Greenwashing is a marketing process used by organizations (whether a company, an administration, an association, etc.) to give themselves an image of ecological responsibility, which is highly misleading.
Already, a problem jumps out at me. Giving oneself an image. Pretending. Claiming. The complete opposite of my vision of communication. But whatever, let's continue.
This term was created in the 1990s ( 30 years ago, and nothing has changed ) by NGOs who wanted to denounce certain practices of large industrial groups ( well, always the same ones ) but it was only popularized 10 years later when we could see a notable expansion of the phenomenon.
Why is greenwashing such a problem? After all, if it's just lies, it will belgium whatsapp eventually show. Yes. But not always. This practice creates confusion in the minds of the population because the companies that use it are masters of marketing and advertising. We've all been victims of it , at least once. Admit it, you too have already bought a product that you thought was ethical/ecological/social and then you realized that it wasn't the whole truth.
But above all, these companies have means that other smaller and more virtuous organizations do not have . This is detrimental to the structures that truly work for the protection of biodiversity, sustainable development and social justice.
This practice is considered abusive or misleading advertising . In France, two organizations fight against greenwashing: the ARPP ( Professional Advertising Regulatory Authority ) and especially the ADEME ( Environment and Energy Management Agency ). The latter offer a very interesting anti-greenwashing guide to understand the phenomenon and avoid it. Read it to better understand the subject.
