Oops – here we go again.
And no, not all my articles will relate to greenwashing but considering the impact it can have there should be more written on it. I am currently researching my dissertation and one of the marketers I was talking to mentioned a term I hadn’t come across before - The Green Hush.
The green hush occurs when companies shy away from marketing their sustainability initiatives to prevent potential backlash according to Delta Global. The result - companies implementing sustainable processes and products may avoid advertising these changes for fear of greenwashing claims. Has cancel culture crept into sustainability?
The concept of the green hush aside, the reasoning behind it is concerning. On the one hand, you have companies saying that they don’t want to end up on the wrong end of public opinion by having gone too far on their sustainability claims. But is that simply an excuse to avoid doing the right thing? On the other hand, if companies are actively pursuing sustainable practices and products and saying nothing, what then motivates others to invest in sustainable practices?
I can certainly agree that companies that are intentionally greenwashing their products and should be held accountable but in a world of evolving legislation around sustainability there also must be balance. Not to excuse purposeful greenwashing but to understand that not all companies are comparable to the Coca-Cola’s of the world, who claim 100% recycled plastic water bottles, with multiple checks and balances that would help prevent unintentional greenwashing. Smaller companies often have less marketing resources and even with other departments involved, they don’t generally have sustainability officers who would be able to thoroughly review the claims. Fear cannot be allowed to prevent us as a society from establishing sustainable products and practices. Real-life marketing is not reflective of ‘Emily in Paris’ where a team comes up with highly successful marketing campaigns on the fly.
Responsible marketing is everyone’s responsibility - on companies to ensure that their campaigns accurately represent their level of sustainability and on the consumers to hold companies accountable when they mislead their audience, albeit with a level of grace to take criticism of potential greenwashing and ensure changes to reflect the true nature of their product. If the lies continue – it should not be a green hush, but a green bang. Clear actual consequences to misleading green claims need to become a priority for governments to deter companies from choosing to consider greenwashing as a marketing tactic.
If you like it – comment. Hate it, comment. Have a suggestion as to a topic you think I should know about – let me know and maybe it’ll end up here!
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