Excerpted By Vincent Carriuolo, Director of Marketing, Winbrook
Green●wash, verb: the act of misleading purchasersregarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.In December 2007, environmental marketing company TerraChoice gained national press coverage for its studycalled, The Six Sins of Greenwashing, which found that 99% of 1,018 common consumer products randomlysurveyed for the study were guilty of greenwashing.
The Six Sins of Greenwashing
Sin of the Hidden Trade Off
Bold claims about a single environmental attribute which can lead purchasers to mistakenly believe that
it is the only environmental attribute of concern for a particular product category. Example: “energy-efficient”
electronics that contain hazardous materials.
Sin of Unsubstantiated Claims
An environmental claim with no verifiable certification. All environmental claims should be verified by an independent certifying body or auditor, or the manufacturer should be willing to provide the necessary documentation to prove a claim.
Sin of Irrelevance
Factually correct environmental claims that are no longerrelevant for a particular product category. Example:“CFC-free” claims on aerosol products even though CFCs
were banned 30 years ago.
Sin of Fibbing
Claims that products meet independent, internationally–recognized certification standards when they do not.
Sin of Vagueness
Vague claims that are misleading. Example: The claim“100 percent natural” can be very misleading because some naturally occurring substances such as arsenic and dioxin can be very harmful to human health.
Sin of Relativism
A product can be the most environmentally preferable choice in its class and yet still be an inappropriate choice. Example:“Organic cigarettes” or “Environmentally friendly” pesticides.
To download the study, go to: www.terrachoice.com/files/6_sins.pdf