Greenwashing & Packaging
Greenwashing permeates every industry, every type of business, of every size. From manufacturing, to household items, to retail consumer goods, to energy producers, to packaging, and even bottled water.
What Is Greenwashing
Not to be confused with green marketing, greenwashing is the process of conveying a false impression or providing misleading information about how a company’s products are more environmentally sound.
How Greenwashing Works
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.
Why Companies Greenwash
Companies apply greenwashing techniques to the promotion of their products in order to appeal to the environmentally–conscious consumer. Society is shifting towards being more environmentally conscious. With this shift in consumer preferences, firms that do not incorporate environmentally friendly practices in their business model are losing customers and revenue.
Packaging Materials Pros & Cons
While many companies spend lots of money creating and greenwashing an “eco–friendly” product, the packaging is usually overlooked. Single–use plastic packaging accounts for nearly half of global plastic pollution. As a result, it finds its way into marine environments, clogs drains and fosters the spreading of disease—just to name a few things. The reliance on traditional materials such as aluminum, cardboard and glass will increase as more and more countries banning single–use plastics and implement taxes. This also means that the packaging industry is ready for innovation—and susceptible to greenwashing. However, there are some “greenwashed” materials that you should try to avoid.
| Material | Pros & Cons |
|---|---|
| Vegan Glues | By default, the glue used in corrugated boxes is vegan as it uses adhesive polymers (bioplastics) derived from rubber trees. Collagen is the main ingredient in many types of glue. Collagen can be derived from plants, but it’s mostly derived from animal byproducts, usually leather and bone marrow. Animal–based glue is commonly used in tapes, adhesives and other sticky parts of the shipping industry. Animal glue, however, is not used in the construction of corrugated cardboard. This is because it lacks the structural integrity to bind to pulp fibers that are being pulled in multiple directions. Vegan cosmetic brands are quick to mention that their packaging is also “vegan.” In actual fact, “eco–friendly” cosmetics packaging is more about using fewer materials, just as much as it’s about using the right materials. |
| Recycled Plastic | There’s no arguing that Americans consume way too much petroleum–based plastic, and way too much of it ends up in landfills. Recycling plastic presents a tremendous challenge. As it’s heated up to be remolded, it releases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, powerful greenhouse gases (GHGs), into the atmosphere. Not all plastics can be mixed, and when melted down, plastic loses its structural integrity, limiting what it can then be turned into. Many materials that are made out of recycled plastic have come under scrutiny by conservationists. Roads made of recycled plastic for example. As they start to wear down, microscopic pieces of petroleum–based plastics (microplastics and nanoplastics) are dispersed. These particles rise into the atmosphere for us to breathe or fall onto the ground surrounding the road to be washed into waterways with the next rainfall. While this isn’t directly relevant to recycled plastic packaging, the fact remains—recycled petroleum–based plastic is still petroleum–based plastic. |
| Bamboo | Bamboo is being hailed as a sustainable replacement for plastic. It’s fast–growing, renewable, easy to grow, and needs no pesticides. While there’s no doubt that bamboo can step in and replace plastic in many applications, it does pose a few problems. Bamboo, as an agricultural product, grows best in tropical climates around the equator, so shipping it to manufacturing areas requires energy consumption and creates carbon emissions. Many products claiming the use of this material in their packaging have as little as 15% bamboo powder, the rest being a petrochemical resin. |
| Bioplastics | Bioplastics are materials made out of “natural” substances, rather than petroleum–based chemicals. More often than not, this natural substance is a plant–based material (corn, palm leaves, etc.) or biomass from composting facilities. While it’s great that these materials are made from other discarded products, bioplastics also have inherent problems. An article published May 2018 on The Quint researched this subject and found that plastic bags made from bioplastics still place the same threat to marine ecosystems, as they only biodegrade in industrial facilities. Bioplastics certified for both home and industrial compost will still not break down in water, where it poses the biggest threat to wildlife. What’s more, plant–based bioplastics are usually made from corn or coconut fiber. Corn and coconut plantations, along with palm oil, are responsible for deforestation of rainforests all over the world, but especially the Amazon. It’s near impossible to establish whether or not the “plant–based” part of bioplastics comes from a cleared rainforest. The most “eco–friendly” packaging is zero packaging. If there’s zero packaging used, then there’s zero packaging to dispose of. Fungus and hemp–based materials, along with other cultivated materials look set to grow in popularity. The fact remains that materials from an agricultural background are significantly better for the environment than petroleum–based materials. |
