How to Spot Eco-Friendly Products and Avoid Greenwashing

You’re busy navigating life and trying make daily decisions. Maybe you aim to find eco-friendly products and avoid greenwashing. Ever find yourself in a sea of environmentally friendly claims that may or may not be true? It can certainly make purchasing decisions more confusing. Are the products designed to convince us that they help the environment or do they actually help the environment? Let’s take a closer look. Learn how to spot eco-friendly products and avoid greenwashing.

Research shows that consumers are gravitating towards sustainable products. In the U.S. 50% of consumer packaged good growth between 2008 and 2013 came from sustainability-marketed products. But are we just falling for greenwashing claims?

What Is Greenwashing?

Greenwash/Greenwashing

• Disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image.
• Expressions of environmentalist concerns especially as a cover for products, policies, or activities.

How to Spot Eco-Friendly Products and Avoid Greenwashing

Consuming Less But Better

Before we even get into spotting products that are truly environmentally friendly, we should consider our own buying habits. I have certainly been there, I have bought things that I have later regretted, things that I really didn’t end up using much. You know the cycle: first, you get the joy of purchasing something. Then, that fades, especially if it doesn’t add value to your life and in the end, you just end up with more clutter. Consider shopping with intention before impulse, check out this older post for tips. The easiest thing to do is to hold off on a purchase as so much of marketing is based on scarcity. Don’t think to just buy, “take me home today”, “buy now/pay later”, “Sale”, “limited time offer”.

Is it a need or a want?

How to Spot Eco-Friendly Products

What it really comes down to is asking simple questions. You may have to do a bit of research, but that should be fairly easy with a simple Google search.

Is it disposable or long lasting?

If it’s disposable and will end up in the trash after use, it’s most likely bad for the environment. No amount of marketing or green labelling makes single use environmentally friendly. Look for long lasting reusable products. Consider if it’s ultimately designed to be obsolescent.

Is it good quality?

This ties into long lasting. Does it look like time and care has gone into making this product? Was it thoughtful design?

What’s it made of?

You’re probably starting to notice that all of these questions work together. What it’s made of affects quality and whether or not it will last a long time. Does the material just end up being garbage in the long run? Does it have a negative environmental impact being produced?

What’s its impact and end of life?

All of these questions overlap. Consider the impact to the environment of the material, the manufacturing and the end of life of the product.

Products made from virgin plastic are examples of non eco-friendly products. Plastic is made from petroleum, cheaply manufactured, often single use. If we are lucky sometimes it gets recycled, but it mostly ends up in the landfills and the ocean. Always keep in mind that it is never fully black and white. A small minority of plastic products may save lives, like medical devices. Something made from plastic that has been recovered/recycled from ocean waste is certainly better than virgin plastic, but it’s good to be skeptical in this realm. Look for companies that are transparent with their practices.

Where is it Made?

Is it being shipped from the other side of the world? Can it be sourced locally? Shipping has a huge impact on our environment. Where it’s made can also have an impact on people and communities. I try to consider the area’s environmental responsibility and regulations. The EU for example has much stricter regulations than most. All of this leads to the next question.

Who makes it?

Are the people making the products being treated fairly? Do they earn a liveable wage? What are the working conditions like?

How is it packaged?

Packaging plays a big part in whether or not a product is eco-friendly. Recyclable or compostable packaging is the gold standard, but it’s also a good idea to search for minimal packaging overall. Ideally it’s plastic free. I am often baffled by the multiple layers of packaging, layer after of layer of unnecessary plastic. Once I started paying attention, it became very clear that so much packaging mostly serves a marketing purpose. You will even find goods that are fairly eco-friendly that are way over packaged or wrapped in plastic. I shake my head when I see a bamboo toothbrush in a plastic blister back. Aren’t we buying a bamboo toothbrush to avoid plastic?

Is it energy efficient?

First off, does it need to be energized? Is there a simpler solution? If the product needs power, energy efficiency is an important metric.

How To Avoid Greenwashing

Approach green leaf logos with caution

So many products try to suggest that they’re environmentally friendly with green coloured packaging. Packaging with logos or images of leaves, animals and plants or even green buzzwords. Whether it’s green coloured packaging or cute animal logos, they don’t mean anything if the products isn’t good for the environment.

Question Eco-buzzwords

This can be a tricky one, as both sustainable and subpar products use these claims. I approach these vague terms with a healthy dose of skepticism. It just really comes down to the product.

• Eco-friendly
• Environmentally friendly
• Green
• Clean
• Non-toxic
• All natural
• Pure
• Earth friendly
• Sustainable

Be on the lookout for counterintuitive claims

Single use is single use! A single use bag, water bottle or utensil is terrible for the environment no matter how you slice it. Even if they claim they are using less plastic or some other minimal improvement.

Consider the companies track record

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see Mega-Corporations trying to clean up their act, but it’s worth taking into account their past and current track record. Coca-Cola can partner with as many environmentally friendly non-profits as they want. In the end they are still one of the top plastic polluters. Look for companies that put their money where their mouth is. Companies like Patagonia, whoa re trying their best on all levels. From products design, to fair trade labour, to supporting grass roots environmental causes. It’s also great to see smaller startups pushing the envelope of sustainable business compared to the Mega-Corps with deep pockets who put profit before anything else.

Look for third-party certification

• Certified B Corp
• Fair Trade Certified
• Energy Star
• Certified Organic
• ISO Certified Compostable, Biodegradable

One green feature on a product that isn’t

Meal kits are a perfect example. They claim to reduce food waste and they may actually succeed, but everything else about meal kits is unsustainable. From the multiple levels of packaging: the boxes, the small single use containers to the chemical ice packs and all the shipping. Is one advantage worth all the other problems?

Impossible Claims

Even if enviro words get added to a known polluter, for example “clean coal”. Even if you add ‘clean” it’s still a terrible polluter. Spotting this nonsense should be easy.

In The End

Start with intention

Do you wait before an impulse buy? Personally I find this to an easy way to vet purchases. I think we can be more sustainable with fewer and better things.

Is it something you actually need or is it just a “want”? So many products out there are “manufactured needs”. Marketers the world over are good at getting us to confuse our wants for needs.

Next, ask questions

Is it disposable? Will it be long lasting? Is it quality? What’s it made of? What’s its impact? Where is it made? Who makes it? How is it packaged? Is it efficient?

These question help me to figure out what products are truly environmentally friendly.

After that, be aware of greenwashing

I am always on the look out for Greenwashing. I personally approach all marketing with a heavy dose of skepticism.

Are you still unsure?

A bit of research goes a long way. With just a few more seconds of vetting and verifying, you can easily check out if products are truly good. That being said, I totally get that you can’t always do this even if a Google search can be quick. Everyone is busy these days.

To wrap up

You may have to go with your gut. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. The more I learn, the easier it is to spot greenwashing.

Ultimately, nothing is perfect but we certainly can’t let perfect get in the way of good.

All I can do is try my best and if you are reading this, you are trying too.

Together, we can make a difference. We can live a more sustainable life.

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Thanks for reading,

Pat