What is greenwashing?

“Environmentally friendly”, “sustainable”, “ethical” and “climate neutral” are words that are stuck to everything from toothbrushes to cars. We obviously want to make sustainable choices when we shop, but claims about sustainability don’t always live up to their promises.

Accessibility icon What is greenwashing?

Shopping with a clean conscience

You find a pair of trousers that you really want. They are perfect. You really want them, but you have many trousers at home. You also know that buying these trousers will damage the environment. But, look – the trousers are labelled “organic and ethically produced cotton” – this means there is no reason to worry, right?

Jente som sitter i sofaen og holder en jeans hun har pakket opp og kjøpt på nettet
Jente som sitter i sofaen og holder en jeans hun har pakket opp og kjøpt på nettet

Green is popular

We have what is called a green shift. This means that we want to be more environmentally friendly. We are more aware of the things we buy, and we don’t want to choose products that destroy the climate. The business world also follows this green shift. 

Why? Well, because they know that we want to make good choices.

What is sustainable development?

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Flere klær som henger på en stang og en lapp som leser 100% organisk
Flere klær som henger på en stang og en lapp som leser 100% organisk

How environmentally and climate friendly are the products we buy?

One big problem in Europe is that false claims about sustainability are spread. This also happens in Norway, but we have laws that say that it is illegal to fool customers.

Businesses must be able to document exactly what they do that is environmentally friendly, otherwise it is just empty words. This can also be called “greenwashing,” which we will see some examples of here.

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Tre barn som bærer handleposer hjem
Tre barn som bærer handleposer hjem

Clothes

The more clothes we buy, the more has to be made. The use of water, chemicals and plastic when making clothes leads to water, air and soil pollution. When clothes are made and sold cheaply it is called fast fashion. Many clothes are now labelled “conscious”, “let’s clean up”, “sustainable”, and “recycled”. Unfortunately, this is often only to trick people into buying more clothes and feel less guilty.

Masse fargerike klær på stativ og liggende på gulvet
Masse fargerike klær på stativ og liggende på gulvet

Fast food

A lot of trash in nature comes from fast food chains. You can find it everywhere. Plastic in the ocean is also a huge problem. Some burger chains reacted to this and stopped using plastic straws. This is a step forward. But it is a long way to go since they use a lot of throwaway packaging that hurts the planet.

Engangskrus med lokk og sugerør som ligger på bakken
Engangskrus med lokk og sugerør som ligger på bakken

Meat

It was discovered that Norway sold pork from pigs that were badly treated. People had strong reactions and the producers promised to treat pigs better. After the scandal, producers promised that the animals had lived a happy life. They did not say how they had changed production. This is a form of greenwashing since the customers were tricked.

Fire griser som kikker ut bak et gjerde
Fire griser som kikker ut bak et gjerde

Flying

Flying is a big threat to the climate because of the large amounts of greenhouse gases planes let out. Cheap plane tickets are one big reason for this. Airlines often advertise that they are green and climate-friendly, but this is hard to believe. This is also a form of greenwashing. 

Passasjerfly som tar av i solnedgang
Passasjerfly som tar av i solnedgang

Oil

Oil is a fossil fuel and one of the main problems when we talk about the climate and the environment. But the industry calls itself green. The newest Norwegian oil fields “have one of the lowest CO2 spillage from production in the world.” 

This doesn’t help much since oil is one of the largest reasons for the climate crisis. So, in a way, Norway is both part of the problem and the solution at the same time.  

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Oljeplatform med vindmøller rundt
Oljeplatform med vindmøller rundt

Many do a lot of good

The same industries mentioned here have also done good things for the environment. For example, the clothing industry has focused more on reusable and climate-friendly textiles. Fast food chains use cardboard straws instead of plastic straws. Many of these changes have happened due to new laws and regulations. Climate and sustainability are about taking control of how we should behave as consumers.

Mange papirsugerør i et glass
Mange papirsugerør i et glass

Everyone can become more aware

It has become popular to be green and climate-friendly. This is good but it can lose its meaning if these words become labels without content.

Everything we do counts. No one can do it all 100 percent, but everyone can do something, and that is important.

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals challenge you!

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Grønn hånd som holder et tre ved tørr jord og trestubber
Grønn hånd som holder et tre ved tørr jord og trestubber

Sources:

  • FN-sambandet (24. august 2021): FNs rapport: En alarm for menneskeheten.
    https://www.fn.no/nyheter/fns-klimarapport-en-alarm-for-menneskeheten

 

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Media rigths:

    1. Getty Images
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    3. FN-sambandet Norge – YouTube
    4. Getty Images
    5. Getty Images
    6. Getty Images
    7. Getty Images
    8. Getty Images
    9. Getty Images
    10. Getty Images
    11. Getty Images
    12. The Global Goals – YouTube