Buzzword: Greenwashing

Buzzword: Greenwashing

What does it mean? Greenwashing refers to companies and corporations that make green claims when their products or actions are anything but. TerraChoice, a marketing firm that recently released “The Six Sins of Greenwashing,” defines the term as “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.”

Toyota, for example, has been criticized for its promotion of the Prius hybrid even as it sells inefficient pickups and SUVs. GE basks in the halo of its involvement with the Energy Star Change a Light, Change the World campaign but spent millions fighting Environmental Protection Agency-backed legislation requiring the company to clean up the PCBs in the Hudson River.

Why the buzz? Although greenwashing has been in Webster’s since 1989, its popularity is on the rise: The word popped up 762 times in an online search of news stories from the last 12 months, up from 211 the year before.

Green seems to be everywhere. Wal-Mart, not known for its progressive stances, has been touting its sustainability efforts (read the company’s own progress report) as the retailer aspires to be, as CEO Lee Scott said in 2005, a “good steward for the environment.” Earlier this month, NBC went green, with a week’s worth of its primetime shows featuring the environment in storylines—even the TV network’s peacock flashed emerald feathers. And fuel-cell technology and other alternatives to gasoline are the Holy Grail for the major automakers, who in recent years seemed more interested in the kind of green that SUVs and other gas guzzlers delivered to the corporate coffers.

Plenty of genuinely eco-conscious companies exist, but a dose of skepticism is called for as corporate America embraces green as the new black. When you spot bogus or too-good-to-be-true green claims from companies about their products and services, greenwashing is the term you’re searching for.

Essential information: Find out which household products and cleaners satisfy their green claims and learn how to buy green power. Also see our listing of the most fuel-efficient automobiles, assuming you don’t ride your bike to work.

Unfamiliar with a home-related word or phrase? Drop us a note with the term and we'll add it to our list of buzzwords.