Laufer (2003) suggests that
greenwashing includes intentional confusion, organizational fronting, and corporate posturing.
The Harris poll found that more than half of Americans (55%) believe organic foods are healthier--but there is still a lot of confusion about the validity of organic labeling in the face of so much
greenwashing.
In essence,
greenwashing involves falsely conveying to consumers that a given product, service, company or institution factors environmental responsibility into its offerings and/or operations.
Be wary and independently evaluate vendor green claims for
greenwashing.
At the recent CIMA and Tomorrow's Company event at Herbert Smith, Jo Fox, director of The Bigger Picture at BSkyB, touched upon the need to bypass "
greenwashing".
According to "The Sins of
Greenwashing: Home and Family Edition," an October 2010 report from Ottawa, Ontario-based TerraChoice, more than 95 percent of consumer products claiming to be "green" are guilty of at least one of the "sins" of
greenwashing.
Greenwashing, a term for falsely claiming to have environmental policies is not uncommon among unscrupulous businesses hoping to attract consumers that seek cleaner, healthier products for them and the planet.
Last October, InterfaceFLOR, the worldwide leader in design, production and sales of environmentally responsible modular carpet, launched its Let's Be Clear campaign in the Middle East to encourage companies to stop '
greenwashing' consumers with environmental product claims.
Editor's Note: What Clayton Ruby describes has come to be known as "
greenwashing." The idea of growing organic tobacco is a particularly good example.
Arava was revealed as a sterling practitioner of Israeli government efforts to 'Rebrand Israel' through
greenwashing and the arts."
Nothing sinks consumer confidence faster than all talk and no action when it comes to sustainability - hence the term "
greenwashing." That's just one reason PMA supports efforts to measure sustainability efforts, in addition to the management mantra "You can't manage what you can't measure."