What Are Greenwashing, Greenhushing, and Greenwishing?

We live in a world where the damage we do to the environment simply by existing is more or less inevitable without societally altering changes. That doesn't mean we can't take steps to minimize the damage, to heal the damage that has been done, or, in some cases, even push toward those societally altering changes.

Environmental sustainability and ecological justice are among the core focuses of corporate responsibility, social accountability, and proactive existence in the world of modern business. As a company, the more you can do to lessen the unavoidable damage to the environment you do – and to give back where you can – the better off you'll be with customers who care about these kinds of things.

Make no mistake, either: people DO care.

• Products with environmental sustainability claims attached saw 28% growth year-over-year, compared to just 20% growth in products with no such claims.
• 78% of consumers say that sustainability is important to them, and 60% say they're willing to pay more for a sustainable product.
• Brands with sustainability claims on their products get around 33% repeat sales, more than products without.

There are clear and valuable reasons to focus on sustainability and ecological justice in your products. The problem is that value means that there are plenty of companies out there who are willing to pursue those profits – and they aren't above lying to do it.

You may have heard of the term "greenwashing" before, but there are two related terms as well: greenhushing and greenwishing. What are they, how do they differ, how can you recognize them, and what might you do about them? Let's dig in.

What is Greenwashing?

Greenwashing is a form of environmental deception. A short, overly simple definition is something like "marketing tactics that make environmental claims that aren't reflective of reality." An example might be something like table salt being labeled "GMO-free"; yes, it's free of genetic modification… because it's a mineral. There was never at any point the possibility that it could be genetically modified, so using GMO-free as a selling point belies any actual reality of environmental sustainability from the company selling the product.

Other forms of greenwashing include things like:

• Making claims about being on track to reduce emissions or offset carbon use while not having any plan to actually do so or goals to reach.
• Applying labels that have no standard meaning and thus may as well not have value. The Organic label on food is a good example that we've written about before.
• Emphasizing tangible changes and benefits in one area while downplaying or ignoring the damage done in another.

Imagine if we claimed our organic cotton apparel did no damage to water supplies in developing nations. That's true! But it's true because we use cotton grown in the USA, cotton fabric made in the USA, and manufacturing in the USA. We have no impact, positive or negative, with those products when it comes to developing nations.

When it comes down to it, greenwashing is a way for companies to make claims that they either don't live up to or that aren't as meaningful as they're meant to be while still reaping the benefits of making those claims. If someone is willing to pay more for an eco-friendly product, and you claim your product is eco-friendly, there's an expectation that the product is actually eco-friendly, right?

The unfortunate reality is that, all too often, a business is not above misrepresentation, bold commitments that sound good in a TV commercial but never materialize, or outright lies. There's very little way to verify the claims or enforce them when they're made. Without organizations like Fairtrade providing some form of authority and auditing, there's little to stop greenwashing beyond social pressure and backlash when it's discovered.

What is Greenhushing?

Now, we come to a newer entry into the discussion, the term "greenhushing." With the word "hush" in the name, you can likely intuit that it has something to do with keeping quiet about something, and you'd be right in that intuition.

Greenhushing is a reaction to the modern environment of greenwashing and the lawsuits that have been leveraged against companies that are found to be greenwashing. If you make a bold claim and fail to live up to it, no matter whether or not you were trying your best to achieve it and made tangible steps in the process, there could be consequences. Despite your best efforts, someone might get it into their heart to file a lawsuit or start a social campaign to react to your claims being left unfulfilled.

Some companies have chosen greenhushing rather than making any specific claims. When you make no promises, you can't break any promises, right? And if you set the bar low, it's easier to clear.

A simple example might be a grocery store that stocks a variety of products, some of which are Fairtrade certified. Customers may be glad to see Fairtrade products, but it leads them to notice that other products are not Fairtrade and wonder why that might be the case. Why doesn't the store stock those products in Fairtrade forms, too?

Of course, this neglects to recognize that sometimes the product doesn't exist. For example, you'll never find a stainless steel water bottle marked Made in the USA because they don't exist. Explaining that to the average consumer isn't very easy, though, so it may be better for the business to greenhush their other products instead.

Greenhushing can come from both the environmentalist side and from the capitalist side. Companies that want to make a positive difference might keep their activities on the quiet side so as not to make claims that end up more than they can actually achieve.

On the other hand, companies might wish to downplay their efforts for two more nefarious reasons. One is simply that they wish to fly under the radar and be carried along with the efforts of others in their industry, riding coattails that they have no right to be standing on. The other is so that they can step up later and say, "See, we did something" with some minimal amount of effort (but, because they hadn't made promises before, it seems better than nothing.)

