How companies market 'green' products - too good to be true?

Plastic is a non-biodegradable material and has long-lasting negative effects on both the environment and public health. However, plastic has become the preferred material of manufacturers due to its cheapness, easy storage, cost-effectiveness, and convenience.

Because of the above, the packaging industry is not looking to replace plastic anytime soon. However, they have noticed that the newer generations of consumers (aged 20 to 50 years old) are more likely to reject single-use plastic bags or items packaged in single-use plastic. This is because awareness campaigns and education have instilled everyday consumers with a need to actively reject this pollutant whenever convenient.

Consumer opinion can have a large impact on other consumers’ decisions and therefore plays a major role in business owners’ choices regarding environmental and health-conscious changes, such as reducing single-use plastic packaging. The factors influencing consumer choices need to be addressed, so that businesses remain aligned with consumers’ wants and needs.

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This has led to a concept known as ‘Greenwashing’, whereby businesses address consumer perception and enact practices to moderately reduce the usage of plastic packaging. Businesses may then market certain products as more environmentally friendly or recyclable, despite the changes that have been made having no real impact on the plastic pollution crisis. 

Targeted marketing gives consumers the illusion of a greener, more environmentally conscious choice. However,the products being sold rely heavily on cheap plastic or similar combinations and derivatives that cannot be processed and recycled because they contain  mixed materials or metal components. This marketing also includes buzzwords such as  “eco-friendly”, “natural”, or “kind to the environment”, despite a lack of evidence to support these claims.

Customers are then left overestimating the positive environmental impact of their choice in packaging and food or household items, and incorrectly assuming that their waste is being recycled or biologically degraded.

Due to the misleading effect of the Greenwashing Wave, consumers who actively go out of their way to avoid non-recyclable plastic packaging are finding that their weekly plastic waste is still ending up in a landfill or body of water somewhere. Informed consumer’s well intentions are then all for naught, as despite their more “environmentally friendly” choices the plastic pollution crisis is still largely untouched and unlikely to improve as individuals are under the impression they already “did their part”.

Read more about packaging and supermarkets' greenwashing tactics in episode 3 of this series.

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For more information contact: info@scarabtrust.org.uk

Image: Greenwashing synonyms - Image from spunout.ie (ST ref: 1297)