The keyword ‘eco-friendly’ has become a trend not only in Korea but also globally. However, rather than acting for the environment, companies are packaging themselves with a plausible eco-friendly image. Greenwashing is promoting things as if they are green, even though they are not green. It is a compound word of ‘green’, which literally means green, and ‘whitewashing’, which is used when white actors play characters of color in movies. An example of greenwashing is when a company causes environmental pollution in making a product but emphasizes product packaging using eco-friendly materials, highlighting the green part in marketing. The seven types of greenwashing announced by Terra Choice in the United States in 2007 include concealing conflicting effects, lack of evidence, ambiguous claims, irrelevant claims, lies, fad product justifications, and inappropriate certification labels. The reason greenwashing is serious is that companies try to have an eco-friendly image to generate profits for their benefit by gaining people's attention. However, in the end, it is only a display ceremony, and there is no actual environmental protection effect.
- Representative Examples of Greenwashing
A typical example of greenwashing is Starbucks. Starbucks, which emphasizes its eco-friendly image through various campaigns, such as using reusable cups and a day without disposable cups, was not free from the controversy over greenwashing by selling too many merchandiser goods and producing waste. A few years ago, Starbucks celebrated its 50th anniversary by serving drinks in reusable cups. This event stressed out eco-friendliness, but when reusable cups were sold out, there was controversy over whether the eco-friendly policy was correct, such as using disposable cups in the end. Also, unlike other coffee shops, Starbucks does not give a vibrating bell to customers waiting for their coffee drinks; they call the order number or call the member's nickname. Unless it's a siren order, ordering through a mobile application, most customers must get a paper receipt even if they don't want. Few Starbucks users want paper receipts. In the end, Starbucks' operation method, which chose paper receipts to avoid using a vibrating bell, cannot be considered eco-friendly. However, Starbucks management seems to have decided that using paper straws and paper receipts is environment friendly. The greenhouse gas emitted per 1 kg of printing paper is 1.37 CO2e, and the greenhouse gas emission per receipt corresponds to 1.29 g. The Climate Action Change Research Institute has investigated that Starbucks receipts generate 282 tons and 510 kg of greenhouse gas emissions per year. After all, Starbucks only emphasizes eco-friendliness on the surface. Indeed, Starbucks and paper manufacturers hide the environmental destruction caused by logging and use recycled paper, or cosmetic companies advertise that their cosmetic containers are made of paper, but plastic containers are inside. Like this, we can easily find greenwashing around us.
- How Do Companies Prevent Greenwashing?
Greenwashing should also be taken for granted on the corporate side. What is the degree of greenwashing regulation in Korea? Currently, there are regulatory measures that can prevent greenwashing in Korea. In 2018, the Environmental Advertising Act was enacted to lay the groundwork for preventing and regulating greenwashing. The law requires companies to ensure transparency and accuracy in environmental advertising. In addition, the environmental management certification system is operated to induce companies to practice sustainable management. However, the Ministry of Environment only imposes 2% penalty for the relevant sales or less than 500 million won if a company is found guilty of greenwashing. Such weak regulation does nothing to reduce corporate greenwashing. Even if a product is found to be greenwashing, strong regulation is needed because they do not care much or pay a fine and continue to sell the product. If regulation is weak, companies will continue to focus only on their profits and will not correct misbehavior such as greenwashing. Therefore, strengthening greenwashing regulations to promote sustainable development and consumer confidence is necessary. Companies should also establish transparency, practice sustainable management, and be active in communicating with consumers to prevent greenwashing. Prevention of greenwashing positively affects corporate recognition and competitiveness enhancement and is an important task to protect the environment and create a sustainable society.
- How Do Consumers Prevent Greenwashing?
Consumers should pay attention to prevent greenwashing. In other words, it is essential to expand consumers' understanding and awareness of greenwashing. Are consumers properly aware that they are greenwashing products when they consume them? Many consumers are more likely to buy a product by believing in the eco-friendly mark on the product or by only looking at the superficial appearance of companies emphasizing eco-friendliness. The fact that people line up to buy numerous MD (merchandiser) products yearly is also a representative example showing that consumer awareness needs to be improved. If consumers do not pay attention, companies will deceive them, and they will continue to be deceived, and the vicious cycle will repeat. Therefore, consumers need to acquire reliable information to prevent greenwashing. Information such as product labels, homepages, and eco-friendly certification marks of the Ministry of Environment can be used to confirm environmental aspects related to products or services. In addition, the most eco-friendly product can be selected considering the environmental performance and certification of similar products, evaluation through media, and reviews. In addition, you should form eco-friendly consumption habits. Environmentally conscious consumers can put pressure on companies to prevent greenwashing. Through this attitude, you can become a smart consumer who prevents greenwashing and promotes social responsibility for environmental protection.
- Future Direction of Eco-Friendliness and Greenwashing
To prevent greenwashing, which camouflages environmentalism, consumers and companies must make efforts to approach the environment carefully. Expanding consumer awareness is the most important task because consumers continuously purchase and consume corporate products. To achieve this, consumers should be able to consume eco-friendly products by using media, such as advertisements, to approach them in a more friendly way or by providing detailed information about the product. To prevent corporate greenwashing, strengthening the regulation level and leading changes in corporate awareness through guidelines related to greenwashing are essential. Ultimately, companies themselves must recognize the seriousness of greenwashing. When greenwashing is emerging as a social problem, companies should not lose their sincerity and consider the environmental pollution problem more deeply. It is essential to prevent the eco-friendly contradiction of a shoddy company, and greenwashing must be erased from society developing responsible consumers and producers.
Park Seo-jin (Web Editor)
linasj1@soongsil.ac.kr
