NEWS AND COMMENT: Greenwashing is becoming or has become an important part of large commercial organisations. If they can’t genuinely make their products more environmentally friendly at least they can present the idea that they are environmentally friendly to the greater public through advertisements and packaging.
And along those lines, UK’s watchdog, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating Unilever the maker of Marmite and Hellman’s mayonnaise and many other products including cleaning products and bathroom products. They have concerns that the British consumer is being misled by false green claims on some of their household products.
The argument is that Unilever is “overstating” their green credentials. They are allegedly doing this through “vague and broad claims, unclear statements around recyclability, and natural-looking images and logos.”
The chief executive of the Competitions and Markets Authority, Sarah Cardell, said: “Essentials like detergent, kitchen spray and toiletries are the kinds of items you put in your supermarket basket every day you shop. More and more people are trying to do their bit to help protect the environment, but we’re worried many are being misled by so-called green products that aren’t what they seem. So far, the evidence we’ve seen has raised concerns about how Unilever presents certain products as environmentally friendly. We’ll be drilling down into these claims to see if they measure up. If we find they are greenwashing, will take action to make sure shoppers are protected.”
The CMA are investigating the consumer goods market in general in respect of greenwashing. Comment: clearly, businesses have become vulnerable to negative publicity in the context of global warming. And they see an opportunity to enhance their public profile by subtly proclaiming that they are concerned about the environment.
The investigation comes after Greenpeace International found that Unilever had sold 1700 highly polluting plastic sachets every second. The campaign group has called upon Unilever to phase out single-use plastics over the forthcoming years.
Unilever, in response, said that it was “surprised and disappointed” with the CMA investigation. They refute that their claims are misleading.
But it is claimed by the CMA that they use colours and imagery such as green leaves to create the impression that their products are environmentally friendly.
And Unilever are accused of making certain green claims in relation to recyclability but they are unclear and unspecific in how they achieve this.
And also, Unilever are accused of presenting some ingredients as natural but this may be an exaggeration.
This is all about greenwashing and subtle signals sent to the public which are now being investigated.
