Excerpt from LEAD-WiSE:
The term ‘Greenwashing’ has found itself nestled within everyday conversations when it comes to businesses and climate action – but what is it exactly? Greenwashing is a portmanteau of whitewashing, the act of deliberately ignoring or glossing over an issue, and green action, or projects aimed at reducing environmental damage. As such, greenwashing refers to the glossing over issues of environmentally unfriendly business actions by dissimulating them or misleading the public. The term has become commonplace in the past decade as businesses seek to attract consumers who are increasingly becoming more interested in sustainable goods and services.
To do so, businesses highlight how environmentally-friendly their product is, how the processing or sourcing of materials is in line with fair trade and sustainability, and sometimes even just suggesting they are green using language and color schemes. However, companies engaging in greenwashing are never truly taking action to make their businesses green, but are misleading consumers in order to profit.
Comments