Greenwashing 101: How to Spot It and Ways to Avoid

Whether you’re someone that’s new to learning about eco-friendly products, or an expert in all things sustainability, greenwashing is something you’ll want to know about. In this blog post, we cover the basics of what it is, why we should care, and how to spot it so you can make better, conscious choices.

What is Greenwashing?

Essentially, “greenwashing” is simply a marketing tactic companies use to get you to buy their product. The company may write things like “eco-friendly”, “sustainable”, “compostable”, or even the word “green”, making consumers think it’s a product that is better for the planet, when in reality, the company has no real action to back this up.

The terms “green”, “natural”, and “compostable” are unregulated, giving companies the power to persuade customers and sell more.

I get messages often about how to avoid greenwashing, or someone will send me a photo of a product and ask “Does this look legit to you?”. This blog post will be all you need to become a more conscious consumer and make better choices when looking for green products!

How To Spot Greenwashing

To avoid greenwashing, you’ll need to know what you’re looking for first. Greenwashing can appear in many forms. Below are some general ideas of what it looks like:

• “Earthy” colors and patterns on packaging, such as green, wood, photos of nature, etc.
• Use of the words Natural, Compostable, Eco-friendly, Environmentally Friendly, Sustainable, and Green on the packaging without any context or details.
• Packaging says “Recyclable” in large letters, even though it’s just made of plastic. Technically it is recyclable! It doesn’t make it anymore eco-friendly than a plastic water bottle though.

Now one thing I want to point out, is that just because a company uses these things does not always mean they are trying to deceive you! Truly sustainable companies will use these terms too, but to know who is being honest about their claims just takes a little bit of fact-checking.

How Can I Avoid Greenwashing?

Avoiding greenwashing can be tricky, but once you know what to look for you become more aware of when companies are using this marketing strategy. The reason for writing this blog post is not to scare you about switching to cleaner products, but conscious consumerism is all about education. Knowing what’s in your products and what companies do to get you to buy is all a part of becoming a better consumer. There are quite a few things to look for in a product or brand when looking for greenwashing. Some are more advanced that others and can be tricky, but below are the best tips that I could gather to help you navigate the eco-friendly and ethical market.

Check the Ingredients and Materials

When I first look at a new product, 99% of the time I look at what it’s made out of before anything else. This can be a dead giveaway if the brand if greenwashing. If I see materials that aren’t truly natural, I know it’s not legit. For example, if a brand says something is biodegradable, but it’s made out of 65% polyester, I know that’s just a flat out lie because polyester is plastic, and that is not biodegradable!

I could go on and on about which ingredients and materials are good, better, and best, so I’m going to have to save that for another blog post or two (; But I will say that everyone is a little different when it comes to what they consider to be “clean and green”. People have different standards, and that’s okay! Sustainability isn’t all or nothing either, so you might buy a product that’s packaged in plastic but you’re okay with that because the product itself is reusable up to 1000x. There’s some gray area and give and take with this topic. You don’t need to follow any specific rules, but just keep your standards and intentions in mind when shopping.

Take Note of Packaging

The packaging plays a huge role in sustainability, in more ways than you think. I love seeing more and more brands stepping away from plastic and using paper and compostable materials to ship and store products. But just because a brand uses plastic packaging does not necessarily mean they are greenwashing.
Packaging can be a tricky thing. A brand will want the packaging of a product to be durable enough to transport the product safety. That’s why we don’t see too many compostable food containers at the grocery store. It’s just not built to keep food fresh, so plastic is what works best until we come up with a better option.
Greenwashing comes into play when a brand labels a product as green because the packaging is “100% recyclable” and all it is is plastic. Yes, we know plastic is recyclable, but not all plastics are depending on the area you live in. Another common thing is when the brand uses recycled plastic for their packaging, and they label the product as being “green” even though that’s the only eco-friendly aspect about it. A brand needs to do a little better than that to really be considered eco-friendly. This is the most common lazy way I see brands greenwash.

Be Aware of Vague Greenwashing Labels

Greenwashing can often appear through the use of labels on products. These labels are often designed to look like third-party certifications. Here are some examples of what to look out for:

Whether it’s food, clothing, or home items, lots of companies are using labels like this to get people to think the product is eco-friendly. Seeing these photos on a product does not mean the product is bad, it just means that you should do a little more digging before taking their word for it. Some companies will go as far as to say “certified green” or something to the effect of making it look like the product was certified by a third party, when it really wasn’t. Here are some other examples of common claims you might see:

You might be wondering how companies are allowed to get away with this. I honestly wonder the same thing. The truth is, these labels and terms are not regulated, and it’s very difficult for organizations to regulate every single thing and enforce a ton of rules. Even if they did, there would still be loopholes. With companies being allowed to market this way, it’s up to us to determine what products are up to our standards and what’s truly “green” and “clean”.

Now that you know all of this, you have POWER, and you can decide if a brand is greenwashing or up to your standards.

