how greenwashing works
also known as green sheen greenwashing is an attempt to capitalize on the growing demand for environmentally sound products whether that means they are more natural healthier free of chemicals recyclable or less wasteful of natural resources the term originated in the 1960s when the hotel industry devised one of the most blatant examples of greenwashing they placed notices in hotel rooms asking guests to reuse their towels to save the environment the hotels enjoyed the benefit of lower laundry costs more recently some of the world s biggest carbon emitters such as conventional energy companies have attempted to rebrand themselves as champions of the environment products are greenwashed through a process of renaming rebranding or repackaging them greenwashed products might convey the idea that they re more natural wholesome or free of chemicals than competing brands companies have engaged in greenwashing via press releases and commercials touting their clean energy or pollution reduction efforts in reality the company may not be making a meaningful commitment to green initiatives in short companies that make unsubstantiated claims that their products are environmentally safe or provide some green benefit are involved in greenwashing products that are actually eco friendly can benefit from green marketing which highlights the environmental benefits of the product and the company making it however if a company s green marketing activities are found to be false then the company may be accused of greenwashing and be hit with penalties bad press and reputational damage and be forced to clean up the damaged environment 