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HOW TO SPOT A SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT
Fighting Greenwashing practices

What are brands doing to face environmental issues?

It is undeniable that environmental and social sustainability values are becoming mainstream. However, truly sustainable business practices go well beyond the consolidated activities of large corporates - such as Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability reporting.

But what makes a brand sustainable? Following the definition of sustainable development, it’s about having People, Planet and Profit perfectly aligned and equally balanced in the business strategy. As it often happens though, if there’s an opportunity to win new markets there is a company ready to take an unfair advantage. In fact, some companies, leveraging on aspects such as consumers naivety and lack of supply chain transparency, are misusing these values to attract consumers. In this article, we’ll look at some of the most used, and unfair, marketing strategies to  help recognise a transparent communication and the real commitment of brands.


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Conscious Consumers: is awareness pushing the shift in brand values?

Millennials Generation only in the US reaches $2.45 trillion in spending power, representing today the world most important consumer segment.

Roughly 70% of millennial consumers spend more on brands that support a cause they care about. These consumers today want more. They want to be actively involved in the global transition towards a better planet. They want their actions to have positive consequences; and support companies – big, small, and in between – that demonstrate a strong ethical commitment to take care of the planet and its people.

With a global increasing awareness on Environmental Issues, Millennials and Gen Z ask for more transparency and are eager to support brands that share a real environmental commitment. This growing green demand has inevitably started a race between corporates, small businesses and startups to make the most appealing products for this new conscious market segment. That’s where marketing comes into play: the business card for any brand and the instrument to sell more than other competitors.


In 1920 Edward Bernays, Sigmund Freud’s nephew and inventor of the public relations, said: “We are governed, our minds are moulded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of“.

Nowadays, consumers - especially native digital generations - are overwhelmed by marketing promotions. All brands are fighting in the same competitive arena, trying to constantly evolve their marketing strategies to maintain long-lasting and ever-present relationships with their audience.

With sustainability becoming a trend, marketing strategists have been on fire providing consumers with the Greenest brands possible, forging what is now known as green marketing.

“Green marketing is the practice of giving a product or service a sustainable dress; making it more appealing to conscious consumer by promoting the sustainability efforts that the company claim to put in place.”


On the other side, when these claims aren’t backed with a real commitment and effort in making a product sustainable, companies fall into the unethical practice of Greenwashing. Since Greenwashing is not regulated by the law and the concept of sustainability is subject to interpretation, a growing number of companies (not always voluntarily we must say) slip into it. Here we report some of the most common examples of marketing campaigns that may hide some fresh greenwashing:

  • A “part” for all. For multi-material products, companies often leverage on the sustainability of one element to claim the whole product sustainability. For example in the fashion industry, there are many products made with sustainable fabrics; but other components such as buttons, labels etc. make the product harder to recycle and thus not as sustainable as it could be;
  • Sign of vagueness. Claims referring to poorly or broadly defined sustainable features are likely to be misunderstood by the consumer. An example could be a company claiming to have green, eco-friendly products without providing any further details.
  • Transfer of responsibility.One of the worst forms of greenwashing as it leverages on the most distinctive trait of the linear economy, The transfer of responsibility. This happens when you find the claims “Compostable” or “Recyclable”. The product may be truly recyclable or compostable but that doesn’t mean the company takes responsibility for that. There is a high chance that society will bear the cost of collecting it, and eventually composting and recycling it;

Greenwashing then, is basically lying to people. An alarming issue and a failing strategy recognizable with the right tools: appropriate knowledge.

