Greenwash signs

Some of the "greenwash" products we found

Companies frequently charge a premium for "green" products. But it's often extremely difficult to know what you're getting for your money. For every legit claim, there's likely to be a shelf-full that are either misleading or false.

US-based TerraChoice reports green advertising in popular magazines has increased almost tenfold in the last 20 years and nearly tripled since 2006. But its 2009 survey of big-box retailers in Canada and the US found just two percent of green claims on products stacked up. It fingered household cleaners, cosmetics and kids’ products as leaders in the greenwash stakes.

Terrachoice has coined the phrase “greenwash sins” to describe the frequent transgressions companies commit when they tart up their products as eco-friendly. We had no trouble finding these “greenwash sins” in stores here.

1. Vagueness

“Environmentally friendly”, “green”, “sustainable”, “natural”, “pure” and their many aliases are prime offenders. These claims are so broad and poorly defined they're meaningless.

Take Silk Biodegradable Baby Wipes. The packaging on these wipes claims they’re “friendlier to the environment” and sports a picture of a kiwi next to a cascading waterfall. But if you're after information to explain exactly what makes these wipes “greener”, you’re out of luck.

The product’s claim to biodegradability doesn’t help. Users are told to dispose of the wipes with their household waste, which means they'll probably end up in the landfill. The wipes will eventually break down but it could take some time. No help either from the “fragrance free” claim emblazoned on the front of the packet. Despite this claim, “fragrance” appears in the ingredients list on the back.

Importer Global Products tells us the wipes are made from "vegetable fibres" and are therefore "friendlier" to the environment. That explanation's not good enough. Green claims should be based on the whole life cycle of the product, from manufacture to disposal. This claim clearly isn't.

2. No proof

Unsubstantiated claims are also high on the list of "greenwash sins”. Classic examples are products that are labelled as “organic” but have no third-party certification to back up the claim. It may be true … but where’s the evidence?

Uncertified timber and paper products claiming to be sourced from “sustainably managed forests” are other frequent offenders. We've even found a hair brush, the Via Eco Brush, which says it’s made from “sustainable wood” but there's no proof provided to substantiate the sustainability claim.

The packaging also makes the unhelpfully vague assertion that an “environmentally friendly” wood sealer was used in the brush’s manufacture.

3. Irrelevance

Then there are green claims that are true but they're also irrelevant. These claims don't provide consumers with any useful information.

Take Pledge Furniture Polish which claims it’s CFC-free. We’ve also seen the same claim in a Bond & Bond newspaper ad for a Mitsubishi freezer. CFC has been banned for some time – you wouldn’t expect to find it in these products.

Claims about the “biodegradability” of paper are also guilty of irrelevance. Almost all toilet-paper brands declare their tissues are "biodegradable". It’d be a worry if they weren’t. We're not disputing the claim – it’s just meaningless.

4. Distractions

Claims that distract consumers from the real environmental problems associated with a product's use are another vogue. A favourite of car companies has been to tout their vehicles as “green” on the basis of some slight fuel-efficiency improvement.

Several car companies have fallen foul of the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) code of practice for environmental claims. Ads promoting Holden vehicles as “environmentally friendly” and Land Rover’s Range Rovers as “Mean. But Green” have been withdrawn as a result of complaints to the ASA. But that hasn’t deterred others from making similar claims.

Ads in circulation for Suzuki's Grand Vitara, Swift and SX4 models claim the vehicles are “easy on the planet”. But driving petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles produces carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. Advances in technology mean cars manufactured today may be more fuel-efficient than older vehicles but that doesn’t make them “environmentally friendly”, “green” or “easy on the planet”.

5. Not the full picture

Other products lay claim to greenness on the basis of a narrow set of criteria. A raft of factors, which are likely to be more significant in terms of the product's environmental impact, are ignored.

Savers Facial Tissues claim they’re made in accordance with “modern environmental thinking” and declare that “wherever possible recycled paper has been used in the packaging and no chlorine was used when making the tissue”.

Setting aside the vagueness of the “recycled” claim, the packaging doesn’t tell you anything about the source of the wood fibre used to make the tissues – which is one of the key issues for consumers seeking “greener” paper options.