So much emphasis has been placed on environmental awareness in the world in recent years that this situation has even been given a special name: greenwashing. This term, not often heard in Turkey, leaves no stone unturned from time to time, especially in Europe.

We can directly translate the word Greenwashing into Turkish as “Green Whitewash”, “Green Painting” or “Green Washing”. But to make it more understandable, see Greenwashing. “Green scam” There are also authorities who say:

Let’s continue with the most current example: Apple emphatically stated “We are being very environmentally friendly” at its last launch, introducing the iPhone 15 series and the new Apple Watch. said.

However Don’t let this fool you right away, because it turned out that many brands making such environmentalist statements were actually secretly destroying the environment.

At this launch by 2030 It was emphasized that all Apple products will have zero CO2 emissions. In fact, the moments with famous actress Octavia Spencer were shot as a short film and this subject was specifically touched upon.

In the name of sustainability, Apple Watch bands are made 82% recyclable, Apple Watch boxes are made smaller to reduce shipments, and new Apple products are created leather has not been used, It was announced that 100% recyclable materials have been used in the titanium housing 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max.

However, Apple has been offering products to its customers for a long time. without charger and headphones offers. Although Apple initially did this an environmentally friendly step Although many people claim that Apple does this for profit.

Nowadays, many brands other than Apple no longer include accessories such as chargers and headphones in the box. Apple attributes this situation to environmental consciousness It is seen as greenwashing. In some countries it even ran into trouble because there was no charger in the box.

About the meaning of greenwashing in the dictionary

Activists Protest Brands’ Greenwashing Ads Featuring Money and Cleaning Products.

greenwashing (or Greenwash) in the Cambridge Dictionary as “Making people believe that a company is doing more to protect the environment than it actually is” is defined as. Let’s also keep in mind that the word Greenwashing is derived from Brainwashing.

You may be saying to yourself, “Why would it bother anyone if a brand advertises eco-friendly messages?”, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But in question Non-eco-friendly brands and products pretend to be environmentally friendly We should also point out that it attracted a lot of attention when it happened. In fact, there is a huge pie in the market for eco-friendly products and big brands are trying to get as big a share of the pie as possible. So much so that, according to a report published in 2015, 2/3 of customers do this buy and use more environmentally friendly products by paying more pro. In this case, it sounds very normal that big brands are salivating.

The origin story of greenwashing

The architect of the word Greenwashing American environmental activist Jay Westerveldis. While mentioning the word Greenwashing in an article he wrote in 1986, Westerweld summarizes the event that witnessed the birth of Greenwashing as follows: “A hotel announced that the towels in the hotel rooms would no longer be changed every day, thus protecting the environment. Moreover, the hotel embellished this decision with huge advertisements throughout the country. While people were talking all over the country about how eco-friendly the hotel was and attracting all the sensitive customers, I followed this exaggerated ad.”.

When Westerweld investigates the incident and reaches the hotel’s details, The hotel does not save on energy and its main goal is to make a profit just by eliminating laundry costs. revealed. While the hotel saved on laundry costs, it also attracted more customers. Since 1986, when this incident was reported, many Greenwashing incidents have occurred and been discovered.

If you want, we leave you with some famous Greenwashing events:

Message from Shell: ‘Even if we pollute nature, we repair it’

In an advert published by Shell in 2007, the message “we use waste carbon dioxide to grow plants” got the ad banned. In research by the way Only a small part of the waste carbon dioxide is used in plant cultivation. and it was announced that it was being banned because the advertisement conveyed the message as if all waste carbon dioxide was being used in plant cultivation.

Volkswagen’s message ‘our cars are environmentally friendly’ did not make it.

After the scandalous incident, Volkswagen’s slogan “Das Auto” was ridiculed in some quarters and changed to “Gas Auto”.

Greenwashing is one of the first examples that come to mind and is mentioned in the literature. Dieselgate scandal It would be impossible if we don’t discuss the topic mentioned above. In 2015, German auto giant Volkswagen launched vehicles in the US A system that deceives testing equipment that measures CO2 emissions had been discovered. After this determination, Volkswagen accepted the scandal and paid a fine of approximately $18 billion. 500,000 vehicles also had to be recalled in the US.

McDonald’s war on straws

Let’s come to an example we once encountered in our country. In 2018 McDonald’s The environmental enemy of single-use plastic straws is; therefore recyclable paper straws He announced that he would make the switch.

In 2019 McDonald’s straws It turns out it is not recyclable. After this incident, McDonald’s also got its name on the Greenwashing list. Before this incident, McDonald’s had also changed the color of its logo to green in some European countries.

Ancol Pet Products has turned our pet friends into tools.

Ancol Pet Products, a world-renowned brand that makes products for our pet friends, appeared in an advertisement in 2019. The bags that dogs produce for their feces are environmentally friendly he explained. Shortly afterwards this incident was also called Greenwashing.

If you had said: “When we fly we release oxygen to nature”: Ryan Air

Ireland-based airline Ryan Air, known for offering cheap airline tickets to its customers, stated in an advertisement published in 2020 that they are “the lowest CO2 emitting airline in Europe.” Because this claim by Ryan Air could not be proven, it was banned within a short time. The reason for the ban is Exploiting the feelings of environmentally conscious people was shown.

Do the Koreans ever hold back: Hyundai

Hyundai’s release this year “the car that cleans the air” The ad with the slogan is also one of the ads that was labeled Nowashing and banned because it was misleading.

Another straw suitcase: Starbucks

In 2018, coffee giant Starbucks Banned straws for a cleaner environment and to protect the environment he explained. It was determined that the perforated lids that Starbucks would use without straws were more environmentally unfriendly than straws, but cheaper in cost. In other words, when it became clear that Starbucks’ main goal was to make a profit, not the environment, the company was included in the Greenwashing list.

Recycling attacks in the clothing industry: H&M and Zara

Textile giants H&M and Zara They produce environmentally friendly clothing products and these products are recyclable. However, research revealed that only 20% of these products were recycled and 80% were waste.

Has anyone tried the flavor of it: Coca Cola Life

Even though it is not sold in our country, Coca Cola “Coca-Cola life” There was a product initiative called. According to the claim of Coca Cola, this product fully recycle product, but we can see that this initiative did not work globally. Many critics blame this development on Coca Cola There is no step further than painting the packaging green. defended.

What can we do against greenwashing?

The activist in the visual asked advertising companies with a banner in his hand: “Which green do you see, the green of the dollar or the green of nature?” asks the question.

This is evident from a study conducted in the US between 2008 and 2009 98% of products from brands that show eco-friendly advertisements are actually not honest about it had arisen. This is a very serious figure indeed. It is one of the best developments for our world when a brand produces environmentally friendly products, but as long as it is honest about it… As for us, the users, our part in this regard is not to be misled by the ads ; Investigate whether products that claim to be environmentally friendly are actually environmentally friendly.