Greenwashing: The easy way out to stand out

Nandini, a 28-year-old IT Professional, is combing the bathroom essentials aisle to replenish her toiletries. Instead of taking the soap that she usually does, this time Nandini chooses a different option- one that promises to ‘cleanse’ her skin pores through ‘natural’ ingredients. “I have had a lot of pimples on my skin,” “I don’t mind paying a little more to prevent it from happening again,” she adds.

Millions of consumers like Nandini are increasingly opting to pay more for a product that offers the same solution but at a far higher price. They do it with the hope of getting a premium quality product that not just offers a solution for them, but also helps in reducing waste or preventing harm to themselves or to the environment.

But is it always so?

Not always. For manufacturers, aligning the brand’s personality to a eco-friendly narrative remains the most convenient way to stand out, especially with intensifying competition.

Tim Briggs, an ex-corporate executive and renowned marketing personality, explains: “Every company under the sun has now realized they have nothing to lose by saying that their products are the cleanest, most environmentally friendly, and most socially responsible. If you’re looking to buy a product because you actually care about those things, it can make it hard to figure out what your options actually are. Or even, what’s true and what is not,”

The practice has become so pervasive that many companies are now figuring out how to create an eco-friendly narrative for their product that people will relate to- a practice that is widely referred to as ‘greenwashing’.

Brands have been using deceptive language, design and narratives to highlight the product’s ‘eco-friendliness’ for decades now, and the rise of advertising, marketing and social media have helped amplify their messages. Many times, greenwashing techniques are quite subtle, while other times, many leading MNCs have been accused of making misleading claims to align their brand’s personality to represent a genuine concern for the environment.

Common greenwashing techniques

Deceptive language- Many brands use terms like ‘natural’ or ‘carbon neutral’ to indicate eco-friendliness, where ‘natural’ implies the use of environmentally friendly alternatives to commonly used chemicals, especially for cosmetics. ‘Carbon neutral’ has been another term that has been widely misused to give an impression by a variety of brands to give the false impression and promise of reducing emissions through their CSR activities or fairly impossible targets to reduce pollution.

False claims- Many brands use the term ‘all-natural product’ as an umbrella term to denote the lack of harmful chemicals. Others give vague assurances of approval from professionals, especially doctors, of its efficacy. A uniquely Indian trend is the weaponsization of the terms ‘Ayurvedic’ and ‘Herbal’, where brands claim to use Ayurveda-recommended herbs in their products. This ‘Ayur-washing’ phenomenon has been widely used, and misused by leading FMCG and consumer brands, especially Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved, which has been accused of using inferior ingredients in many products, including cow ghee and amla juice.

Misleading packaging/Green Imagery- Companies purposefully use natural packaging, sometimes with fake organisation logos to give the first impression of eco-friendliness. Many a times, the companies use colors, textures and package designs that highlight nature, in a desperate attempt to showcase the brand’s eco-friendliness. Examples include plastic tubes printed with a brown paper texture to give a ‘recycled’ imagery look to the product.

Why are companies still doing it?

Because it is the easiest way to stand out. New brands that have to negotiate established players will try to attract attention with impossible claims, hoping to meet the revenue targets they’ve set for themselves. Intense competition, especially in a highly crowded market, also forces many companies to make unsubstantiated claims, as they can be highly effective at getting prospects to meet with them.

This problem has grown beyond the realm of FMCG and automotives. In India, coaching centres, electronics firms, SaaS firms, and even real estate firms are now using greenwashing as a convenient way to attract attention, with the problem growing.

How is the government addressing this?

Greenwashing has been a challenge that the government has had to address with laws. In 2024, the ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India), a self-regulating advertising agency, released a set of guidelines that companies are expected to follow to uphold their ethical standards. At the same time, the CCPA (Central Consumer Protection Authority), under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, also has its own set of guidelines that every marketing campaign must adhere to.

These guidelines by the ASCI/CCPA have been quite strict, preventing companies from making vague claims and promises, while any claims have to be proven through relevant examples and proof that are not overly promotional.

Though these guidelines are a step in the right direction, the proliferation of social media and personalised messages has made regulating advertising quite difficult. With branded influencer content flooding social media feeds, vetting these campaigns has proven to be quite challenging, given the opaque, and cross-border nature of these transactions.

<p>The post Greenwashing: The easy way out to stand out first appeared on Hello Entrepreneurs.</p>