Are you a victim of “greenwashing”?

I'm sure you feel really good about yourself when you want to try a new product thinking, “Hey, maybe I can choose something different this time, something environmentally friendly, something fresh and new.”

This happened to me with the shampoo. It's something that most people use on a daily basis, so you can't go wrong. I went to the supermarket, took a deep breath and looked at all the hair product options in front of me, and admired everything: all the shades, shapes and colors.

It was a disaster! A bombardment of options, prices, labels and brands. If it's too high or too low, you won't even bother, but if it's right in front of you and no one is looking at you, you might as well take a look, open the bottles and choose the one that smells amazing to you. End of story.

But no, not this time. This time I want to be kind to the planet, I think about all the plastic in the oceans and I want to fight for a more sustainable future.

So I came across this nice little shampoo called “Love Beauty and the Planet”: Clean Oceans Edition. Oh God, this is exactly what I was looking for! I keep reading and the label says: “Bottle made of 100% marine plastic”. Unbelievable. I keep reading and it says, “We're donating $250,000 to protect our oceans.” And the advantage is that it's also healthy for your hair: it doesn't contain sulfates.

This was the moment when I heard George Clooney's voice: “What else?” So I bought it. No questions asked.

Now let's move on to the shower. I was washing my hair, enjoying the smell of sea salt and bergamot, when a question popped into my head: “Who really made this shampoo?” I liked the marketing so much that I forgot to wonder where this came from.

With the shampoo in my hands I picked up the bottle and there it was: Unilever.

The shower was over. The time had come to repent: while the shampoo on my head was being swept away in the water, I began to drown in questions. Is Unilever a sustainable company? What is your plastic recycling policy? Are they doing enough? Are they measuring up? Have I just been misled by your green marketing techniques?

I had the feeling that I had been a victim of Greenwashing, brainwashing and shampooing, as always.

Greenwashing was introduced in 1986 by Jay Westerveld, an environmentalist who realized that hotels embarrassed guests by saying they should reuse towels to save water and “save the planet” when in fact, it was a marketing technique used to reduce costs.

When I was Googling the shampoo brand I was using next to Greenwashing, I came across a specific criticism:

“The Love Beauty and Planet brand is marketed as vegan; however, the brand is actually owned by the animal testing company Unilever and is one of the biggest contributors of plastic waste.”

“Unilever is a British-Dutch transnational consumer goods company that owns other major brands such as Dove, Lipton and Breyers. Despite their attempts to promote gender equality and save the environment through their advertisements, it's all about marketing.”

We're not here to destroy anyone. We're here to think and ask questions. Are companies really doing their part or are they making consumers believe that they care a little about the planet and are still making money while deceiving us?

All I'm saying is that it's great to think that we're recycling plastic waste that goes to the oceans, “plastic destined for the ocean” and reusing it for new products. There is even a company called Social Plastic that created incentives for the collection of plastics from the ocean by local coastal communities making an environmental and social impact. Many others are doing the same.

But is that enough?

A recent study by The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ says that plastic waste in the oceans will triple by 2040. So no, I don't think we're doing enough.

So how do we fight against Greenwashing? How do we authenticate honest brands?

Seeking information transparency, seeking certifications. Check the facts. From different sources. Take the time to read the labels and keep asking questions. Talk to people too. And then make your own choices, based on what you value.

Being a responsible consumer is not being green. Assume that you have been deceived until proven otherwise.

Sources:

Libby McCarthy. “Unilever Brings Sustainable Beauty to the Masses with Love Beauty and Planet Line”. Sustainable Brands. 2018. https://sustainablebrands.com/read/product-service-design-innovation/unilever-brings-sustainable-beauty-to-the-masses-with-love-beauty-and-planet-line

Love Beauty and Planet. Unilever. 2020 https://www.lovebeautyandplanet.com/us/en/the-love-beauty-planet-movement/world-oceans-day.html

Chris Ciaccha, “New study says plastic waste in oceans will triple by 2040". Fox News, July 28, 2020. https://nypost.com/2020/07/28/new-study-says-plastic-waste-in-oceans-will-triple-by-2040/

Social Plastic. 2020 Plastic Bank. https://get.plastic-bank.com/plasticbank-what-is-social-plastic-1a/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5Nbxuvf36wIVUvDACh2hkQVhEAAYASAAEgKnbfD_BwE

Envision Plastics. Oceanbound plastics. 2019. https://envisionplastics.com/oceanbound-plastic/

“Greenwashing 101: How to Never Buy Unsustainably Again”. Climate Conscious. July 21, 2020. https://medium.com/climate-conscious/greenwashing-101-how-to-never-buy-unsustainably-again-6dbfc5bfd88f

Stephanie Osmanski. “What Is Greenwashing? Greenwashing for Beginners”. Green Matters. May 2020. https://www.greenmatters.com/p/what-is-greenwashing

Hannah Nguyen. “Greenwashing: When being 'eco-friendly' isn't enough”. The Knight Crier. April 18, 2020. https://www.knightcrier.org/top-stories/2020/04/18/greenwashing-when-being-eco-friendly-isnt-enough/