A Free Public Service

SCAMS BULLETING Host Jay White is an inactive attorney in San Mateo County, California.

September 23, 2021.

PHONY GREENWASHED PRODUCTS

Courtesy Scambusters

Greenwashing is a new take on fake news.

Greenwashing is defined by Investopedia as “an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally friendly.” It happens when businesses and other organizations make false or misleading claims about being eco-friendly.

By saying they’re ecologically sound they may increase their prices by suggesting it costs them more to go green. There are many vague and misleading green marketing claims and a few that are outright false.

They’re aiming at you if you’re the type of consumer who cares about ecologically sound products, preferring to do business with firms whose ideals you share.

“Greenwashing is a harmful and deceitful way of advertising that a company is greener than it is. When it happens, the company should be called out and forced to account for their actions,” says environmental watchdog Earth.org.

 Greenwashing Tricks:

*Hidden trade-offs where a producer promotes a single eco benefit that was achieved by ignoring other environmental concerns.

*Claims that simply can’t be proved. For example, saying that a product has or has not been tested on animals but providing no supporting evidence.

*Vagueness — confusing, misleading claims such as “chemical-free.” Ultimately, everything, even plants created by nature, is made of chemicals! Or using words like “made from recycled products” without saying how much is reused.

*Irrelevance — claims that may be true but don’t have much meaning. For example, claiming a product is free of ozone-damaging chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) is irrelevant since CFCs are banned globally.

“Lesser of two evils” — promoting the eco-friendliness of one aspect of a product, while ignoring another; for instance, so-called green herbicides or organic tobaccos.

*Telling lies! Yes, some firms have been caught out doing just that, especially making claims to be certified by organizations like USDA, Energy Star, or official testing and quality control labs.

Reports can be made to Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov.

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