Many things labelled eco-friendly but can we trust them all?
Q. Are all products labelled green good for the environment? A. Not always! Companies are waking up to how much the public want action on the climate crisis. Some are genuinely making their products more eco-friendly, which is wonderful.
However, others are resorting to green washing – claiming to be more environmentally friendly, but really doing very little or even nothing at all.
Telling the difference can be hard.
Many big brands pay top ad agencies serious money to come up with clever ways of being seen to be green, without making any real changes to their business.
That being said, there are some things to look out for.
Here are my tips:
Don’t believe empty words
Unfortunately, words like sustainable, natural, non-toxic and eco are relatively vague.
On their own, they mean very little.
Some descriptions – like ‘self-charging’ cars – are actively misleading.
Find out the facts
Focus on the facts rather than the hype.
See if the green claim a brand is making can be verified.
For example, when buying new home appliances look at the energy rating.
A is the best. If buying a new car, look at fuel consumption or grams of CO2 per kilometre.
The less energy a vehicle uses, the better for the planet and your wallet.
Look for logos
You can trust products and services that have received independent accreditation.
Look out for the logos of The Rainforest Alliance, The Fairtrade Foundation and The Soil Association.
When it comes to cosmetics and skincare, the COSMOS standard is a good one.
For paper, make sure it’s got the FSC mark from the Forestry Stewardship Council.
If you’re trying to go plantbased, The Vegan Society trademark is a sign something’s truly animal-free.
The Vegetarian Society has both a veggie and a vegan trademark.
Use your common sense
Despite companies claims, sometimes it’s obvious that a product simply isn’t all that eco-friendly – for example, if it’s packaged in plastic, made from artificial fabrics, like polyester, or contains meat. If you are flying long-haul, then a £2 donation to plant a tree is not going to offset the carbon pollution.
Don’t fall for oil and gas company hype
Many big oil and gas companies produce beautiful ads filled with images of trees, wind farms or solar energy projects. Yet research shows that their climate claims are green washing.
They are doing very little in the way of green energy generation and, in fact, increasing new oil and gas exploration a whole year after the International Energy Agency demanded it stop altogether.