What is and Isn’t Greenwashing?

Many of us are familiar with the term “green-washing”. It means that companies are making sustainable claims over their products or production processes while that does not hold true. In doing so, companies are lying to their customers in their efforts to purchasing more sustainable. This tends to be done through marketing, for example by using slogans and product lables that make consumers feel more concious about their purchasing impacts. When these claims do not hold true, consumers are lied at and that is referred to as “green-washing.”

If a shoebrand x does not resell their products, because consumers do not want them, can you call it greenwashing for recycling them into new products?

What does green-washing really mean? Can you think of something? When you google “examples for green-washing” you find products that amongst other use recycled packaging. Here the green-washing claim can be that recycled packaging has little to do with the content of lets say shampoo in a recycled plastic bottle. We don’t know how shampoo is produced, but one may end up buying that shampoo, because the packaging is produced with a lower environmetal footprint. Argumentatively, consumers can have the perception that this refers to the entire product and the shampoo brand might later be associated as a “green-washer.”

In contray to how this company can be called as “green-washer”, the company is also not because it reduces its environmental footprint by using recycled materials to create new shampoo bottles. Therefore, the company is not a green-washer, because its claims hold true. This applies to other companies too that are referred to as “green-washer”. Such an example are certain textile brands that use recycled materials made of plastic waste. While indeed, microplastics can enter the environment during wash of these textiles, these companies are not greenwashing because they utilize waste instead of new production resources for the same or similiar output.

When can it be called greenwashing? Greenwashing in the law context actively refers to companies misleading their consumers into buying something, while what they claim to be does not hold true. Legally speaking this is called fraud and may also be referred to it as such. On contray, companies putting in an effort into reducing their environmental footprint is not fraud and therefore also not green-washing. It is not fraud, because it is something that they are actively doing; even a company that uses marketing which is effective in terms of consumer keeping their products longer, without necessarily changing the product itself, likely does not qualify as green-washing. It is not, because it is real, meaning marketing is used rather directional as oppose to fictional.

Companies less likely engage into greenwashing because of pleasure, but because of fear. Understanding greenwashing, means understanding fear too.

Of course, some companies could do a bit more. Are there better ways then referring to greenwashing right away and why? Overusing the term greenwashing is less likely beneficial because it undermines the efforts companies put into better production processes. In addition to that, efforts can look different and by setting an ideal to how something should be, it becomes difficult to differentiate between efforts and their effectiveness too. Instead of using the term green-washing it could be pointed out what efforts the company is implementing and where it currently runs short on. Contrarily green-washing may be particular used for companies that comit fraud “doing nothing, claiming a lot ” .

If not as many companies actually engage in green-washing, why are so many referred to engaging in it? Often sustainable production processes are compared to extreme ideals. It means that production and consumption practices should not cause environmental and social damage. In addition, the origin of the term “sustainability” comes from forest ecology, in which natural cycles, cycle naturally and hint to why we have such high ideals. When we talk about business logics and all components that go into business practices, including those of consumers, these ideals are difficul to live up to, because business logics tend to operate on different ideals. Also, they do not tend to cylce, like we can see in forest ecology. As a result it becomes difficult for companies to change everything, meaning some companies start with small, but incremental changes, similiar to consumers. Baby steps, also for the big ones ;).

References

*I decided not to use references for this blog, but experience from my former job as research associate in sustainability business and law terminology from my studies.

Are you currently looking into making your company more sustainable and don’t know where to start? Let me know. I offer sustainability analysis and freelance writing services in the field; making sure that your ideals can be met and remain feasible to yourself and your consumers.

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Why does underrepresentation prevent success in the circular economy?

Representation means that different people, different groups, different ways of being are being represented. Representation should move away from ideals. Ideals are for instance ideals on behavior, ideals on what people may like and dislike. How people are and aren’t, should and shouldn’t be. They are dangerous because they illustrate lifestyles that do not hold true, but they are perceived as such. That’s a barrier for innovation and success in innovation for circularity.

Where can we find underrepresentation?

We can find it in movies. We can find it very well on google. If you look up a picture on “single dads” and you will found mostly happy, caucasian dads playing with their happy child. It is difficult finding a picture of a non caucasian dad, who’d sit there alone in frustration, thinking how to take care for his child, thinking how to make enough money, being sad or frustrated, but also being happy with the role as father.

Why does this matter?

The circular economy is in a way “voluntarily”. Often nobody has to engage in it, because there are also linear business models. Yet, for many application such as fashion, furnitures and other products, the active participation of people is required. Now there are many business models, but they don’t take into account diversity, a lack of ideals. They offer rental services, they offer subscription services, they offer take back services, but they may not succeed. They may not succeed because of the lack of diversity in their business model thinking. The fact that someone with a low income might rather want to buy a cheap shoe as oppose to renting one over years because its sustainable. Not because they don’t want to, but because the reality “being stressed, having a small income” maybe does not want to make them to.

