How to Spot Greenwashing: Grocery Edition
When it comes to advertising, it can be extremely hard to spot when the messages are true or when they are fabricated. Greenwashing is the practice whereby brands make efforts to appear eco-friendly and sustainable when they are in fact not. Brands want to capture conscious consumers that they have lost over the years by changing their packaging, stretching the truth to sound better than it really is, and omitting information about the harmful effects of their business practices.
None of us want to be tricked by these immoral tactics, and even more importantly, we want to make sure that our conscious buying habits are not being infected and manipulated by brands that do not agree with our core value of sustainability. Here are some things you can do in order to better protect yourself from greenwashing.
When it comes to branding, businesses know that packaging is everything. The key is to not fall prey to packaging that looks eco-friendly when in reality the product is not. It is vital to read the label to truly find out what ingredients went into the product. If a product is truly healthier and more sustainable than others, it will have credible certifications printed on its packaging.
Not everyone knows which packaging labels are legit; I will highlight a few credible seals for your convenience. The first label to look out for, which most of you probably already know about, is the USDA organic certification. In order for products to become certified by the USDA as organic, they must prove that their business practices are preserving and limiting natural resources, protecting the biodiversity of the planet, and solely using substances that have been approved by the USDA. The reason I buy USDA certified organic products is that I want to make sure I am not putting harmful toxins, such as pesticides, in my body. Toxins like this have been liked to cancer and fetal development problems.
Another seal to look for is the Green Seal. Green Seal is a non-profit that sets standards for what companies must be doing in order to claim that their practices are environmentally friendly. A key component of Green Seal standards is that a brand or product contributes to a circular economy, meaning that they practice reduction, reuse, and recycling rather than producing large amounts of waste. Buying products with the Green Seal ensures that your purchasing power as a consumer is going to encourage and further business and production practices that take the least from the planet.
I also like to know whether or not the food I’m consuming contains GMOs. You can look for the Non-GMO Project verified seal to ensure you aren’t purchasing food that hasn’t been genetically modified. GMOs are detrimental to Earth’s biodiversity. Genetic diversity and DNA’s ability to adapt to new environments is made possible by the wide variety of traits that exist within the plants and animals on our planet. Genetic modification of produce and livestock reduces its genetic diversity and therefore makes it less able to adapt to changes in the environment or new strains of diseases. The potato famine in Ireland was largely due to the fact that there was little genetic diversity between the potatoes being grown. When a pathogen infected the potatoes, the lack of genetic diversity allowed the pathogen to succeed in contaminating all of the potatoes.
To ensure you are using your purchasing power to the best of your ability, don’t forget to look out for these three labels when grocery shopping!