What Is Greenwashing — And How to Spot It
Greenwashing makes ordinary products look ethical. Here are the seven patterns marketers use and how to see past them.
Definition
Greenwashing is the practice of marketing a product or company as more environmentally or ethically responsible than it actually is. It ranges from technically true but irrelevant claims to outright fabrication.
Researchers at TerraChoice originally identified seven recurring patterns, sometimes called "the seven sins of greenwashing". Most modern examples still fit into one of them.
The seven patterns
1. Hidden trade-off: A product is promoted for one green attribute (e.g. recycled paper) while ignoring larger impacts (e.g. chlorine bleaching, energy-intensive production).
2. No proof: An environmental claim with no supporting evidence or third-party certification.
3. Vagueness: Terms so broad they're meaningless — "all-natural", "eco-friendly", "green".
4. Worshiping false labels: Logos designed to look like certifications but issued by no one — typically the brand itself.
5. Irrelevance: A truthful but useless claim, like "CFC-free" on a product where CFCs have been banned for decades.
6. Lesser of two evils: A claim true within a category that is itself harmful — "organic cigarettes" or "fuel-efficient SUV".
7. Fibbing: Outright false claims, including unauthorized use of certification marks.
Quick checks before you buy
Look up the brand on its claimed certifier's website. Search the brand name plus "lawsuit", "controversy", or "greenwashing". Check whether the parent company sells contradictory products. Read the ingredients or fiber content rather than the marketing copy.
If a claim sounds too good to be true and there's no third-party verification, assume it is.