Greenwashing
Green washing is a way that companies market their products to consumers to make them seem more appealing. Companies entice consumers to buy their products by creating the perception that their products are environmentally friendly (Vries)
Credit: Max Pixel
Greenwashing has to do with the idea of consumption in our society. The United States, and most of the world, has been constantly feeding into the idea of consumerism and consumption. Companies market their products to encourage consumers to buy more and more, even if they do not need the products they are buying (Watson 38). This creates a constant need to keep buying and consuming. Also, there has been a bigger emphasis put on saving the environment and the issue of climate change in recent years. Because of this, consumers are attempting to make more environmentally conscious choices when picking their products. Companies have found that presenting their products as environmentally friendly is a good way to appeal to consumers (Vries). The problem with this is that it just creates more consumerism and the products being sold may not even be particularly environmentally friendly (Watson 38).
Further Readings:
Vries, Gerdien, et al. “Sustainability or Profitability? How Communicated Motives for Environmental Policy Affect Public Perceptions of Corporate Greenwashing.” Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental Management, vol. 22, no. 3, May 2015, pp. 142–154.
Watson, Bruce. “The Troubling Evolution of Corporate Greenwashing.” Chain Reaction, no. 129, Apr. 2017, pp. 38–40.
Case Studies
