Greenwashing: A Marketers Solution to Sustainability

A Historical Analysis

3/30/2020
Jordan Dunn
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Introduction:

It is the goal of every major industry and company to not merely try to, but to

successfully cater to the specific needs and wants of their consumers. This effort can take on

several forms, such as creating products that are demanded by the people, or changing the brand

of the company so that their mission aligns with the popular beliefs of the times. One such trend

that has emerged within the business world as a whole, and specifically within the sphere of

marketing at that, is the concept of “Greenwashing.” Greenwashing is a strategy that is known by

many names, including that of: “eco-bleaching, whitewash, eco-washing, greenwashing, green

makeup or green image washing” (Junior, ​et al., 2019).​ When put at its simplest meaning,

Greenwashing is a term applied to different strategies and forms of misleading communications

and advertisements, about either a product or a brand as a whole, that is meant to draw in a

consumer by glazing over flaws. Throughout the years, and especially in the modern era, many

companies have utilized Greenwashing techniques as a type of social ploy. Doing so only in

order for the company to appear more corporately responsible and sustainable; both of which are

highly demanded by the consumers of modern times. In reality, however, many companies have

not actually adhered to the sustainability guidelines that they have preached about both within

company missions and products alike. Over time, companies have had to transform their ways of

“Greenwashing” in order to achieve both corporate transparency and consumer approval.

Methods:

One could approach analyzing the concept of Greenwashing in many ways. One viable

way in which to do so would be through the lens of historical analysis. Subsequently, this essay
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will attempt to analyze the evolution of the concept of Greenwashing; comparing what it started

off as compared to what its influence has come to mean today. The rationale behind conducting

such an analysis can be found in Arthur Berger’s book “Media and Communications Research

Methods.” In the book, Berger states how “historians do not recapture or reconstruct the past

when they analyze history; they interpret it according to surviving evidence and conceptual

framework” (2020). Keeping that in mind, Berger also highlights how one viable method of

conducting historical research is that of “movement or idea studies, tracing the development of

political, social, or economic ideas and movements” (Berger, 2020). When conducting such

research, historians are able to compare and contrast where a concept started to what the concept

has come to mean in modern society. As such, this essay will conduct research in a comparable

fashion to ultimately determine how the notion of “Greenwashing” has transformed over time.

Discussion:

The start of Greenwashing can be dated back to around the 1980s. The term was

officially coined in 1986 by an environmentalist who, after analyzing many companies of the

time, saw that what the companies were promoting and advertising did not match the reality of

the company's actions behind the scenes. Instead of implementing true beneficial changes,

various companies and industries were simply only trying to entice a new demographic of

consumers, ones who were beginning to change “. . .their buying behavior to reduce the impact

of their consumption habits over the environment . . .” (Junior, ​et al., 2019). For example, one

intital way in which companies did this was that they began to advertise “green products” of

which ​presented,
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. . . features differentiating them from conventional products, such as differential

packaging and/or environmental certification validating the characteristic of being

environment friendly. In this sense, some products might seem to have characteristics of

a green product but actually may not have them (Junior, ​et al., 2019).

However, despite companies’ best attempts at deception, consumers started to perceive that

companies were employing Greenwashing techniques when it came to both individual products

and even whole brand lines, in order to sell more and gain popularity. Subsequently, this did not

go over well with many consumers as many were upset at the tactics, and eventually began to

push for reform.

As a result, consumers started to push for stronger regulation revolving around corporate

communications, advertisements and product promotion. This popular demand has to lead to

several different results over time. Of which includes the declaration by several different

institutional stakeholders who address matters of misleading advertising. Such institutions like

the European Commission and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) now “directly advise

that marketers should use clear and prominent qualifying language to convey that a general

environmental claim refers only to a specific and limited environmental benefit[s]” ​(Schmuck, ​et

al., 2018). Ultimately, despite such tactics to try and regulate Greenwashing techniques in the

marketing sphere, many environmentalists and scholars do not believe that enough action has

been taken in order to sufficiently protect consumers ​(Schmuck, ​et al., 2018).