How to avoid Greenwashing: a double strategy to defeat it

1. Develop your own sustainable glossary

In order to help you being more aware of what you’re buying, we listed some keywords that may be useful when you come across them in your search:

  • biodegradable: refers to the ability of Organic Matters to get disintegrated (decomposed) by microorganisms - such as bacteria or fungi - while getting assimilated into the natural environment. Be aware: that doesn’t mean that there is no effect on the environment (plastic takes centuries to biodegrade);
  • bio-based: a bio-based product is derived from the processing of biological materials (crops or food waste or other organic waste). Be aware: bio-based is not always biodegradable and can require chemical processing;
  • byproduct: is when a waste material of a process becomes a source for a new process;
  • carbon footprint: the amount of carbon dioxide produced by a specific product. It’s measured in tons of CO2 equivalent and accounts for different types of greenhouse gases;
  • carbon offsets: monetary transaction that allows companies to balance the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere by investing in carbon capturing projects (read more in our blog post);
  • carbon-neutral: perfectly balancing the carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere through direct or indirect carbon removal projects;
  • carbon negative: exceeding achieving carbon neutrality by removing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere; also referred to as carbon negative;
  • circular product: a product designed to eliminate waste by being reused, shared, repaired, and recycled. A true circular product is associated with the concept of extended producer responsibility;
  • compostable: decomposition of organic material in a controlled environment (can be done with or without the presence of oxygen). N.B. it doesn’t happen naturally in the environment;
  • cruelty-free: no harm done on animals;
  • eco-friendly: often used to sponsor products but it doesn’t have a specific meaning (similar to Green or Sustainable product);
  • ecological footprint: a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand for natural capital;
  • energy efficient: uses the smallest amount of energy possible to provide power;
  • environmental impact: the effect something has on the environment;
  • extended product responsibility: the full responsibility that producers take on for the lifecycle of its products. Also during and after consumer consumption;
  • fair trade: principles of fair treatment, wages, and safe working conditions for workers;
  • freecycle: exchanging goods to extend their lifecycle and keep reusable items out of landfills;
  • natural resources: raw materials supplied by nature;
  • organic: natural grown resources without the use of chemicals or other non-harmful products;
  • recycle: to reprocess reusable goods;
  • reduce: to cut back on harmful habits that produce waste;
  • reforestation: planting of forests on lands that were depleted;
  • renewable energy: electricity from replenishable sources such as geothermal, hydropower, solar, and wind;
  • single-use: items used one time and then discarded;
  • vegan: a product that does not use animal or derivatives;
  • wish-cycling: an aspirational approach to recycling items without knowing if they’re recyclable but expecting them to be properly dealt with;
  • zero-waste: avoiding products that create waste to avoid contributing to landfills, incinerators, and waste discarded in nature. As it’s impossible to create zero waste, minimal waste is a more realistic term;
  • 2. Look for transparency

    Becoming truly sustainable can be a quest for many companies and each milestone achieved along this journey is something to be proud of. That means that you will be likely to find thoroughly-described information about R&D’s commitments or the roadmap towards sustainable goals on the companies’ website and not just a nice claim on their sustainability page. Investigating through the company website looking for details can always help you get a better understanding of their true level of commitment.

    An environmental claim, not backed by easily accessible information or by a reliable third-party certification, is a potential greenwashing attempt.

    Take for examples facial tissues or toilet tissue labels that claim various percentages of post-consumer recycled content without providing evidence.


    3. Look for a story

    Behind a sustainable product, there is a person, or a team with a great story made of passion, commitment and heritage.

    Take your time to get some information about the brand’s commitment to promoting sustainability. Most of the time, entrepreneurs envision a big picture and invest their life into a project. By learning a bit more about the stories that moved ‘the passion behind the product’, you can understand more about the company mission, their ultimate vision and the inner motivation that brought the brand to develop a sustainable products.


    Launching and running social-environmental businesses is a vocation: it means thinking about the planet first, and profits then. Being a sustainable brand means to have sustainability at the core of the company DNA and marketing claims are just not enough to back up such a responsibility.


    It often starts with great stories of passion-driven people recounting their personal experience. Stories who can’t be replaced by fancy and standards environmental-friendly claims. When it’s only marketing, you’ll easily understand it.

    Do you want to spot with us the real sustainability commitment of brands you are interested in?

    Get in touch, we’ll be happy to help!

    LET'S DEFEAT GREENWASHING!
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