Greenwashing

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Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on "whitewash"), also called green sheen,^[1][2] is a form of advertising or marketing spin that deceptively uses green PR and green marketing to persuade the public that an organization's products, goals, or policies are environmentally friendly.^[3][4][5] Companies that intentionally adopt greenwashing communication strategies often do so to distance themselves from their environmental lapses or those of their suppliers.^[6] Firms engage in greenwashing for two primary reasons: to appear legitimate and to project an image of environmental responsibility to the public.^[7]

Greenwashing occurs when an organization spends significantly more resources on "green" advertising than on environmentally sound practices.^[8] Many corporations use greenwashing to improve public opinion of their brands. Complex corporate structures can further obscure the bigger picture.^[9] Corporations attempt to capitalize off of consumer's environmental guilt.^[10] Critics of the practice suggest that the rise of greenwashing, paired with ineffective regulation, contributes to consumer skepticism of all green claims and diminishes the power of the consumer to drive companies toward greener manufacturing processes and business operations.^[11] Greenwashing covers up unsustainable corporate agendas and policies.^[12] Highly public accusations of greenwashing have contributed to the term's increasing use.^[13]

Greenwashing has recently increased to meet consumer demand for environmentally-friendly goods and services. New regulations, laws, and guidelines put forward by organizations such as the Committee of Advertising Practice in the UK aim to discourage companies from using greenwashing to deceive consumers.^[14]