Greenwashed

GREENWASHED THE TRUTH ABOUT 95% OF SO-CALLED GREEN PRODUCTS Greenwashing: The marketing tactic of misleading consumers about a product or service's environmental friendliness A 2010 STUDY BY 95% TERRACHOICE, AN INDEPENDENT TESTING AND CERTIFICATION OUT OF 5,296 PRODUCTS, OF "GREEN" PRODUCTS ORGANIZATION, ONLY 265 WERE REALLY AS ARE BEING GREENWASHED REVEALED: GREEN AS THEY CLAIMED SEVEN COMMON WAYS COMPANIES GREENWASH NO PROOF No 1 HIDDEN TRADE-OFF NO No third-party certification - consumers have no way of validating marketing claims. From a Sustainably Harvested Forest Environmentally These production factors may be equally or more significant: Preferable Product. ENERGY USE FRIMA SUSTAIN KUM A WATER POLLUTION SUSTAINABLY HARVESTED FOREST! POST-CONSUMER 90% RECYCLED CONTENT GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS SMOKE & MIRRORS Nº 3 VAGUENESS NO "All-natural" doesn't always mean "healthy." While a fuel-efficient SUV is "All-natural" materials better than a Hummer, it mainly shifts attention away from the environmentally unfriendly heart of the product. alarmingly include: ARSENIC URANIUM MERCURY FORMAL- DEHYDE FUEL-EFFICIENT FALSE LABELS N° 6 BOLD LIES NO °5 IRRELEVANT No Beware of "green" logos: they often don't represent legitimate organizations. This is misleading-CFCS are already banned by law. With lax government oversight, many companies slap seemingly legitimate labels on poorly tested products. LAUNDRY DETERGENT STAR CICFREE LEAFHEART COOLANTS LEAFHEART SOCIETY CFC-FREE COOLANTS ENERGY STAR APPROVED! HOW CONSUMERS CAN AVOID THESE TRAPS O SHOP AT BIG BOX RETAILERS BIG BOX STORES ARE SCRUTINIZED BY THE MEDIA. OF PRODUCTS ARE 5.6% NOT GREENWASHED BIG BOX „AND COMMAND MORE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN 50/ OF PRODUCTS ARE 0.5% NOT GREENWASHED GREEN BOUTIQUE 2 BEWARE THESE FOUR INDUSTRIES ELECTRONICS DIY CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS BEWARE: FALSE LABELS BEWARE: THE HIDDEN TRADE-OFF The most common advertised benefits: 51.8% of "green" electronics use fake or misleading labels ENERGY AIR QUALITY RECYCLED CONTENT NO GOOD NEWS: Not a single "green" electronic product in the study was greenwashing free. THE GOOD NEWS: 31.7% of DIY construction products now use legitimate eco-labels. TOYS & BABY PRODUCTS HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS BEWARE: NO PROOF Lots of products claim to be BPA-free, but they use new, little-understood plastics that may also be dangerous. BPA-free and phthalate-free mar- keting claims rose between 2009 and 2010: BEWARE: VAGUENESS ECO-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY EARTH-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT SAFE HARNESSING NATURE PHTHALATE-FREE CLAIMS: +2,550% BPA-FREE CLAIMS: +577% ECO-CHEMISTRY THE GOOD NEWS: Most greenwashing is exaggeration rather than flat-out lies. THE GOOD NEWS: 32% of cleaning products use certification by legitimate eco-labels. 3 LOOK FOR THE GOOD GUYS OVERALL GREENNESS FOOD QUALITY & STANDARDS SEAL USDA ORGANIC RTIFI FAIR TRADE Ečologo. ECO CERT CERTIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS ENERGY EFFICIENCY ASOCIATO S5OCIATIO eo RENEWA nse PHODUCTS RGANIC CERTIFIED ENERGY STAR STANDARD on UL UL Energy Verified PEFC INDOOR AIR QUALITY COMPOSTABLE SFI REENGUARD Indoar Air Quality Certified MarketingDegree.net CRI GREEN LABEL" FOR MORE INFO, CHECK OUT TERRACHOICE'S FULL REPORT AT SINSOFGREENWASHING.ORG CONFIDENCE IN TEXTILES Tested for harmful substances occording to Oeko-Tex Standard 100 THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. ALL NATURAL