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On short-commings and opportunities in the social part of sustainability in a firms’ value delivery

As many definitions seem to circle around the term sustainability, as many interpretations exist and as many misconception towards the terminology exists as well. As a consequence, most attention is paid towards the “ecological” dimension of sustainability and lesser attention is paid towards the “social” dimension of it, or it is perceivingly narrowed;

Social sustainability is about identifying and managing business impacts, both positive and negative, on people. The quality of a company’s relationships and engagement with its stakeholders is critical.” (UNGlobalcompact)

What is social sustainability not?

A business model that is based on growth, whereby consumers are unconciously influenced into thinking that they need a certain product, is not social sustainable. In fact it is the opposite, if the consumer realizes upon purchase that the product does not contribute to consumer well-being over time, but the opposite. If advertisment or the business model logic is purposely based on that, it is not sustainable.

How can the purchase of a product result in dissatisfaction?

A psychoanalyist explained me that sales work by selling an ideal. That is an ideal lifestyle, thinking one needs to have a certain good or product to match the ideal in advertisment. In reality, this can not be the case, because each person is different by biology and by nature the ideal they have for themselves. When an ideal is sold on the other hand, it distracts from the consumers ideal-self and on the other hand presents an ideal the consumer likely cannot meet.

A consequence is that after purchase the consumer likely will not be satisfied for a while, since the consumer cannot reach the ideal. As a result the level of dissatisfaction with the product rises and the level of dissatisfaction with the consumer self-rises “Not good enough for product xy”. Consequently more products are purchased to meet the ideal.

What if products were satisfying?

The higher the discrepancy between oneself with the idealized product or lifestyle, the more likely new ones will be purchased or the more likely other lifestyles might be persued that appear ideal to one-self. However, often these ideals cannot be reached and that is frustrating;

“Even if I like celebrity x, I will never be celebrity x if I buy their clothing. Even if I buy article y, I will currently not likely have the life-sytle the model(s) is marketing. Even if I buy the bra that has been modelled with larger breast size, wearing the same bra model will look much different on me. Even if I buy the phone that is used and advertized by a successfull manager, I will not need it for this purpose, because I do not manage. Even if I buy the sport article, that I do not like, because I like actaully another sport, I will not like the sport more that has been advertized so joyfull. Therefore, I wonder, what is wrong with me when I buy these articles. Ideally I should realize that nothing, because I determine what I like for myself and how products should support my individuality without marketing it.”

Can business models run without idealization and how could it look like?

Marketing often illustrates “ideal families” often a mother, a father and two children. But families these days are more, there are single mothers, single fathers, divorced families. There are people of different skin colours, different interests in different circumstances. People have different budgets, sometimes people get dirty, sometimes a life-style (within the messy, wondering, beautiful, bizarr and odd world we life in) is far more than ideal. And I think the closer advertisment can meet up to these ideals and illustrate how products, can add value to these weird and strangling lifestyles, the more satsified consumers are with these products and the ideals or life-styles most true to them.

To deliver sustainable value, businesses may think about the following;

  • How can the diversity of culture be delivered in business models?
  • How does the business model deviate from selling an identity or lifestyle but instead helps the consumer to promote their own identity or lifestyle?
  • How is satisfaction sold during and at the end of the production life?
  • How can the ecological value be combined with social value to the consumer and producers of the products?
  • How is being ensure that the products contributes to mental well-being?
  • Can you account for mental-health in ESG?

Resources

Abdallat, M. M. (2012). Actual self-image, ideal self-image and the relation between satisfaction and destination loyalty. Journal of Tourism and Hospitality1(4).

Annas, G. J. (1985). Fashion and freedom: when artificial feeding should be withdrawn. American Journal of Public Health75(6), 685-688.

Landon Jr, E. L. (1974). Self concept, ideal self concept, and consumer purchase intentions. Journal of consumer research1(2), 44-51.

Malär, L., Krohmer, H., Hoyer, W. D., & Nyffenegger, B. (2011). Emotional brand attachment and brand personality: The relative importance of the actual and the ideal self. Journal of marketing75(4), 35-52.

Morrison, A. P. (2009). On ideals and idealization. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences1159(1), 75-85.

Are ancient materials still valuable?

Last year I inherited old drinking cups that used to belong to my grandmother. Each of them had unique images engraved into them. Thus, each of these cups told a story, no other cup would. I imagined these stories to center around the 18th century, with some vivid images illustrating themes around conflict, romance and longing for freedom.

Product value is versatile

As I inhereted them, I struggled to identify the cups’ unique value to me. First of all, I felt their sentimantal value, because they used to belong to my grandmother. I felt having them in my apartment, makes her present. Then, there was the history and stories each of these cups illustrated. Somehow, having them at home, made me take part in them. Lastly, I imagined them having a high financial value.

