Greenwashing is making misleading or unsupported claims about the environmental benefits of a company, product or service.
Greenwashing is the practice of giving a false or misleading impression of how environmentally friendly a company, product or service is. It can involve vague language, cherry-picked data, hidden trade-offs or claims that cannot be backed up with evidence.
Regulators are increasingly acting on misleading environmental claims. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission's Green Guides set expectations for environmental marketing. The EU has adopted rules to ban generic environmental claims that cannot be proven, and authorities in the UK and Australia have taken enforcement action against misleading claims.
A cleaning products supplier labeled a degreaser as "non-toxic and environmentally safe," but its safety data sheet listed skin and aquatic toxicity hazards. A customer's EHS team spotted the mismatch during chemical approval, and the claim was withdrawn.
Misleading claims can breach consumer protection, advertising and securities laws, depending on the jurisdiction.
Greenhushing is when companies deliberately say little about their sustainability work to avoid scrutiny.
Make specific claims, back them with verified data, disclose boundaries and methods, and have claims reviewed by legal and sustainability teams.
Part of SafetyIQ's EHS glossary: plain-English definitions of workplace health and safety terms.
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