In 2022, everyone loves a good conversation about the environment, especially social media. During these conversations, the term ‘greenwashing’ is likely to come out, and while it sounds clean, it’s a dirty business. Here is everything you need to know about greenwashing and how you can stop your business from doing it!
What is ‘greenwashing’?
The term greenwashing can be applied to any company that spends more time marketing themselves as environmentally friendly than they do minimising their own impact on the environment. An example of this could be a company that claims their products are made from recycled materials. While this claim could be true, a company that is greenwashing generally exaggerates their claim or the benefits of their products in an attempt to mislead customers.
How can my business avoid it?
The answer to avoiding greenwashing is quite simple, don’t market your product as being environmentally friendly if it isn’t! On top of this, there are quite a few tips and tricks you can use to avoid your marketing looking like it’s been given the green sheen.
Be considerate with your language and images
When writing about your product, you need to walk the line between using terms that have no true environmental meaning like eco-friendly, while not using so much technical jargon your customer needs a translator to understand. Use simple, easy to understand language. If the product you are offering is “eco funding solutions”, simply use that terminology and simple terms to explain exactly what you are offering.
Don’t claim that your product is better than the rest, even if your competitors’ products aren’t very good. You should also avoid making grand claims about the viability of your product, especially when your entire product isn’t green.
When it comes to imagery, be sure to use pictures that are relevant to the product. An image of flowers coming from an exhaust, while it implies the product is green, it does not actually give any credibility to the product and how green it actually is.
Prove your claims
If you are making a claim about your product, make sure you have the statistics and the evidence to back yourself up. Do not try to make your product sound more appealing by completely fabricating claims or data. This makes you guilty of giving the product a green sheen.
Make sure your labels are clear
One of the most subtle methods of greenwashing is adding a label to the packaging that says it is recyclable. In this instance, it is not clear whether or not the packaging or the product inside is recyclable. Consumers are left wondering just how viable your claims of being an environmentally conscious business are!
Hopefully this blog has given you a better understanding of what is meant by the term “greenwashing” and how you can avoid it. When done right, your marketing of your green products won’t come close to being confused with greenwashing or being given the green sheen. Keep everything simple and honest and you can’t go wrong!
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