| Cardboard Box | For many ecommerce brands, the most carbon–neutral packaging option is the traditional cardboard mailer box. Most cardboard is made from recycled paper products, and thanks to the economics of scale, is done so in a rather energy–efficient way. If a cardboard box is plastic–free, has no packing slips, is printed with water–based ink and has no tape residue, it can be thrown in home compost where it will break down naturally and do no harm. The simple cardboard box is plastic–free packaging that’s all too often forgotten about. |
Eco Properties
No more confusing words or eco buzzwords. Look for eco properties—a collection of characteristics of sustainable packaging:
| Materials | |
| Biodegradable Material | When exposed to light, air, moisture and microbes, this product breaks down to natural elements found in nature. |
| FSC® Certified Material | Made from paper pulp that’s sourced from responsibly managed forests and mills. |
| Natural Glue | Adhesives made from materials that occur naturally in the environment. |
| Vegan | No animal–derived components were used to make the product. |
| Alternative Ink | Uses inks that use a base made of soy or vegetable oil, rather than petroleum. |
| Industrially Compostable | Products with this label will break down into compost in industrial composting plants. |
| Water–Based Ink | Water–based inks dry and evaporate naturally, requiring no extra energy to do so. |
| Solvent–Based Ink | Solvent–based inks use alcohol to speed up the drying process once the ink is printed onto a surface. |
| Manufacturing | |
| Made in Europe | Locally manufactured in Europe, meaning a lower transportation carbon footprint compared to goods produced and imported from abroad. |
| Sustainable Manufacturing | Created in a factory that sources its energy from renewable sources. |
| Clean Air Policy | Manufacturers that remove toxins and pollutants from the air used during the manufacturing process. |
| Efficient Fulfilment | Uses space efficiently when packaging and delivering products as a way to reduce net carbon emissions. |
| Weight Reduced | Efficiency improvements that reduce net carbon emissions. |
| Volume Reduction | Minimal amount of material used, and less space taken up. |
| Responsible Employment | Produced in a facility that meets the requirements of the EU Labor Law. |
| Recyclability | |
| Renewable | Renewable materials come from responsibly managed sources that can regenerate and replenish themselves on a human timescale. |
| Plastic–Free | Contains no petroleum–based plastics. |
| Reusable | Made in a way that allows the product to be used again after fulfilling its original purpose. |
| Multiple Use | These products can be used to send items securely more than once. |
| Recyclable | Can be broken down and used as a new material. |
| Recycled Content | Contains at least 60% recycled materials. |
Greenwashing Regulation–FTC Green Guides
Greenwashing is regulated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a government agency that helps protect consumers against unlawful and unethical business practices by enforcing laws designed to ensure a competitive, fair marketplace. The FTC offers guidelines on how to differentiate real green from greenwashed:
These Guidelines Are Called the Green Guides
- Packaging and advertising should explain the product’s green claims in plain language and readable type in close proximity to the claim.
- An environmental marketing claim should specify whether it refers to the product, the packaging, or only a portion of the product or package.
- A product’s marketing claim should not overstate, directly or by implication, an environmental attribute or benefit.
- If a product claims a benefit compared to the competition, the claim should be substantiated.
Consumers & Greenwashing
Besides watching out for this behavior from companies, there are also some online tools and search engines, such as Project Cece and Ethical Made Easy, which can help you to find sustainable brands, and avoid ones that simply pretend to be sustainable.
Consumers researching their buying decisions can consult the National Advertising Division (NAD) of Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) in the United States and Canada, which administers a system of voluntary self–regulation for the advertising industry. Online, sites like coopamerica.org, treehugger.com, corpwatch.org, greenbiz.com and others provide additional assistance. As blogged by Marketing Green, social bookmarking websites like DotheRightThing.org are allowing consumers to read news articles and rate the actions of the companies involved, based upon the perceived positive or negative environmental impact.
Take Action Against Greenwashing
What you can do about it:
- Say No. The best thing to do is to not spend your money on the product and spread the word. Less demand will eventually get the product pulled from the market.
- Contact them. You can also contact the company to address your concerns. Sometimes, rarely, the company did not intentionally greenwash their product. Once they understand, they can correct themselves or make improvements.
- Contact FTC. Another thing to do is to hit up the FTC. They have online chat to determine if you should file a complaint or provide any help. Remember the FTC gets overloaded with complaints every year. And it takes a while for action to be taken.
Today we have the means to research the brands in which we invest our time and money. We have immense power as consumers; we shape the landscape in which businesses operate. Where our money goes, so does their focus. We need to ensure that focus goes towards sustainability. Businesses must be held accountable for and made to answer for their greenwashing; as the climate crisis accelerates, we simply must adopt a zero tolerance approach to any and all destructive business practices that place profit over planet.
Sources:
Greenwashing: What It Is, How To Spot It And Avoid It
https://packhelp.com/greenwashing
by Phil Forbes