What Is Greenwashing In The Home?

More people now than ever are interested in making their homes greener.

In March 2024, the National Association of REALTORS® conducted a survey to determine the state of the housing market regarding sustainability. The study’s results suggest that the industry is right at the beginning of a “green revolution.”

For example, almost half the respondents stated that their Multiple Listing Service (MLS) now includes green data fields. This indicates a change in residential property presentation to be more open about sustainable features awareness. These fields act as signposts that lead buyers to eco-friendly houses.

But that’s not all!

Demand for more eco friendly household goods – from furniture to cleaners – is also rising.

Sadly, there is bad news to match this.

Namely, the fact that most ‘green’ products on the market are not actually eco-friendly at all. As a result of high consumer demand for earth-friendly products, many manufacturers have simply used marketing and packaging to mislead customers into thinking their goods are ecological.

So common is this deceptive practice, a term has been coined for it: greenwashing.

But what is greenwashing in the home, exactly?

What Is Greenwashing In General?

Greenwashing overall can be hard to spot, but it’s all around us.

For example, several hotel chains claim to be environmentally friendly because they allow guests to choose whether to sleep on the same sheets and use the same towels for continuous days. Not a bad idea, of course. But when it comes to behavioural adaptations that can really make a difference, these hotels fail.

For example? How many have eliminated plastic? How many use more efficient insulation and heating, or purchase non-toxic carpeting and bedding?

McDonald’s tried to paint itself as ‘green’ lately, just because it has begun to use biofuel made from leftover grease in its fleet of trucks, and is using recycled paper in its takeaway bags. Great steps forward, of course. Yet the company still buys their chicken from Cargill, which feeds its poultry with imported soy, much of it apparently coming from the Bolivian Amazon and Brazilian Cerrado. Of course, these areas are rapidly being deforested for new soy plantations. And let’s not forget that McDonald’s bases its entire concept around disposable packaging.

Now, Let’s Get To Greenwashing In The Home

Some cleaning product and furniture companies claim to be ‘inspired by nature’ or even use the words ‘pure’, ‘herbal’, ‘bio’, ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ in their packaging.

Yet they may still sell products that contain dozens of harmful synthetic chemicals, such as sodium laureth sulfate, diazolidinyl urea, fragrance and many others.

In their efforts to give greenwashing the boot, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics  highlights several companies as being guilty of greenwashing. However, they note that regulation on the use of words such as ‘natural’, ‘herbal’ ‘green,’ Earth’ and ‘organic’ are very loose. Such marketing is not stringently regulated, making greenwashing even harder to spot.

So no wonder Dr Bronner’s – an ethical soap/home cleaning products company with strict organic guidelines for their ingredients was upset.

They sued a few competing cleaning brands for falsely claiming they, too, were organic. Dr Bronner’s won, and those brands that used words like ‘organic’ in their descriptions (or even in their names) had to change their packaging, marketing and how they presented their products.

Indeed, knowing what is greenwashing and which home brands are authentically eco-friendly can be tough. But never fear! We are here to help.

Watch out for these key greenwashing tricks

1. The use of unsubstantiated claims

Who says a company is ‘natural’, ‘green’ or ‘organic’?  Make sure that if a product makes these claims, there are no harmful chemicals hiding behind the ‘green’ ones.

Vegan leather furniture is a perfect example. Although it is often promoted as being eco friendly, ‘vegan leather’ is often merely plastic by another name, and is just as harmful for the environment, if not worse, than leather production.

That being said, furniture sold as being made from ‘natural leather’ is no better. The animal skins need to be tanned and dyed with toxic chemicals.

2. The ‘lesser of two evils’ trick

This is a fairly common one. It’s when a company fools consumers into thinking it’s gone green, when it’s just slightly less harmful than it was before. Take Ziploc’s newish ‘evolve’ line, for example.

They claim it’s ‘green’ because it uses ‘less plastic’ and is created with wind energy.

