Vocab: Greenwashing

Have you ever heard the term GREENWASHING? (and no, it doesn't mean to wash your clothes in your yard 😏)

If you haven’t, it by definition means a marketing spin in which green PR and marketing trends are DECEPTIVELY used to persuade the public that a company’s products, aims and policies are environmentally friendly.

Unfortunately, this is a tale as old as time. Money is the goal and manipulation is the tool of choice to get it.

I recently had an email exchange with the designer of a seemingly ethical clothing brand who had described an item in the collection as “vegan tanned leather”. Ummm what? What is vegan tanned leather?

I wrote to them and asked if this item was vegan leather. The response was “no. but it is tanned with vegan dye." I’m curious if you would feel as misled as I did.

Granted this example is very small, and on a positive note, when I pointed out how misleading their choice of words are to a buyer, they changed the description on their site. (small victory!)

My point of sharing this interaction is to remind you to not take everything at face value. Most large companies that are suddenly using phrases like recycled and sustainable are considered “greenwashers”.

It is up to us to hold brands accountable for what they say. Do a little research. Ask a question. And don’t let yourself or your values be manipulated when you are intending to make positive and responsible choices 🖤