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What is Greenwashing?
August, 2008Andrea Romi, certified public accountant and graduate student in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, replies:
Greenwashing is a term used by many to describe the practice by individuals or organizations to mislead outside parties as to an organization’s environmental practices or the environmental advantages of a product or service provided. This process takes place in the form of advertising, public disclosures, public relations, event sponsorship and other methods. Greenwashing is found in many forms, but usually entails public emphasis on a corporation’s environmental qualities and activities without mention of their wrongdoings. It assists in the creation of a positive environmental public impression. This issue is important because the use of greenwashing tends to muddy the waters of legitimate honorable environmental work. Detection of misleading claims is difficult and therefore opens the door for rampant utilization of the process. Because greenwashing is so prevalent in the corporate world, it is difficult for the public to decipher between deceitful behavior and actual positive environmental performance, which leaves external parties weary of any word of positive environmental acts or products.