While greenhushing itself isn't as dangerous as greenwashing, it does serve to hinder the overall movement towards sustainability. Part of how we collectively achieve progress as a society is by keeping that ball rolling with pressure from every angle. A business might not respond to the demands of a small vocal minority of their customers, but they may be more willing to cave if they see their competitors are buying in. When the competition is greenhushing, that avenue of pressure evaporates.

What is Greenwishing?

Greenwishing is a lot like greenwashing, and not just in the fact that there's only one letter of difference between them.

Greenwishing is greenwashing done unintentionally or with the best intentions. It's the name for when a company makes bold promises for sustainability or ecological commitments but fails to live up to those commitments.

It's not just about that failure, though; it's about the intention and the effort put into meeting them. A company promising to reduce its energy consumption by 30% might encounter a point where it simply cannot reduce its consumption any further, no matter what they do, without closing its business entirely; if that number is less than 30%, it may be found to have been greenwashing that goal.

Greenwishing usually comes from a point of positivity. The companies that greenwish aren't doing it because they want to deceive people into thinking they're doing more than they are. They're making promises that they want to keep but run into some reason they can't, whether it's financial, technological, or physical.

There is one point of negativity with greenwishing, and it's that it reveals something about the company behind it. Specifically, it's a sign that the company, while its hearts may be in the right place, either lacks the commitment internally or the resources externally to do what it wants to do. More importantly, they lack the foresight to perform analysis and set realistic goals. They picked a number out of a hat and failed to live up to it. It's less of an indictment of that failure and more of the method they used to pick the number.

How do Greenwashing, Greenhushing, and Greenwishing Differ?

All three terms are closely related.

Greenwashing and greenwishing are particularly close. The important thing to understand is that greenwashing is about an intentional misrepresentation that makes a company appear better for the environment than it actually is. Greenwishing is greenwashing backed by poor planning; promises made that cannot be kept.

Greenhushing is a reactionary stance to take and focuses on keeping quiet to avoid accusations of greenwashing – or of the opposite, of not doing anything for the environment.

Avoiding Green Failure as a Business

Now, let's look at these three from a business perspective.

How can you avoid greenwashing? It's all about transparency. Make changes and pursue goals that are based on environmental sustainability and ecological justice, and don't be evasive with what you're doing.

Another big tip is to avoid investing in "green" technology that isn't proven. One of the biggest climate scams in environmentalism right now is the carbon credits system. The idea is that businesses that don't directly have an impact – or that do, in a way that can't be mitigated – can use their profits to purchase carbon offset credits. Those credits assign, well, credit to that business for the activities funded by the purchase of the credits.

While that sounds good on paper, when you trace the credits, you find that very little actual good is ever done. It's a way for a company to pay to be in good graces, but it doesn't actually benefit the environment. By avoiding these kinds of technologies, you can focus your money and your efforts in ways that make a tangible difference.

Generally, it's best to work with a reputable organization like Fairtrade, B Corp, or another certification when possible; by having third-party validation, you can make more trustworthy efforts.

How Can You Spot Environmental Deception?

As a consumer, what can you do in this environment? When companies are willing to be deceptive because they know you're willing to pay more for sustainable items, how do you trust when green efforts are actually made and you're not buying into greenwashing or greenwishing?

One good option is to look for trustworthy and verifiable certifications. There are many of these, from big names like Fairtrade to smaller names that are more focused on niches or geographic locations. Whether it's Bluesign, EWG, Cradle to Cradle, or another cert, check with the organization and see if it's valued and progressive.

It can also be important to pay attention to specific wording used in green claims.

• Think about context. Salt can't be GMO, so a GMO-free salt is greenwashing.
• Consider the value of words. Calling something eco-friendly doesn't actually have a defined meaning, and the bar may be a lot lower for the company than you realize.
• Look beyond imagery. Many companies greenwash literally by using green packaging and plant imagery when they don't actually make claims beyond psychological impressions and associations.
• Think about impacts and what a company might be tacitly leaving out. Making one large claim could be a marketing point, or it could be meant to hide failures in other areas.

Unfortunately, there's very little that an individual can do to dig deep into specific claims or products without spending an inordinate amount of time and effort on it. You just want to buy groceries, not write a research paper in the aisles, right? When you have a specific concern about a given business or product, though, there's a decent chance someone else did that research already.

In the meantime, put as much pressure as you can on the businesses responsible, reward the ones that do well, and shop according to your ethics.