What the hell is “greenwashing”?

In order to create a brand that will address the customer at an intimous level, experts must regularly monitor trends. But adaptability is key to the way we see stories. 

One such trend is sustainability, the train we have to embark on on time, a trend that plays an extremely important role in its heart, because sustainability will affect us both today and tomorrow. 

But what if there’s a lot of work to do? Unfortunately, it is because of this “tremendous amount of work” that many companies take a shortcut, and they use “greenwashing” or nicely in English: green misrepresentation.

“Green” is becoming a profitable business strategy, given today’s environmental scenario. Green business practices not only open up a new market for environmental lovers, but also enjoy favorable public opinion among existing customers, politics and other stakeholders who help the company grow.

According to the Nielsen report, 66% of global consumers say they are willing to pay more for sustainable brands.. Although this is good news, this has led to an incredible increase in products that are “eco,” “green” or “sustainable.” TerraChoice Environmental Marketing claims that 98% of green label products are in fact green deceiving.

And to be honest, many world-famous brands have already found themselves among the known “culprits” for green misrepresentation. Say: 

Volkswagen and the 2015 diesel emissions scandal, when the software used the official test showed lower levels of harmful emissions than its diesel cars really do. 

Starbucks launched a “strawless lid” in 2018 as part of its sustainable orientation, but that lid contained more plastic than the old combination of lid and straw.

IKEA, Coca-Cola, Nestle… and if this is happening to giants that are under tighter control, what do you think is happening in smaller companies?

Consistently achieving financial goals is great, but boring when we try to tell a nice story. On the other hand, the promise to make the world a better way sounds heroic. That’s what investors like to hear, and employees love it because they want to believe they work for an ethical company, and that attracts customers.

The key is to be aware that we are working with sustainability for today and tomorrow, while greenwashing is a business practice that, while today it creates false satisfaction, does nothing positive for tomorrow.