Greenwashing On The High Street

The results of a Which? investigation into greenwashing in the UK retail sector paint a worrying picture of myths and mistruths.

For those in the print, paper and packaging industry, greenwashing is a significant problem and potentially damaging to the sector. The act of companies and brands making misleading or unsubstantiated environmental claims in their communications can not only cause confusion for consumers and push them into making decisions based on false information, it can impact a wide range of businesses.

A 2021 study by Two Sides and Censuswide found that in the European mailing and postal sectors, greenwashing could result in an estimated €337m in annual revenue losses due to declining trust and reduced paper use.

But while knowledge of companies using greenwashing tactics to compel their customers to move to online communication is becoming more widely known, there’s less understanding of the more direct practice of retailers and manufacturers greenwashing to increase product sales.

However, a recent Which? investigation into greenwashing in the UK retail sector has revealed a troubling landscape of confusing environmental statements, vague claims and unfair comparisons.

Shocking Stats

Between October and November 2024, Which? scanned 20,000 online product listings containing green claims. From this initial pool, 1,000 listings were manually checked against the CMA’s Green Claims Code, which sets out six principles for environmental marketing: clarity, accuracy, substantiation, balance, full life-cycle consideration and fair comparisons.

The results were shocking, with two-thirds of products failing at least two principles of the Code, with the investigation concluding that businesses routinely rely on ambiguous terms such as ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘sustainable’ without sufficient evidence or context. In addition, 49% of the products with green claims don’t justify or explain vague terms like ‘sustainable’ or ‘eco-friendly’, and 55% included no evidence with their claims or provided a link or reference to it.

Greenwash Examples

As an example, a bottle of Smirnoff Red Label Vodka claimed to be ‘Filtered ten times through seven columns of environmentally sustainable charcoal’. However, the Which? team pointed out that ‘It’s unclear what ‘environmentally sustainable charcoal’ means in this context. No further explanation is given in the product listing and there are no links to any supporting evidence.’

In addition, a product listing for a Chad Valley Wooden Puzzle stated: ‘Classic wooden toys look great around the house and of course are much more kind to the environment’. In response, the Which? team said: ‘We think this claim is unlikely to comply with the Green Claims Code because there’s no information about what environmental aspects are being compared. The example we saw didn’t give any information about the provenance of the wood.’

Industry-Wide Damage

The problem with greenwashing in the retail sector isn’t just that consumers are being misled into buying a product they think is friendly to the environment, it’s the damage it does to companies that have put a lot of time and effort into setting in place their environmental values and sustainable practices.

“[Green claims] can lead to consumers buying products they believe are more sustainable than they actually are and paying a premium for them,” states the report. “It also undermines businesses that genuinely invest in sustainability, weakening their competitive advantage and discouraging other businesses from acting more sustainably.”

Read the full Which? report at bit.ly/Which-Green-Claims-Report

Two Sides Anti-Greenwash Campaign

Two Sides actively engages organisations found to be using unsubstantiated environmental claims about the use of paper. To date, over 50% of companies engaged by Two Sides have changed or removed misleading messages.

Keep your eyes peeled for examples of Greenwash involving paper and the environment. If you see any examples, please send them to us: greenwash@twosides.info