What is Greenwashing:
- Greenwashing (or Green sheen or Greenscamming) is a marketing practice that misleads consumers by making them believe that their products are environment-friendly when in reality they are not.
Points to speak:
- The term ‘Greenwashing’ was coined in the 1980s to describe the misleading claims by corporate companies. Many companies claim that their products are eco-friendly and they are helping the planet to mislead consumers into choosing their products. For example, in the present times, more and more personal care products such as soaps, toothpaste etc. are labelled as organic but deep research can reveal that most of them contain harsh chemicals.
- Some companies make vague statements such as biodegradable, non-toxic etc. Many biodegradable products are harming the environment by releasing powerful greenhouse gas as they break down.
- More and more companies are unnecessarily using nature images, green colours in display and video advertisements to trick consumers into believing that their products are environmentally friendly.
- Some companies provide misinformation about their company’s carbon emissions and their business practices that harm the environment. A few companies do not even list out the ingredients properly.
- In the present times, people are more aware of greenwashing marketing practices, so they are rejecting the products of such companies. But not all greenwashing strategies can be easily recognised.
- Government should take steps to punish companies that mislead consumers by greenwashing marketing practices instead of waiting till the consumers lose confidence in such companies.
Conclusion:
Greenwashing is a manipulative marketing practice, which is used to mislead consumers into believing that their products are eco-friendly even when they are not. Many companies are spending so much money on greenwashing to make more sales. When the consumers realize the truth, such companies lose consumer confidence. It is important to avoid greenwashing marketing practices to build a successful business.
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