What is greenwashing?

According to "The Sins of Greenwashing" the definition of Green-wash is “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service”.   Two years ago I didn’t know what Greenwashing is.  I didn't know it involved company’s misleading consumers.    I didn't know it was problem.  I was a blind consumer who believed that if it said “Green”, then it was “Green”.   I believed that if I bought products that said “Green”, that I was helping the environment.  I believed the labels on the the products were true.   

There are 7 sins of Greenwashing according to “The Sins of Greenwashing”.

1. Sin of the hidden trade off.
2. Sin of no proof.
3. Sin of vagueness.
4. Sin of irrelevance.
5. Sin of lesser of two evils.
6. Sin of fibbing.
7. Sin of worshipping false labels.

So how can you spot these sins? Number one the company would have to be looked at as a whole. For example a company might be saying their green,  because their containers are recyclable yet the product they create could have toxic chemicals in them. 

Number two, three,  six, and seven are pretty much self explanatory.  For example, for number two if a company can’t prove that they are green then they are guilty of Greenwashing.  For number three, which is vagueness, means that a company is going to be like a politician.  Their going to walk around the question, but not answer it.    The sin of irrelevance, number four,  is when a company says something to make you feel good by making an environmental claim that is irrelevant to the company so you are more easily persuaded to purchase their product.  The sin of lesser of two evils, which is number five, is where a company makes an environmental claim that may be true, but distracts the consumer from greater environmental impacts that can be detrimental.

Number six, fibbing is lying,  plain and simple.  An example of seven could mean a company puts false labels on the product.  Also,  Companies are not required to list all the ingredients they use in non consumable products.