Greenwashing - what is it and how to consciously choose eco products?

Nowadays, more and more companies are paying attention to ecology by introducing organic and environmentally friendly products. Articles labelled 'bio', 'natural' or 'eco' are appearing on shop shelves. Unfortunately, not every product with such a label is organic. Many companies are engaging in so-called greenwashing, or greenwashing and trying to mislead consumers.

How can you tell the difference between a genuine organic product and those that only pretend to be eco? There are several ways to help you make informed choices when shopping.

What is greenwashing?

Greenwashing is a marketing strategy that seeks to convince consumers that a company is doing something for the environment, even though this is not true. This phenomenon is increasingly common as 'being eco' has become fashionable and consumers are more willing to choose eco-friendly products. Greenwashing is an easy way to gain the trust of people who want to care for the planet.

Examples of greenwashing:

• The clothing company advertises its collection of clothes as 'environmentally friendly' and 'eco-friendly' because it has used organic cotton. Unfortunately, it failed to mention that the production of this cotton uses huge amounts of water and that the clothes are sewn in countries where workers are poorly paid and subject to exploitation.
• The cosmetics manufacturer emphasises that its cosmetics are made of 'natural ingredients'. He fails to mention that, apart from trace amounts of these substances, the cosmetics consist mainly of synthetic additives.
• Mineral water sold in a bottle labelled 'eco' only because the label is created from recycled paper - and the rest of the bottle is still plastic.

How do companies pull the wool over our eyes?

Greenwashing, is a phenomenon that is increasingly prevalent in industries ranging from clothing to food to the financial sector. There are many examples, but among the most common is the placing of false or meaningless labels and certificates on products. Such labels are meant to suggest that a product is organic, even though in reality it does not meet the relevant requirements.

Companies often manipulate consumers by highlighting one eco-friendly element of a product, such as recycled packaging or the use of some natural ingredient. At the same time, they are silent about the harmful aspects of production, such as high water consumption or carbon emissions.

This is why it is so important to pay attention to more than marketing slogans. It is important that the company provides concrete data, sources and reports. Words such as "natural", "organic" or "environmentally friendly" without any concrete information - are just nice-sounding advertising slogans.

How to avoid greenwashing?

There are certifications that prove the real environmental commitment of companies:

• EU Ecolabel - covers cosmetics, textiles, furniture, electronic equipment, among others. It is awarded to manufacturers meeting a range of composition and packaging requirements.
• COSMOS - only applies to cosmetics. It controls not only the composition, but also the production process, storage and cleaning of the production lines.
• GOTS - is the international environmental standard for textiles.
• Eu Organic (Eurolist) - a certificate awarded to food products that meet growing, breeding and processing standards.
• Fairtrade - a certification that promotes fair trade and fair working conditions.

These are just some of the many reliable certifications. It is worth verifying that a product has such a label before you buy. These are usually found on tags (paper or sewn into the garment), packaging, labels or on the website if you are shopping online.

It is also worth reading labels and ingredients - it is from these that we will find out whether what the product contains is in line with the company's claims. Reliable manufacturers provide detailed data - for example, what percentage of a material is recycled or what their supply chain looks like. You can also check whether the company publishes ESG reports - these show the company's real impact on the environment.

If a company avoids specific information and does not want to share any data, it is worth considering whether it is greenwashing.

The European Union and greenwashing

The European Union is aware of the scale of greenwashing and is starting to combat it with two proposals. The first is an amendment to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive to define precisely which marketing activities mislead consumers and are to be banned.

The second project is the Green Claims Directive, which will force companies to prove that their products are green.