How to avoid Greenwash recommended by Futerra Sustainability Communications –

How to spot clever advertising campaigns and marketing messages that claim to be saving the Earth.

1. Fluffy language 
Words or terms with no clear meaning, e.g. ‘eco-friendly’

2. Green products vs. dirty companies 
Such as energy-efficient lightbulbs made in a factory that pollutes rivers

3. Suggestive pictures 
Green images that indicate a (unjustified) green impact, e.g. flowers blooming from exhaust pipes

4. Irrelevant claims 
Emphasising one tiny green attribute when everything else is un-green

5. Best in class 
Declaring you are slightly greener than the rest, even if the rest are pretty terrible

6. Just not credible 
’Eco-friendly’ cigarettes anyone? ‘Greening’ a dangerous product doesn’t make it safe

7. Gobbledygook 
Jargon or information that only a scientist could check or understand

8. Imaginary friends 
A ‘label’ that looks like third-party endorsement…except it’s made up

9. No proof 
It could be right, but where’s the evidence?

10. Outright lying 
Totally fabricated claims or data

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