Greenwashing: The Art of Selling Virtue at a Premium

You’ve seen the bottles with soft pastels, garden herbs and labels saying “plant-derived” or “made with essential oils.”  Greenwashing is the marketing tactic of dressing ordinary products in eco-friendly clothing so consumers feel virtuous while paying more. Coined in the 1980s, it thrives because people will gladly fork over a “justice-signaling upcharge” for the illusion of doing good. 

Vague words like “natural,” “clean” or “sustainable” do the heavy lifting while the fine print often includes synthetic fragrances (hiding dozens of undisclosed chemicals), preservatives like methylisothiazolinone (a known skin sensitizer restricted in parts of Europe) and other ingredients that earn middling-to-poor marks. (Fun fact: Mrs. Meyer’s faced a 2009 lawsuit and later paid a settlement over 1.4-dioxane in its dish soap).

Who’s heard of this ploy?  We have to ignore the aesthetics and starting reading the full ingredient list. The next time you’re tempted by the basil-scented bottle that promises a better world, ask if is this actually better, or just better at signaling?

Much Love, Lynn