9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
When a company says that their products

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
are green, eco-friendly or sustainable

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that's, good for the environment, right?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Welll, maybe.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But it's possible that the company is

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
greenwashing. What?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Greenwashing. It's when the company

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
makes unsupportive claims that mislead

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
customers into thinking that their

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
products are sustainable or eco-friendly.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This makes the companies to appeal to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
their environmental mind of consuming

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
without actually having to make

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
meaningful changes in their business

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
practices.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And that's not cool for you or the planet

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that we live on. No it's not.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Greenwashing is a big problem

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and there's so many moving parts

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So, in fact, why greenwashing happens?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And how you can use your power as a

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
consumer to help?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Wow. Sustainable explainable

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So, why would businesses actually decide

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to greenwash?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
According to one survey, 66% of the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
respondents said that they takes

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
sustainability into account whenever

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they are shopping.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So it's no surprise that business are

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
trying to attract this growing audience

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
As business are scrambling to meet the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
desires of the market, many of them are

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
finding that just slapping a green sticker

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
on something and calling it green is

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
way easier and cheaper than making

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the fundamental changes that consumers

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
are actually looking for

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And you definitely have seen greenwashing

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
at the stores.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You know the picture ads

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with nature scenes are strategically

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
placed leaves an, of course, lots and lots

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
of green.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And if it's green, it must be good right?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Not always

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And this can be so confusing

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
as a customer because you just want to go

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to the store, buy what you need without

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
destroying the planet making eco-friendly

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
choices and go home

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But greenwashing floods the market with

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
so many products that claim to be

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
environmentally friendly when they're

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
actually not. And that makes it very

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
difficult for users and consumers make the

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
best sustainable choice. And this even

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with cleaning products that claim to be

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
non-toxic when they are actually toxic.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Or a strawless lid that turns out to have

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
more plastic in it than a lid and a straw.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And furthermore, if a company sold you

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a plastic cup that used to have a

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
plastic straw and you take off the plastic

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
straw and no longer have a plastic straw

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The plastic cup that they sold you still

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
unsustainable. Greenwashing.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Greenwashing can come in so many

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
different forms

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We are on a look-out for

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
suggestive imagery, selective disclosure

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
symbolic actions, lack of roof, bagginess

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and over phares.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
At this point you're probably ready to

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
tossing the towel of green consuming,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but don't hold on to that towel

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because there is hope

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Green products, they do exist.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And here is what you can do as

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a consumer to make sure that you're

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
practices are green win instead of

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
greenwash

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Look for evidence. And if it seems vague

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
then talks on a detective cap and see

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
if he can find some confirmation

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or deceive if there's third party

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
certifications. These third party

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
certifications help to confirm that a

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
product is eco-friendly.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
A few stamps for approval like

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
FSC certified, USDA Organic, Energy Star

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and Fair Trade USA

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Be aware of plain language like

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
one hundred percent Earth friendly,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
completely sustainable. If it sounds too

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
good to be true, probably is.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Make sure that this clear marketing

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
when refrain to eco claims. When

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
looking at a product, marketing

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
should tell you if the packaging, or

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the product, or both are sustainable and

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
lastly, do your best.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
An in the age of fast paced information

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
updates and changing sustainability

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
landscape, it's truly difficult to know

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
weather or not you are making a

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
right decision as a customer

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But remember these large companies that

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
need to change and that the world

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is not under your shoulders but

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
your choices do have an impact.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
These companies linten to the market

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and they listen to the consumers.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Every day, we have lots and lots of

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
decisions that we make.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
That means we have lots and lots of

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
opportunities to make sustainable

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
decisions.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So stick in that. You're not alone because

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we are in this together.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Thanks for watching and if you're

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a little curious and you want to know more

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
about greenwashing, go to the link

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in our bio and also go to our website

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
sustainable-earth.org to be up to date

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
on all things sustainability.