War ATIFIED GREENWASHED THE TRUTH ABOUT 95% OF SO-CALLED GREEN PRODUCTS Greenwashing: The marketing tactic of misleading consumers about a product or service's environmental friendliness A 2010 STUDY BY 95% TERRACHOICE, AN INDEPENDENT TESTING AND CERTIFICATION OUT OF 5,296 PRODUCTS, OF "GREEN" PRODUCTS ORGANIZATION, ONLY 265 WERE REALLY AS ARE BEING GREENWASHED REVEALED: GREEN AS THEY CLAIMED SEVEN COMMON WAYS COMPANIES GREENWASH NO PROOF No 1 HIDDEN TRADE-OFF NO No third-party certification - consumers have no way of validating marketing claims. From a Sustainably Harvested Forest Environmentally These production factors may be equally or more significant: Preferable Product. ENERGY USE FRIMA SUSTAIN KUM A WATER POLLUTION SUSTAINABLY HARVESTED FOREST! POST-CONSUMER 90% RECYCLED CONTENT GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS SMOKE & MIRRORS Nº 3 VAGUENESS NO "All-natural" doesn't always mean "healthy." While a fuel-efficient SUV is "All-natural" materials better than a Hummer, it mainly shifts attention away from the environmentally unfriendly heart of the product. alarmingly include: ARSENIC URANIUM MERCURY FORMAL- DEHYDE FUEL-EFFICIENT FALSE LABELS N° 6 BOLD LIES NO °5 IRRELEVANT No Beware of "green" logos: they often don't represent legitimate organizations. This is misleading-CFCS are already banned by law. With lax government oversight, many companies slap seemingly legitimate labels on poorly tested products. LAUNDRY DETERGENT STAR CICFREE LEAFHEART COOLANTS LEAFHEART SOCIETY CFC-FREE COOLANTS ENERGY STAR APPROVED! HOW CONSUMERS CAN AVOID THESE TRAPS O SHOP AT BIG BOX RETAILERS BIG BOX STORES ARE SCRUTINIZED BY THE MEDIA. OF PRODUCTS ARE 5.6% NOT GREENWASHED BIG BOX „AND COMMAND MORE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN 50/ OF PRODUCTS ARE 0.5% NOT GREENWASHED GREEN BOUTIQUE 2 BEWARE THESE FOUR INDUSTRIES ELECTRONICS DIY CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS BEWARE: FALSE LABELS BEWARE: THE HIDDEN TRADE-OFF The most common advertised benefits: 51.8% of "green" electronics use fake or misleading labels ENERGY AIR QUALITY RECYCLED CONTENT NO GOOD NEWS: Not a single "green" electronic product in the study was greenwashing free. THE GOOD NEWS: 31.7% of DIY construction products now use legitimate eco-labels. TOYS & BABY PRODUCTS HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS BEWARE: NO PROOF Lots of products claim to be BPA-free, but they use new, little-understood plastics that may also be dangerous. BPA-free and phthalate-free mar- keting claims rose between 2009 and 2010: BEWARE: VAGUENESS ECO-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY EARTH-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT SAFE HARNESSING NATURE PHTHALATE-FREE CLAIMS: +2,550% BPA-FREE CLAIMS: +577% ECO-CHEMISTRY THE GOOD NEWS: Most greenwashing is exaggeration rather than flat-out lies. THE GOOD NEWS: 32% of cleaning products use certification by legitimate eco-labels. 3 LOOK FOR THE GOOD GUYS OVERALL GREENNESS FOOD QUALITY & STANDARDS SEAL USDA ORGANIC RTIFI FAIR TRADE Ečologo. ECO CERT CERTIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS ENERGY EFFICIENCY ASOCIATO S5OCIATIO eo RENEWA nse PHODUCTS RGANIC CERTIFIED ENERGY STAR STANDARD on UL UL Energy Verified PEFC INDOOR AIR QUALITY COMPOSTABLE SFI REENGUARD Indoar Air Quality Certified MarketingDegree.net CRI GREEN LABEL" FOR MORE INFO, CHECK OUT TERRACHOICE'S FULL REPORT AT SINSOFGREENWASHING.ORG CONFIDENCE IN TEXTILES Tested for harmful substances occording to Oeko-Tex Standard 100 THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. ALL NATURAL War