Eco-unfriendly?

Denver, Colorado, USA – Custom label and sticker printing leader, Lightning Labels is increasing awareness of a not-so-new fad – ‘greenwashing’ – that has been used frequently by manufacturers as a means to capitalise on consumers' desires to see eco-friendly labels and stickers.

“Greenwashing is a fast-growing trend, and some would venture to say that green is really the new black,” says business development manager AnneMarie Campbell. “But the trend is destructive, both for the consumers who buy a product based on eco-friendly label claims and the corporations and manufacturers whose actual environmentally friendly efforts are being overshadowed by false or misleading claims by competitors.”

History of greenwashing and false eco-label claims

The term greenwashing, now commonly used in the labeling industry, came about in 1986 when an environmentalist exposed non-environmentally friendly practices in the hospitality industry, calling for people to reuse towels as a way to preserve the Earth and its environment. Greenwashing is a combination of the words green, meaning eco-friendly, and whitewashing, meaning purposefully covering mistakes or errors, and means intentionally using green claims to make people believe a product is eco-friendly.

Greenwashing may include calling products organic, natural, green or recycled when the products are not. Greenpeace, an advocate for eliminating greenwashing and companies' false claims about being eco-friendly, says most manufacturers resort to this strategy to increase their sales and try to make money from consumers who have a genuine interest in supporting products that save the Earth.

Damaging to consumers, honest companies

There are several problems that may rise when companies knowingly use misleading environmentally friendly labels. For starters, it's making consumers quite confused as to what it really means for a company to be green. The eco-friendly market has become competitive – some may even call it oversaturated – and now gives people the opportunity to compare prices for eco-friendly products that have traditionally been more expensive.

The problem, however, is when companies that play by the rules and actually do offer green products aren't able to lower prices enough to remain competitive, allowing greenwashing companies to take more business from honest companies, which perpetuates the cycle and continues to take advantage of unknowing consumers.

Stop the cycle by demanding honest labels

Although consumers have traditionally been the victims of these false eco-friendly label claims, more people are taking a stNike Phantom Vision DF FG