[Free Report] Greenwashingby Seyi Jang | 21-09-2021 23:53 |
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 Everybody must have heard about the term whitewashing at least once in their lifetime. Whitewashing is an attempt to stop people finding out the true facts about an actual situation. Greenwashing is not different from whitewashing in meaning, it is just not as recognized as whitewashing. When one company focuses only on advertising how their products are "green" rather than actually making the products sustainable, we call it greenwashing. Greenwashing is not a new phenomenon, as the term is coined from an essay by environmentalist Jay Westerveld in 1986. He got the idea after visiting a hotel in Fiji, where he saw a note telling visitors to reuse the towel for better environment, while in the mean time, the hotel was building more bungalows. There has been an increase in greenwashing in recent years due to the increased demand for sustainable products from consumers. Greenwashing can be an irresistable temptation for companies, as being seen as ethical and eco-friendly drives profitability. However, greenwashing is bad because it misleads people into acting unsustainable. When you want to be a green consumer, you would more likely choose a product that the company promoted as 'eco-friendly'. But when it turns out to be false, you're ending up with harming the environment instead of saving it. One example of greenwashing is from a German motor vehicle manufacturer, Volkswagen, which was admitted to cheating emission tests by using a 'defeat device' in September 2015. Its diesel engines were fitted with software which can make the vehicle less polluting only during the emission tests. This scandal was going on while the company was actively marketing the low-emission and eco-friendly features of the car, which was the exact opposite of what they have done. Greenwashing is a market ploy which people easily fall for and may end up with harming the environment unintentionally. In order to prevent this, consumers have to be well-educated on greenwashing and need to have critical view on products advertised as sustainable. Doing some research about the company or the product before buying the item is encouraged for spotting out greenwashing products. Greenwashing is far from being moral or ethical, yet it became a common marketing strategy throughout the world just because it brings a huge amount of profit. We shouldn't forget the role of green consumer and should be cautious when purchasing new products. ( https://www.seagoinggreen.org/blog/the-negative-effects-of-corporate-greenwashing https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10946-greenwashing.html https://www.euronews.com/green/2020/09/09/what-is-greenwashing-and-why-is-it-a-problem )
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