ATIFIED GREENWASHED THE TRUTH ABOUT 95% OF SO-CALLED GREEN PRODUCTS Greenwashing: The marketing tactic of misleading consumers about a product or service's environmental friendliness A 2010 STUDY BY 95% TERRACHOICE, AN INDEPENDENT TESTING AND CERTIFICATION OUT OF 5,296 PRODUCTS, OF "GREEN" PRODUCTS ORGANIZATION, ONLY 265 WERE REALLY AS ARE BEING GREENWASHED REVEALED: GREEN AS THEY CLAIMED SEVEN COMMON WAYS COMPANIES GREENWASH NO PROOF No 1 HIDDEN TRADE-OFF NO No third-party certification - consumers have no way of validating marketing claims. From a Sustainably Harvested Forest Environmentally These production factors may be equally or more significant: Preferable Product. ENERGY USE FRIMA SUSTAIN KUM A WATER POLLUTION SUSTAINABLY HARVESTED FOREST! POST-CONSUMER 90% RECYCLED CONTENT GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS SMOKE & MIRRORS Nº 3 VAGUENESS NO "All-natural" doesn't always mean "healthy." While a fuel-efficient SUV is "All-natural" materials better than a Hummer, it mainly shifts attention away from the environmentally unfriendly heart of the product. alarmingly include: ARSENIC URANIUM MERCURY FORMAL- DEHYDE FUEL-EFFICIENT FALSE LABELS N° 6 BOLD LIES NO °5 IRRELEVANT No Beware of "green" logos: they often don't represent legitimate organizations. This is misleading-CFCS are already banned by law. With lax government oversight, many companies slap seemingly legitimate labels on poorly tested products. LAUNDRY DETERGENT STAR CICFREE LEAFHEART COOLANTS LEAFHEART SOCIETY CFC-FREE COOLANTS ENERGY STAR APPROVED! HOW CONSUMERS CAN AVOID THESE TRAPS O SHOP AT BIG BOX RETAILERS BIG BOX STORES ARE SCRUTINIZED BY THE MEDIA. OF PRODUCTS ARE 5.6% NOT GREENWASHED BIG BOX „AND COMMAND MORE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN 50/ OF PRODUCTS ARE 0.5% NOT GREENWASHED GREEN BOUTIQUE 2 BEWARE THESE FOUR INDUSTRIES ELECTRONICS DIY CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS BEWARE: FALSE LABELS BEWARE: THE HIDDEN TRADE-OFF The most common advertised benefits: 51.8% of "green" electronics use fake or misleading labels ENERGY AIR QUALITY RECYCLED CONTENT NO GOOD NEWS: Not a single "green" electronic product in the study was greenwashing free. THE GOOD NEWS: 31.7% of DIY construction products now use legitimate eco-labels. TOYS & BABY PRODUCTS HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS BEWARE: NO PROOF Lots of products claim to be BPA-free, but they use new, little-understood plastics that may also be dangerous. BPA-free and phthalate-free mar- keting claims rose between 2009 and 2010: BEWARE: VAGUENESS ECO-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY EARTH-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT SAFE HARNESSING NATURE PHTHALATE-FREE CLAIMS: +2,550% BPA-FREE CLAIMS: +577% ECO-CHEMISTRY THE GOOD NEWS: Most greenwashing is exaggeration rather than flat-out lies. THE GOOD NEWS: 32% of cleaning products use certification by legitimate eco-labels. 3 LOOK FOR THE GOOD GUYS OVERALL GREENNESS FOOD QUALITY & STANDARDS SEAL USDA ORGANIC RTIFI FAIR TRADE Ečologo. ECO CERT CERTIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS ENERGY EFFICIENCY ASOCIATO S5OCIATIO eo RENEWA nse PHODUCTS RGANIC CERTIFIED ENERGY STAR STANDARD on UL UL Energy Verified PEFC INDOOR AIR QUALITY COMPOSTABLE SFI REENGUARD Indoar Air Quality Certified MarketingDegree.net CRI GREEN LABEL" FOR MORE INFO, CHECK OUT TERRACHOICE'S FULL REPORT AT SINSOFGREENWASHING.ORG CONFIDENCE IN TEXTILES Tested for harmful substances occording to Oeko-Tex Standard 100 THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. ALL NATURAL War