But honestly, why even use plastic wrap at all when there are so many alternatives, like waxed paper, for example?

3. Unseen trade-offs

These are particularly hard to spot. This is when companies tout the eco-friendliness of certain aspects of their products while ignoring the larger environmental cost.

For example, an example of greenwashing in the home could be a furniture company that claims it’s using sustainable species of wood might actually be harvesting those trees from old virgin forests. Or ‘organic cotton curtains and home textiles may be shipped from tens of thousands of miles away.

A great example of greenwashing common products we use at home are these nappies, below. The good news! Organic Cotton. The Bad News? These are disposable, contain plastics, and still create huge amounts of landfill!

If you really want to be eco-friendly, only washable cloth diapers will do.

4. Irrelevant claims

These are commonly made by companies to fool us into believing they’ve made an effort to be green, but they have done nothing relevant towards this.

For example, another case of greenwashing in home products would be a paint brand that claims to be eco friendly because it’s free of asbestos and lead – both of which used to be common in paint, but are now prohibited anyway.

Another great example is Nespresso coffee pods. Though the company (one of the least ‘green’ in the world, by the way) claims you can recycle their pods, the fact is, the recycling process is highly energy and water intensive. And you could just make coffee in a French press, with ZERO waste, anyway.

Nice try.

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5. The use of misleading green images or names

Beware: this is probably THE most common trick!

Keep an eye out for pictures of trees, leaves and other such nature scenes on labels that make no other claims to eco-friendliness. Just because there’s an animal and a bit of greenery on the label doesn’t mean the company is making the environment a priority. Here are just a few of the greenwashing words you’ll find on home products that can be anything but eco friendly:

• Botanical
• Clean
• Earth-friendly
• Gentle
• Green
• Herbal
• Mineral
• Natural
• Plant-based
• Pure
• Sulfate-free

But there are plenty more.

And it’s not just words that marketers use to deceive us. It’s images, too.

I mean, just look at this ad for Glade room fresheners, below. With all that fresh fruit, you’d think this was a natural product. But is there anything more toxic for your home? I’d say no!

6. ‘Smart’ anything

So-called ‘Smart’ appliances are ubiquitous these days. From doorbells and dishwashers to TVs and lamps, everything seems to be ‘smart’. And those goods are actually marketed as ‘green’. For no reason whatsoever, really.

Why? Well, their parent companies are usually some of the most polluting ones on the planet.

For example, Apple and Samsung have been accused of using child labour to mine components of their electronics. And electronic waste and mining for electronic components are currently two of the biggest contamination issues currently facing he planet.

So if you think replacing your old appliances for new, smart ones is ‘smart’, think again. Not only will you be contributing to more electronic waste by dumping your old goods, but you’ll be encouraging companies to engage in dirty, unsustainable mining practices too. Any gains you make by saving a bit of energy with ‘smart’ appliances is undone by all the negatives mentioned above.

And don’t even get me started on the harm done to human and animal health by appliances connected to wifi! In fact, EMFs, the electromagnetic frequencies from the smart devices, mobile networks and wi-fi signalling, interfere with bird and insects’ navigation systems and disrupt their immune systems. Smart technology is actually to blame for the demise of bee and bird populations. How can it EVER be called ‘green’?

What Makes A Product Truly Green?

The best way to know how to avoid greenwashing in the home is to look for a Third Party Certification.

What that means is, check that the label has been certified by a recognised body that ensures a product is eco-friendly, such as:

• The Soil Association
• EcoCert
• The Green Seal
• FSC (for wood)
• LEEDS (for architecture)
• The Leaping Bunny (for cleaning products)

Still, the answer to ‘What Is Greenwashing In The Home?’ isn’t always straightforward. And even less so since there is currently very little governmental control of misleading environmental advertising claims.

But there are a number of non-profit organisations that monitor greenwashing. And of course, the key to avoiding any sort of greenwashing is to always do your own research – and stay informed.