It doesn’t take much to decode what the term ‘Greenwashing’ means, but just so we’re all clear, according to Cambridge Dictionary, Greenwashing is a strategy designed “to make people believe that your company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is.” 

Think of it like someone spray painting thousands of plastic spoons in green and stacking them one-by-one so that they resemble a lush tree. It looks nice from a distance, but if you dared to take a closer look, it’d make you feel like a fool (and the worst part is – you might start questioning every tree that you see.)

So no, Greenwashing is a no go. 

And here’s why. 

The minute a company decides to invest their money and resources into “branding” themselves as green, they are taking away funding and valuable time that could have been used to make a real difference. 

And when a Greenwashing strategy is implemented and seeded into the market, it does not only deceive well-intentioned consumers and mislead them into purchasing something that doesn’t support their belief, it also taints and contaminates the sustainability space, because the success of these marketing tactics often relies on stealing airtime and volume share from companies that are actually doing something about our planet. 

One way to not fall victim to Greenwashing is by being more skeptical of what’s being printed on the labels. Don’t blindly trust what the salesperson says. Do your research and educate yourself on what makes a product truly eco-friendly. Expand your green vocabularies. Know your facts, then tell your family and friends – because as consumers, we hold the power to shape our future. 

As the founder of Locofama, Larry Tang, says in our recent interview, “every dollar is a vote.” So let’s strive to live in a more mindful society and pay a bit more attention to what we’re voting for. At the end of the day, nobody wants to spend our hard-earned money on things that we don’t truly care for.