Such is due to the fact that many popular companies are still, to this day, utilizing

Greenwashing techniques. For example, internationally known companies such as Nestle,

Volkswagen, Nest and SEAWorld, have all had lawsuits and class actions brought against them
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as a result of Greenwashing techniques in the past several years. Nestle was accused of claiming

that their chocolate was sustainably sourced when it was indeed not; Volkswagen was caught in

a cheating scandal regarding emission reports; Nest has been said to market false product results,

and SEAWorld was found to be falsely communicating the reality of its animal care practices to

the public (Earth Day, 2019). As a result, each company lost consumer respect and standing in

the ever-increasing race for corporate sustainability.

Results:

It can be said that the, “increased consumption of green products and services has

encouraged the adoption and communication of environmental practices in many organizations,

creating a positive image for society. Thus, environmental commitment has become an important

variable in the competitive landscape” (Junior, ​et al., 2019). However, with that said, ​it was not

until rather recently that companies started to truly understand that “Greenwashing” products

were simply not going to be enough. In the past decade or so, companies have started to buy into

the idea of sustainability in relation to their business model as a whole. In short, the “concept of

the sustainable business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers,

and captures value, in economic, social, cultural, or other contexts, in a sustainable way”

(Nosratabadi, ​et al., 2019). Over the past several decades and into current times sustainable

business models,

. . . have been effectively contributing to reducing the harmful effects of business

activities on the environment and society through providing solutions to help firms meet

their economic and sustainability goals simultaneously ​(Nosratabadi, ​et al., 2019).
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Such is that a change in corporate mindsets will only help to guarantee a company’s success in

the years to come. As history has shown, once consumers start to desire change, companies have

no choice but to follow suit. However, it makes one question, will this just be a new wave of

Greenwashing tactics?

Conclusion:

On the whole, it can be determined that both industries and companies alike have not

always been transparent in the way that they market to and communicate with their consumers.

Unsurprisingly, this is not a conclusion that many consumers have been overly accepting of. Out

of the numerous ways that industries and companies have miscommunicated with consumers,

Greenwashing techniques have been highly utilized. As a result of such transgression, in an

attempt to achieve both corporate transparency and consumer approval, companies have had to

change their ways of “Greenwashing” over time. In doing so, they have changed from promoting

small acts of corporate environmental support, such as “green advertisements,” to completely

overhauling the way in which they structure their businesses and product development strategies.

References
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Berger, A. A. (2020). Media and Communications Research Methods (5th ed.). Los Angeles,

CA; SAGE Publications.

Earth Day 2019: Companies Accused of Greenwashing. (2019, May 15). Retrieved from

https://www.truthinadvertising.org/six-companies-accused-greenwashing/

Saeed Nosratabadi, Amir Mosavi, Shahaboddin Shamshirband, Edmundas Kazimieras

Zavadskas, Andry Rakotonirainy, & Kwok Wing Chau. (2019). Sustainable Business

Models: A Review. Sustainability, 6, 1663.

https://doi-org.ezproxy.siena.edu/10.3390/su11061663

Schmuck, D., Matthes, J., & Naderer, B. (2018). Misleading Consumers with Green

Advertising?

An Affect--Reason--Involvement Account of Greenwashing Effects in Environmental

Advertising. Journal of Advertising, 47(2), 127–145.

https://doi-org.ezproxy.siena.edu/10.1080/00913367.2018.1452652

Sergio Braga Junior, Marta Pagán Martínez, Caroline Miranda Correa, Rosamaria Cox

Moura-Leite, & Dirceu Da Silva. (2019). Greenwashing effect, attitudes, and beliefs in

green consumption. RAUSP Management Journal, 2, 226.

https://doi-org.ezproxy.siena.edu/10.1108/RAUSP-08-2018-0070