THE SIX SINS OF GREENWASHING

TerraChoice has published an informal guidance document called The Six Sins of Greenwashing. On the off chance that you're about to commit greenwashing but are open to being saved, here they are:

Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off. Your claim might be true, but what did you give up to get that claim? Scott Case calls this a "Houdini trick—you focus everyone attention's on one aspect and hide the other stuff." Bully on you if you got your lumber from a sustainably harvested forest in Outer Marzbekistan … but what were the energy costs involved in transporting it from there?

Sin of No Proof. You make a claim but don't back it up. The best way to prove a claim? Formal product certification.

Sin of Vagueness. Six Sins cites garden insecticides promoted as "chemical-free" as an example. "In fact, nothing is free of chemicals. Water is a chemical. All plants, animals, and humans are made of chemicals as are all of our products … (W)atch for other popular vague green terms: “non-toxic”, “all-natural”, “environmentally-friendly”, and “earth-friendly.”

Sin of Irrelevance. The claim is true but meaningless. "No whales were harpooned in the making of this toilet."

Sin of the Lesser of Two Evils. Six Sins cites "organic tobacco" as an example. It's another Houdini trick. You shout "Lookee here!" because you're trying to draw attention away from something big and problematic.

Sin  of Fibbing. Also known as lying.

For those who are not aware of Green washing, here is the definition

Greenwashing (a portmanteau of "green" and "whitewash") is a term describing the deceptive use of green PR or green marketing in order to promote a misleading perception that a company's policies or products (such as goods or services) are environmentally friendly. The term green sheen has similarly been used to describe organizations that attempt to show that they are adopting practices beneficial to the environment.^[1][2]