

2. What is Greenwashing?
Its is the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product

3. What is wrong with Greenwashing?
What’s wrong with greenwashing?
well intended consumers can be misled into purchases that do not deliver on that environmental promise
competitive pressure from illegitimate claims can take market share away from legitimate products
can lead to cynicism and doubt about all environmental claims

4. Hidden Trade-Offs
Suggesting a product is ‘green’ based on: narrow set of attributes without attention to other environmental impacts
Emphasis on highly visible actions while other more environmental degrading activities take place out of sight
Sustainably harvested does not mean
Sustainably produced

5. Lack Of Proof
Suggesting a product is ‘green’ based on: An environmental claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible information
Lack of reliable third-party certification
Post-Consumer Waste Recycled?
Says who?
65% recycled

6. Vague Claims
A claim that is poorly defined or so broad that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood
Natural is the biggest culprit
Arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde are all natural- but poisonous

7. Irrelevant Claims
Using Claims such as CFC-FREE which has no relevance to a product because CFC’s were banned in 1987

8. Lesser of Two Evils
Claims that may be true within a product category, but intentionally distract the consumer from the broader environmental impacts of the category as a whole
ex: 2013 Cadillac Escalante Hybrid? 23 as opposed to 20

9. Outright Lies
The least frequent form of greenwashing, by making environmental claims that are outright false
LG caught cheating to achieve Energy Star Rating
Test equipment installed with hidden devices to aid in power-efficiency testing
The Feather-Duster Fly-Strip Air Freshner

10. False Labeling
An effort to exploit modern consumers’ demand for third party certification with fake labels or claims of third-party endorsement

11. Stay Informed http://www.greenwashingindex.com/