ATIFIED GREENWASHED THE TRUTH ABOUT 95% OF SO-CALLED GREEN PRODUCTS Greenwashing: The marketing tactic of misleading consumers about a product or service's environmental friendliness A 2010 STUDY BY 95% TERRACHOICE, AN INDEPENDENT TESTING AND CERTIFICATION OUT OF 5,296 PRODUCTS, OF "GREEN" PRODUCTS ORGANIZATION, ONLY 265 WERE REALLY AS ARE BEING GREENWASHED REVEALED: GREEN AS THEY CLAIMED SEVEN COMMON WAYS COMPANIES GREENWASH NO PROOF No 1 HIDDEN TRADE-OFF NO No third-party certification - consumers have no way of validating marketing claims. From a Sustainably Harvested Forest Environmentally These production factors may be equally or more significant: Preferable Product. ENERGY USE FRIMA SUSTAIN KUM A WATER POLLUTION SUSTAINABLY HARVESTED FOREST! POST-CONSUMER 90% RECYCLED CONTENT GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS SMOKE & MIRRORS Nº 3 VAGUENESS NO "All-natural" doesn't always mean "healthy." While a fuel-efficient SUV is "All-natural" materials better than a Hummer, it mainly shifts attention away from the environmentally unfriendly heart of the product. alarmingly include: ARSENIC URANIUM MERCURY FORMAL- DEHYDE FUEL-EFFICIENT FALSE LABELS N° 6 BOLD LIES NO °5 IRRELEVANT No Beware of "green" logos: they often don't represent legitimate organizations. This is misleading-CFCS are already banned by law. With lax government oversight, many companies slap seemingly legitimate labels on poorly tested products. LAUNDRY DETERGENT STAR CICFREE LEAFHEART COOLANTS LEAFHEART SOCIETY CFC-FREE COOLANTS ENERGY STAR APPROVED! HOW CONSUMERS CAN AVOID THESE TRAPS O SHOP AT BIG BOX RETAILERS BIG BOX STORES ARE SCRUTINIZED BY THE MEDIA. OF PRODUCTS ARE 5.6% NOT GREENWASHED BIG BOX „AND COMMAND MORE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN 50/ OF PRODUCTS ARE 0.5% NOT GREENWASHED GREEN BOUTIQUE 2 BEWARE THESE FOUR INDUSTRIES ELECTRONICS DIY CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS BEWARE: FALSE LABELS BEWARE: THE HIDDEN TRADE-OFF The most common advertised benefits: 51.8% of "green" electronics use fake or misleading labels ENERGY AIR QUALITY RECYCLED CONTENT NO GOOD NEWS: Not a single "green" electronic product in the study was greenwashing free. THE GOOD NEWS: 31.7% of DIY construction products now use legitimate eco-labels. TOYS & BABY PRODUCTS HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS BEWARE: NO PROOF Lots of products claim to be BPA-free, but they use new, little-understood plastics that may also be dangerous. BPA-free and phthalate-free mar- keting claims rose between 2009 and 2010: BEWARE: VAGUENESS ECO-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY EARTH-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT SAFE HARNESSING NATURE PHTHALATE-FREE CLAIMS: +2,550% BPA-FREE CLAIMS: +577% ECO-CHEMISTRY THE GOOD NEWS: Most greenwashing is exaggeration rather than flat-out lies. THE GOOD NEWS: 32% of cleaning products use certification by legitimate eco-labels. 3 LOOK FOR THE GOOD GUYS OVERALL GREENNESS FOOD QUALITY & STANDARDS SEAL USDA ORGANIC RTIFI FAIR TRADE Ečologo. ECO CERT CERTIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS ENERGY EFFICIENCY ASOCIATO S5OCIATIO eo RENEWA nse PHODUCTS RGANIC CERTIFIED ENERGY STAR STANDARD on UL UL Energy Verified PEFC INDOOR AIR QUALITY COMPOSTABLE SFI REENGUARD Indoar Air Quality Certified MarketingDegree.net CRI GREEN LABEL" FOR MORE INFO, CHECK OUT TERRACHOICE'S FULL REPORT AT SINSOFGREENWASHING.ORG CONFIDENCE IN TEXTILES Tested for harmful substances occording to Oeko-Tex Standard 100 THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. ALL NATURAL War ATIFIED