More than 95% of consumer
products claiming to be green are committing at least one of the “sins” of greenwashing, according
to a new study released today by environmental marketing company TerraChoice.
Greenwashing is defined as the act of misleading consumers about the environmental practices of
a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.
The 2010 study reveals that greenwashing has declined slightly since 2009, with 4.5% of
products now “sin-free”, compared to only 2% in 2009.
TerraChoice lists the "sins of greenwashing" as:
- Sin of the hidden trade-off
- Sin of no proof
- Sin of vagueness
- Sin of irrelevance
- Sin of lesser than two evils
- Sin of fibbing
- Sin of worshipping false labels
Surprisingly, the report finds that big box retailers stock more “green” products and more products that
provide legitimate environmental certifications than smaller “green” boutique-style stores.
It also states that marketers
and product manufacturers are getting better, with greenwashing down among those who have
been focused on environmentally preferable practices longer than others. The proportion of “sin-
free” products is five times greater in “mature” categories like building, construction and office
products than in “immature” categories like toys and baby products.
“We found 73% more ‘green’ products on the market today than in 2009,” said Scott
McDougall, President of TerraChoice. “This is great news and it shows that consumers are changing
the world by demanding greener goods, and that marketers and manufacturers are taking note.”
The TerraChoice study, the third since 2007, surveyed 5,296 products in the U.S. and Canada that
make an environmental claim. Between March and May 2010, TerraChoice visited 19 retail stores
in Canada and 15 in the United States.
“The increase from just 2% to 4.5% may seem small, but we see it as early evidence
of a positive and long lasting trend,” said McDougall. “We are also pleased with the finding that
those home and family product categories that are more mature have less greenwashing and more
reliable green certification.”
Product categories studied in the 2010 report include baby care products, toys, office products,
building and construction products, cleaning products, housewares, health and beauty products,
and consumer electronics.
Other report highlights:
- 100%t of toys and 99.2% of baby products surveyed are guilty of some
form of greenwashing.
- BPA-free claims are up by 577% since the 2009 study, appearing
more frequently among toys and baby products than any other category studied.
- Phthalate-free claims increased 2,550% since 2009.
- Good eco-labeling helps prevent (but does not eliminate) greenwashing--of the products
certified by a recognized third-party certification, more than 30% are sin-free.
TerraChoice
researchers catalogued a total of 5,296 products and a total of 12,061 “green” claims made by those
products. Those claims were tested against best practice and guidelines provided by the U.S. Federal
Trade Commission, the Competition Bureau of Canada, and the ISO 14021 standard for environmental
labeling.
More information on the report, titled "The Sins of Greenwashing: Home and Family Edition", as well as tips on recognizing greenwashing will be made available at the link below.
Earlier this month the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released proposed revisions to guidelines that would try to reign in "greenwashing" environmental claims by marketers.
