Greenwash: How To Avoid Fake “Green” Products

Greenwashing is Lying

Greenwash, Greenwashing: to claim that something, most likely a product, is “green” (sustainable, eco-friendly), when it is not environmentally friendly at all. Read more via my Green Terminology post.

Picture this: you’re at the store one day and you have time to browse, so you start looking for these “green” products that everyone keeps talking about.

Advertisement: “Our product has a new recipe, and it’s sooooooo natural!”

Ingredients list: “Dude, stop lying. 😑”

Have you ever fallen for the “we’re so natural now” okie doke? You keep hearing about how you have to be more natural, and your favorite not-so-natural brand claims to have products that are “green” now. You just have to try it, right?! Then you super crunchy friend tells you, “That is NOT natural. Read the ingredients!” So you take a look, do a little green product search, only to find out this stuff is just as bad as before. But wait, you didn’t even know it was “bad” in the first place! They wanted you to believe that addition of a little lavender scent or soothing aloe could change that, but it simply does not take away from the toxins and bad ingredients. Why would they lie about this?

Why do companies Greenwash?

Sustainable living has become somewhat of a fad these days. Everyone thinks that being “green” is cool. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely is! I could talk about sustainable living, natural products, and eco-friendly actions all day long. When shopping for natural products, the goal for a lot of people is to make sure that their family is getting the best ingredients possible. These ingredients impact both their bodies and our earth. We only get one of each, so what we take from the earth and put on/in our bodies matters. Being green requires so much research, though. It is easy for brands to make greenwashed products and pretend that they are good for you. When you trust them, you don’t think to do thorough research on their “natural” claims. I have fallen victim to a few ads about how “green” a product is, only to find out it contains several harmful chemicals. I vowed to never do that again, and I hope you don’t either.

Quick Facts:

• Any type of product can be “greenwashed.” Beauty products, hygiene products, cleaning products, and more.
• Knowing what terms that are associated with being “green” means can make all the difference. Remember, “vegan” does NOT mean “natural,” “green,” or “sustainable. See: Green Terminology.
• A company exists to point out greenwashing and hold corporations/businesses accountable when they do it. Check out Greenwashing Index to learn more about greenwashing in advertising and their efforts to end it.

Avoid the Greenwashing Pitfalls

So the question now is how do you move on from such deception? You love this brand. It’s feels good, it keeps you clean and smelling good. It can’t be that bad, right?! But now you know what those ingredients are and what they could possibly do to you. You have two choices: & be a greenwashed product junkie, or give in and be a little more mindful about the products that you use.

Option 1: Greenwashed Junkie

– Don’t do your research
– Believe the hype
– Ignore the ingredients that you can’t pronounce, and hope for the best 🤷🏾‍♀️

If you’re thinking of being more green, don’t become a greenwashed product junkie!  On your quest for a more eco-friendly lifestyle, these are the things you definitely should NOT do!

Option 2: Do the GREEN work

– Research the ingredients in your products and their benefits, toxicity, impact, and more.
– Become somewhat of a real green product junkie
– Count the ingredients on your own two hands. Even better, count them on one had! And make sure that you can pronounce them all very easily.

Resources to Help You Avoid “Greenwash”

• “Think Dirty, Shop Clean” – This is a post that I wrote about apps and websites that list real green products and tell us how good or bad all products are.
• The Sustainable Living Shop – where I add my top picks for sustainable lifestyle products, ones I actually use. These are typically affiliate links so that I can earn money for the work that I put into creating and maintaining this free website and other free resources that I create.
• Any Old World New Gift Guide – I fill these guides with products made by companies that want the best for their customers and the earth.
• Follow Old World New on Instagram and Facebook, and sign up for the Newsletter! I promise I’ll never greenwash the info that I share with you.

Deodorant and toothpaste are the top two items that people ask me about when they are considering switching to a more natural or sustainable product. One of my favorite non-greenwashed items to use lately is my Himalaya Neem & Pomegranate Toothpaste. You can find it at most Whole Foods or order it from Amazon.

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I hope this week’s post inspires you to research the products that you use so that you can be green and avoid “greenwashed” things. Don’t let the “green” hype of some items fool you. You got this! And if ever you feel like you don’t, Old World New is just a click away. Want to learn more ways to know the “good” from the “bad” with “green products? Read about the Think Dirty App for your phone! You can learn how toxic a product is right in the store!

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