GREENWASHED THE TRUTH ABOUT 95% OF SO-CALLED GREEN PRODUCTS Greenwashing: The marketing tactic of misleading consumers about a product or service's environmental friendliness A 2010 STUDY BY 95% TERRACHOICE, AN INDEPENDENT TESTING AND CERTIFICATION OUT OF 5,296 PRODUCTS, OF "GREEN" PRODUCTS ORGANIZATION, ONLY 265 WERE REALLY AS ARE BEING GREENWASHED REVEALED: GREEN AS THEY CLAIMED SEVEN COMMON WAYS COMPANIES GREENWASH NO PROOF No 1 HIDDEN TRADE-OFF NO No third-party certification - consumers have no way of validating marketing claims. From a Sustainably Harvested Forest Environmentally These production factors may be equally or more significant: Preferable Product. ENERGY USE FRIMA SUSTAIN KUM A WATER POLLUTION SUSTAINABLY HARVESTED FOREST! POST-CONSUMER 90% RECYCLED CONTENT GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS SMOKE & MIRRORS Nº 3 VAGUENESS NO "All-natural" doesn't always mean "healthy." While a fuel-efficient SUV is "All-natural" materials better than a Hummer, it mainly shifts attention away from the environmentally unfriendly heart of the product. alarmingly include: ARSENIC URANIUM MERCURY FORMAL- DEHYDE FUEL-EFFICIENT FALSE LABELS N° 6 BOLD LIES NO °5 IRRELEVANT No Beware of "green" logos: they often don't represent legitimate organizations. This is misleading-CFCS are already banned by law. With lax government oversight, many companies slap seemingly legitimate labels on poorly tested products. LAUNDRY DETERGENT STAR CICFREE LEAFHEART COOLANTS LEAFHEART SOCIETY CFC-FREE COOLANTS ENERGY STAR APPROVED! HOW CONSUMERS CAN AVOID THESE TRAPS O SHOP AT BIG BOX RETAILERS BIG BOX STORES ARE SCRUTINIZED BY THE MEDIA. OF PRODUCTS ARE 5.6% NOT GREENWASHED BIG BOX „AND COMMAND MORE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN 50/ OF PRODUCTS ARE 0.5% NOT GREENWASHED GREEN BOUTIQUE 2 BEWARE THESE FOUR INDUSTRIES ELECTRONICS DIY CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS BEWARE: FALSE LABELS BEWARE: THE HIDDEN TRADE-OFF The most common advertised benefits: 51.8% of "green" electronics use fake or misleading labels ENERGY AIR QUALITY RECYCLED CONTENT NO GOOD NEWS: Not a single "green" electronic product in the study was greenwashing free. THE GOOD NEWS: 31.7% of DIY construction products now use legitimate eco-labels. TOYS & BABY PRODUCTS HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS BEWARE: NO PROOF Lots of products claim to be BPA-free, but they use new, little-understood plastics that may also be dangerous. BPA-free and phthalate-free mar- keting claims rose between 2009 and 2010: BEWARE: VAGUENESS ECO-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY EARTH-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT SAFE HARNESSING NATURE PHTHALATE-FREE CLAIMS: +2,550% BPA-FREE CLAIMS: +577% ECO-CHEMISTRY THE GOOD NEWS: Most greenwashing is exaggeration rather than flat-out lies. THE GOOD NEWS: 32% of cleaning products use certification by legitimate eco-labels. 3 LOOK FOR THE GOOD GUYS OVERALL GREENNESS FOOD QUALITY & STANDARDS SEAL USDA ORGANIC RTIFI FAIR TRADE Ečologo. ECO CERT CERTIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS ENERGY EFFICIENCY ASOCIATO S5OCIATIO eo RENEWA nse PHODUCTS RGANIC CERTIFIED ENERGY STAR STANDARD on UL UL Energy Verified PEFC INDOOR AIR QUALITY COMPOSTABLE SFI REENGUARD Indoar Air Quality Certified MarketingDegree.net CRI GREEN LABEL" FOR MORE INFO, CHECK OUT TERRACHOICE'S FULL REPORT AT SINSOFGREENWASHING.ORG CONFIDENCE IN TEXTILES Tested for harmful substances occording to Oeko-Tex Standard 100 THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE. ALL NATURAL War ATIFIED