How to Find Brands You Can Trust

Now that we’ve covered greenwashing, you’re probably wondering “how can I find companies that are actually doing the right thing?”. There are many ways brands can display their efforts to creating green and clean products. A brand’s claims depend on the product they’re selling and goals as a company.

Be Curious and Ask Questions

Don’t hesitate to ask brands tough questions about their sustainability efforts and hold them accountable for their claims. Genuine eco-conscious brands welcome scrutiny and actively engage with consumers to address concerns and improve their sustainability performance. I personally do this when brands reach out to me to work together. If a brand isn’t willing to tell me or show me how they’re a more eco-friendly or non-toxic option, I don’t work with them. Asking questions help you to understand if the product or service is a good fit for you.

Look for Third Party Certifications

Certifications are a great thing to look for when choosing better brands. It shows that someone else is holding the brand accountable and sets a standard for what the brand is claiming they care about. While third-party certifications offer valuable guidance, it’s essential to critically evaluate their credibility and relevance to your own values and priorities. Below is a list of different popular third party certifications you might see on packaging that are legit.

• USDA Organic – Organic certifications verify that agricultural products are grown and processed without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Organic farming practices prioritize soil health, biodiversity, and sustainable resource management.This is a super common label that you see in the grocery store on food items. It is the official organic certification of the USDA, so when you see a brand display the word “organic” on their packaging without this symbol, question it!
• FSC Certified – The Forest Stewardship Council certification is a cert that displays sustainable wood sourcing and production. You often see this one on furniture and home items made with wood.
• Climate Neutral Certified – When a brand is Climate Neutral Certified, that means they are working to lower or offset their carbon emissions to get to net zero. Think of your carbon footprint, but on a bigger scale. You’ll often see this on clothing tags and home goods. To become certified, companies must display their work towards reducing emissions and waste.
• Certified B Corp – B Corps are businesses certified by the nonprofit B Lab for meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. This certification signifies a company’s commitment to balancing profit with purpose.
• Fair Trade Certified – This certification ensures that producers in developing countries receive fair wages, safe working conditions, and community development funds. It aims to empower marginalized farmers and workers by promoting equitable trade practices.
• 1% for the Planet – This is an organization in which members contribute at least one percent of their annual revenue to environmental causes. This is less of a certification and more of a badge that donating partners can use, but a company will display this on their website and products to show that they are a member and are doing more outside of themselves as a brand to help the environment.

I also get the other side of things where some smaller companies can’t afford third-party certifications.
Yes, the good labels cost money! It’s a good thing that they aren’t handed out for free, but it also puts smaller start-ups in a tough spot. So just because you see a label that looks funky, doesn’t mean you should automatically run.

Fact-Check Transparency

When a company claims to be doing green things or making a cleaner product, I say, “okay, show me!”. Genuine eco-conscious brands are transparent about their environmental initiatives and readily provide evidence to support their claims. Transparency can look like a public sustainability report or audit, a tour of where the product is made, or third party certifications. Transparency also means that these things are easily accessible to you as a consumer. If a brand claims to have a sustainability report, it should be displayed on their website. You don’t want to just take a brand’s word for their claim. That’s how they’re able to get away with greenwashing in the first place. You’ll want to look for more proof. When a brand displays transparency, that helps to educate the consumer and also gain trust.

Follow Eco-Activists for Inspiration and Tips

A great way to find better brands is to follow sustainable influencers and eco-activists! The online eco community has been so good to me and people are always sharing ideas and information on brands. It’s a good way to get familiar with greenwashing too since people love roasting brands on the Internet for not being truthful lol. The space for that can be kind of toxic sometimes, so just remember that everyone has different standards when it comes to their lifestyle and values. It’s good to be more educated, but don’t let others make you feel bad for your own conscious choices.

I truly believe that who you surround yourself with and what you see every day becomes your reality. Follow people that inspire you to not only buy from better brands, but people that even encourage you to shop less and use what you have. Don’t get me wrong, you should want to support brands that are doing good things, but only buy what you need!

Check Out My Content!

Lucky for you, you happen to be following an eco-activist with lots of recommendations for products and brands (; If you’re looking for curated lists of sustainable companies that don’t greenwash, you’re in the right place! I have tons of companies listed in my links and discounts page that have my “Sustainable Kay seal of approval”. All of the brands listed are ones I personally buy from myself, and I happen to have discount codes for you to take advantage of.

If you head over to my Instagram, you’ll find recommendations for almost anything you need. With so many posts things tend to get lost in my feed, so I recommend checking my story highlights!

I also have lots of recommendations here on the blog! With my blog being newer, I wouldn’t say I have an answer for everything on here yet, but I plan to continue to post more and more so stay tuned for more eco-conscious content, and make sure you’re subscribed to my email list for updates. (:

I hope this post gave you a better idea of what to look for when it comes to greenwashing, and how to find brands that are truly giving you a green product!