Greenwashing is Not as Clean as it Sounds...
“Sustainability?”
By Mikkael Quilala
Photo by Daniel Öberg on Unsplash
Many of us have become increasingly mindful of our consumption habits, thanks to growing environmental advocacy, awareness, and education. Initiatives such as single-use plastic bag bans and the adoption of more environmentally sustainable packaging by fast food chains (although still often wasteful) reflect a heightened environmental consciousness in today's society.
We may feel a sense of altruism knowing that we purchased an item that claims to be eco-friendly. However, businesses don't always provide truthful claims – sometimes they mislead us.
Terms like 'green,' 'eco-friendly,' or 'sustainable' sound promising, but do they truly meet the criteria they suggest?
Are these criteria available for us to assess, or is this just another baseless claim to make us feel like we’ve made a purchase for the greater good?
This of course causes confusion, making us think that the use of these terms must mean that these products are good for the environment… right? These businesses would not lie to us… right?
Exactly how transparent are these businesses in making these claims?
Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission identified vague and unqualified claims as the most common forms of greenwashing in Australian businesses. They also found that a lack of substantive information regarding claims, exaggerated benefits, and the incorrect use of third-party certifications to be other major greenwashing issues… among many more.
Ultimately, greenwashing is a form of advertisement or marketing tactic that companies use to deceive consumers by making misleading or false claims that their products or services are environmentally friendly. The gimmick of greenwashing is to entice people to purchase their goods or services by giving their consumers the perceived satisfaction of helping the environment, even when such claims are completely baseless. So naturally, businesses capitalise off this ‘environmental craze’ to put more green in their pockets (and we are not talking about leaves).
False Advertising?
One could argue that greenwashing claims could be considered false advertising – under the Australian Consumer Law (‘ACL’) it just might be (under misleading and deceptive conduct). Even though greenwashing claims may contravene the ACL, this has not been enough to prevent or stop businesses from engaging in this unethical practice completely.
Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash
In another jurisdiction, EU has added several greenwashing marketing tactics to the EU list of banned commercial practices, particularly with product labelling that uses generic environmental claims like ‘natural’, ‘eco’ or ‘climate neutral’ that have no proof to back up such claims.
Australia seems to approach greenwashing from the framework of consumer protection, while the while the EU’s approach has elements that are also environmentally focused. This raises the question as to whether stronger anti-greenwashing laws should be introduced in Australia to ultimately stop businesses and corporations from making such claims that mislead the public. If you could not tell by now, I think Australia should.
As consumers, it's crucial to remain vigilant about what we consume and hold businesses accountable. By doing your best to support transparent and genuinely environmentally friendly practices, we can drive positive change and ensure our purchasing power reflects our values.
If you’d like to write in the Gazette as one of our next guests, reach out to us via guls-vp@griffith.edu.au!
Bad advice from jeremy
On the topic of false advertising, here are my favourite knock off company names:
3. “Pizza Hat”
Who would ever want Pizza Hut when you could instead have Pizza Hat? If you ask me, Pizza Hut should rebrand to this instead (I’m pretty sure they are going under anyway so why not…).
2. “KFD”
I’ve seen “OFC”, “KFG” and much more, but for me, this one is the best. One better then a C and I just like the ring to it.
1. “Burger Friends”
Oh Burger King. No, no, no. Where did you go wrong? Burger Friends is one of the greatest names of this century. Please change your entire brand so we can all be Burger Friends.