Seven Sins of Greenwashing

There are more products than ever now claiming to be green on the shelves of stores these days. However some of those 'all-natural' and 'organic' products may likely be committing one of the Seven Sins of Greenwashing.

Between 2007 and 2009, the in-store availability of 'green' products has increased between 40% and 176%, with 98% of products still committing at least one Sin of Greenwashing, according to a report on the Seven Sins of Greenwashing released today by TerraChoice Environmental Marketing. Greenwashing is defined as the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.

The Seven Sins of Greenwashing, from most common to least common, are:

1. The Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off is a claim suggesting a product is green based on a narrow set of attributes, without attention to other important environmental issues. Paper, for example, is not necessarily environmentally-preferable just because it comes from a sustainably-harvested forest.

2. The Sin of No Proof happens when environmental assertions are not backed up by evidence or third-party certification.

3. The Sin of Vagueness occurs when a claim is so lacking in specifics as to be meaningless. 'All-natural' is an example of this Sin. Arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde are all naturally occurring, and poisonous.

4. The Sin of Worshiping False Labels is a when a product creates a false suggestion or certification-like image to mislead consumers into thinking that a product has been through a legitimate green certification process.

5. The Sin of Irrelevance arises when an environmental issue unrelated to the product is emphasized. One example is the claim that a product is 'CFC-free', since CFCs are banned by law.

6. The Sin of Lesser of Two Evils occurs when an environmental claim makes consumers feel green about a product category that is itself lacking in environmental benefits. Organic cigarettes are an example of this Sin.

7. The Sin of Fibbing is when environmental claims are outright false. An example would be lying about an Energy Star certification.

To learn more, visit http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/