Greenwashing typically implies that a company invests more on advertising and campaigning to suggest that they're an environmentally friendly company than they do on actually becoming environmentally friendly, leaving customers convinced that the products and services that they use are 'green' when in actual fact they're only portrayed as such.

Consumer behaviour has certainly changed in recent times in tandem with increased media coverage and a heavy focus on sustainability and all things pro-environment. Following the pandemic over 81% of consumers said that they expected company's to be environmentally friendly in their advertising and communications while 69% of respondents said they themselves are trying to minimise their own carbon footprints.

As consumers habits and demands change, businesses will try to accommodate towards these changes, but looking green and being green are two completely different things, however, campaigns and advertisements that suggest to customers that the company is environmentally friendly are often easier and less costly to implement than ACTUAL pro-environmental processes. Consumers therefore fall into the trap of clever marketing and advertising with the belief that the products and services they're using are actually positive for the environment, when this is far from the truth. 

It's all too easy to see why companies are following this path, with 64% of gen x customers claiming they'd spend more on a product/service that was sustainable, with 75% of millennials saying the same. It's no wonder that the number of adverts banned for greenwashing has tripled in the last year.

Companies who are truly green will be able to back their pro-environmental claims with facts, figures, data and images, as well as results of their actions. Those who simply claim their products are 'green' or 'natural' without relevant evidence shouldn't be trusted.

You can almost guarantee companies with sound green efforts will have third party endorsements, awards or certifications as proof of their commitment to the environment.

Generally you'll be able to tell when companies are being transparent about their products. What about us? you might be asking? We go the extra mile and invite our partners to come and see our products and processes for themselves. That's right, potential and existing Partners are always welcome to our remanufacturing and recycling sites to see how one of the most circular toner cartridge remanufacturers and recyclers in the UK operates. 

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