As I explained in a previous post, Terra Choice supports the growth of sustainable companies while serving as a watchdog against greenwashing, or misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company and/or its products. Over the last several years, they have conducted research entitled "Sins of Greenwashing" that determines the prevalence of green products on the market and investigates "green" claims, determining whether a product is in violation of one of the seven sins of greenwashing.
The 2010 study visited 34 stores in the US and Canada and examined 5,296 products making some sort of "green" claims. When I first read a summary of the 2010 report, I was pessimistic. The study found that 95% of "green" products were in violation of one or more of the 7 sins of greenwashing. That being said, green consumerism is improving from year to year. Since 2009, the number of "green" products offered for sale has increased by 73%, and the proportion of sin-free products has doubled in the last year. Greenwashing is still a significant issue, but it's declining and changing. Less often are products committing the Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off (claiming a product is green based on a narrow set of attributes, ignoring other non-green attributes). The Sin of No Proof (claiming green without evidence) is on the rise, thanks mainly to BPA-free claims, as well as the Sin of Worshipping False Labels ("certified green"). It appears that companies with more experience in "greening" become better with time, reducing their greenwashing, obtaining more reliable "green" certification, and continuing "green" growth. Whether a product has good eco-labeling had a significant impact on whether it committed a sin: more than 30% of products with legitimate labels had no sins, while only 4.4% of the products across the study were sin-free. And it may be interesting for Robert to know that BPA-free claims have increased by 577%. Hooray for non-toxic water bottles!
The study then broke down their investigation by categories of products, including Toys and Baby Products; Household Cleaning Products; DIY Building and Construction Products; and Consumer Electronics.
Toys/Baby Products: Claims of BPA and Phthalate-Free are skyrocketing, and 2/3 of "free" claims come on these products. More "green" products are offered in this area in comparison to last year, but less than 1% of them are free of greenwashing sins. The Sin of No Proof is most common in this category.
Household Cleaning Products: Different products within the category had varying rates of growth (for instance, green chemicals increased by more than 100%, but tissue products maintained a typical growth of 77%). Greenwashing varies significantly by category. The Sin of Vagueness is most common in this category and includes claims such as "Eco-Friendly," "Environmentally-Friendly," "Earth-Friendly," "Environment-Safe," "Harnessing Nature," and "Eco-Chemistry." This category makes good use of legitimate certification, likely because of the importance of eco-labeling in the chemical industry.
DIY-Building/Construction Products: This category is being "greened" more quickly than the other categories of the study and has less greenwashing than the study average (6% vs. 4.4%). The Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off is very common in this category and includes single-benefit claims such as "air quality," "energy," and "recycled content." More than 30% of the products surveyed had legitimate eco-labels, including ENERGY STAR and GREENGUARD.
Consumer Electronics: This category is growing relatively slowly in the "green" sector in comparison with the study average (13% vs. 73% average). Not a single "green" electronics product was found to be sin-free. More than half of the products committed the Sin of Worshiping False Labels. Many of the products carried self-generated labels that created the appearance of 3rd-party endorsement.
This is a lot of information. What does it all mean? On a basic level, consumers should be aware that just because something has a "green" label or makes a claim to be "green" doesn't mean it's actually environmentally-friendly. There are any number of reasons why a company releases a product that isn't as green as they claim it is. Perhaps they're trying to capitalize on the green trend, or perhaps they don't have a clear concept of what green means for their company. It's impossible to know for sure.
That being said, if you want to buy "green," by no means should you be completely discouraged by this study. Greenwashing is very prevalent, but it's getting better. The proportion of sinless products is rising every year and more green products are being offered overall. Basically, it seems that the more time that passes, the more various industries will develop products that are truly environmentally-conscious. Like anything, creating "green" products comes with a learning curve. One point the study made was that the majority of products are sort of green, but not completely so. So, by investing in green consumerism, you're making a step in the right direction by purchasing something that is more environmentally-friendly than the original product and indicating to a company that you want them to continue making green products. Whether green consumerism is truly an answer to climate change is yet to be determined, but so long as it's around, it's encouraging to know that companies are making a concerted effort to offer truly environmentally-conscious products.
I'm curious to take a look at green products and try to determine for myself what sins they could be committing. For instance, apparently Robert's shower head doesn't save as much water as it claims it should...
If you'd like to look at the study summary, here's the link:
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