Perceived product value can change

After a few weeks , I noticed how I began hiding most of them in my closet. I felt bad, but they did not make me happy. The material began feeling cold to me and also did I not feel connected to the their stories. Most of all, I did not create any story with them myself and some images made me feel uncomfortalbe as well. I still felt, I needed to keep them, because of the many values I had defined, when I received them.

Sentimental values can change and so came the day, in which I had to be honest to myself and decided to sell them. Neither did I know what material they were made of, nor what the price would be. But I imagined at least 200 Euros, as the material was pure and the entire cups were made only of one. They were for sure produced to last a life-time if not, many life-times.

Metals are great for product longevity, unfortunately their financial value varies and so their ability to be re-sold.

Where there is no demand, there is little financial value left

When I arrived at a buy and sell-shop specializing in antiques, the buyers’ eyes lit up. He said ” Yes, show me your inherited treasures.” I gave him the full bag, still confused, yet excited to learn about their real value. As quick as his face lit up, as quickly did his face lit up with disappointment. ” Well, you can take them back home. Their value is nothing. Its zink. That sells, if melted on the current market for 6 Euros a kg.” ” Only? What about them being very old? ” ” Yes, they are. Now, why did you bring them here? ” ” I have no use for them and their style does not fit much into my apartment.” “Yes, exactly. There is no market for them. People don’t want it. If the demand is low, it doesn’t sell. Then only the price for the raw material is left and it just isn’t worth it for zink. Sorry.”

And so I left, confused that apparently nowadays trend and therefore product demand plays such a huge role for how long a material stays in the system, and how long it doesn’t. Although, these cups could last a life-time, their value appeared to be nearly nothing, as consumers – including me – want products and materials to match, identify with.

Can sustainable design change the future?

Sustainable design, among others, implies to use materials to last, materials and products that don’t break down quickly, just like these cups. But if fashion and trend changes happen too quickly, materials can be designed to last centuries, and yet they will be discarded far earlier. To change that, so I believe, we need to create materials and products, that will still be in fashion in the many more years to come, only then sustainable design can change the future. Yet that seems difficult if external influences such as marketing etc. makes consumers want to buy something new every once in a while, or if old products just don’t fit into current styles.

What does it mean for a circular business case?

From a consumer perspective, products will more likely circle if demand is consistent over multiple years (of course ideally centuries). From a resource perspective, if the value for raw materials remains high in the re-sale market or that quantity returned of raw materials remains high for lower value resources i.e. metals

Playing on circular music

Did you know that music can have a beneficial effect on brain chemicals such as dopamine, which is linked to feelings of pleasure, and oxytocin, the so-called “love hormone.” And there is moderate evidence that music can help lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Besides these there are also other benefits like improved mental performance, coordination, reading and listening skills. And honestly, doesn’t it feel great to create music all by yourself – a way of expressing yourself and feeling it?

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Unfortunately, the ability to create music – the specific type of music- we dream of can be exclusive. And that is such a shame, because music frees, music connects and music makes us feel alive. It makes us dance, it makes us cry, it makes us smile, it makes us fall in and out of love, it makes us excited, it creates a unique atmosphere, a rythm, a bond.

Why is it exclusive? There is a great variety of music instruments and each of them is made of different materials , with a different level of difficulty and different costs to create a unique sound. Of course, it is possible to use vegetables or simple sticks to create sounds, but these might never create the sound of a violine. A well produced violine may cost at least 1000 Euros up to hundred of thousands of Euros, depending on the materials used. And this keeps the dream, your dream, a girls and boys dream, an adults dream or the dream of anyone with a low budget always a dream. In reality, this dream should be lived.

Could renting change that? Yes! With 30 years, I decided to rekindle with my childhood dream and signed up for a trial violine class. Unfortauntely, I did not feel inclined to continue the dream, because the price of a violine appeared quite shocking to me. It was then my teacher who recommended me to rent a violine from a nearby store, that offers also repair and maintenance service throughout the use time.

What’s their business model like? Depending on the quality of the violine, I pay between 15 and 19 Euros a month rent. This price also includes a small insurance fee (2 Euros) for any type of damage that could happen. I need to rent it for at least 3 months and then cancel it in advance. If I decide to keep it, the price of one year rent (around 160 Euros per year) can be deducted from the total purchasing price.

Because I rent it, it is expected that I care for the product. While I have no understanding of violines yet other than , good once are made of wood and the bow of horse hair, maintenance guidelines help me care for it and of course my teacher too (I hope : ) ). If I have any problems, I can also always contact the store for help.

What does this mean to me? Really the world, because I had always been fascinated by the sound of violines, and always viewed money as a huge obstacle. Likewise I was so pleased to learn about the environmental benefits of my local produced product and why quality matters so much. Circularity therefore does not appeal to plastic and fashion only, but also to many other sectors that make life livable and yet so joyful. I want more of it : )