What Greenwashing and Bluewashing are? Returning the power of what we want to buy to the consumer
How we can recover the power of what we want to purchase and how we can do it? The first step is to be self-educated. At MuXu we have created a vocabulary section “the Word” in every Newsletter and one non-official dictionary in our blog. But today we want to share with you something a little bit more in deep: Greenwashing.
Be a good detective and identify when a company is conveying misleading information and false and/or vague impressions about their brand to look like the products and company are more environmentally friendly.
Bonus extra knowledge: Bluewashing, is the same as Greenwashing but focuses the marketing on vague/false information in their commitment to responsible social practices.
Here are some clues to awaken your suspicions*…
Irrelevance: to say that they avoid using material or practices that in fact, are already illegal or non-standard.
Vagueness: being on purpose nonspecific about sources, materials, operations…
Lesser Evil: do-good labeled to an environmentally unfriendly product.
Hidden Trade-off: suggest that a product is eco or green based on a single attribute.
No Proof: make a sustainable claim that cannot be substantiated.
Fibbing: false claims about the product, production, etc.
Now, this is the time to reflect on it. Do you know a company that for instance hires a celebrity to claim that the product is eco-friendly and/or respects labor laws based on a single attribute? Or emphasize that the product is artisanal but is made with poor conditions for the workers abroad? Or do some brands collaborate with true Slow Fashion brands for a short period of time, but they continue with their regular Fast Fashion practices? Have you noticed that some brands changed the colors of the labels or packages to green and brown, but nothing else change?
*Savica Dimitrieska & Aleksandra Stankovska & Tanja Efremova, 2017. "The Six Sins Of Greenwashing," Economics and Management, Faculty of Economics, SOUTH-WEST UNIVERSITY "NEOFIT RILSKI", BLAGOEVGRAD, vol. 13(2), pages 82-89.
*6 sins of greenwashing. A Study of Environmental Claims in North American Consumer Markets. TerraChoice Environmental Marketing Inc. (November 2007)