You may well have heard or read about this terminology, but do you know what Greenwashing is? And who may indeed be doing it?
What is Greenwashing?
Greenwashing is when a company is spending more time [and money] talking about their environmental strategies and benefits than they do actually implementing the green practices that can actually make a difference.
It’s becoming a more common theme amongst large businesses, who, may or may not even realise they are doing it. For example, a company may advertise a particular product that they claim to be green whilst the company as a whole has terrible environmental practices.
Why is Greenwashing such a bad thing?
Greenwashing is a problem because it creates a false sense of trust in a company. Consumers are misled into thinking that a company is doing great things for the environment when in fact it could be the complete opposite.
How to spot Greenwashing
It can be very difficult to spot a company who is greenwashing. Equally, it can be glaringly obvious. The key is a little research. Making slower, more considered decisions as to where we purchase products – like web hosting for example. Read more into a companies environmental policies. See whether they can prove how green they are. Ask questions.
Of course, this approach takes more time and time is something everyone seems to be short of. But, we are also battling against time in order to save the planet from climate crisis. We don’t think it’s much to ask people to take an hour to research a company before purchasing a product from them in order to save the planet. Do you?