Best greenwashing performance: we need a new category for the Oscars
Floods and storms have ravaged the UK, 2023 was the hottest year on record, and homes are crumbling from coastal erosion. One thing is clear: the impact of climate change is becoming more pronounced.
Major corporations and people in power are making us believe that they’re taking meaningful action to curb their contributions to the crisis, while simultaneously adding to the destruction and worsening the impacts.
And the category is… Greenwashing
With the Oscars nominations released, we thought a new category was needed to draw attention to some of these deceptive acts. Here are the top 3 culprits we’d nominate for best leading role in greenwashing.
1. The Stanley cup claiming to create a less disposable life and world
The makers of the beloved Stanley cup, a TikTok sensation, boast that it “create[s] a more sustainable, less disposable life and world”. When it released its $50 limited-edition cup in collaboration with Starbucks, a company which distributes about 6 billion disposable cups and mugs worldwide each year, people queued for hours outside of Target to secure one.
While it might seem like it’s the consumers giving in to this trend, it’s safe to say Stanley is facilitating more waste while pushing ethical messaging. Stanley leverages its “eco” appeal by marketing its cup as “Built For Life,” yet capitalises on its viral success by releasing multiple variants of the same cup in different colours and in limited editions, tempting shoppers to buy more. Stanley is really leaning in to its “must-have” status, while pushing a false sense of sustainability.
2. Unilever pretending to be small fish
Behind Unilever’s product campaigns about “real beauty,” there lies, as Greenpeace aptly said, “real harm”. This includes brutal land grabbing for palm oil, environmental destruction and criminalising indigenous farmers. That's what Unilever, the company behind famous brands like Magnum ice creams and Dove soap, has hidden in its supply chain in Indonesia.
Cambridge Dictionary defines land grabbing as "the act of taking an area of land by force, for military or economic reasons".
Land grabbing has many devastating consequences. Oxfam explains one of the implications of land grabbing: "land deals that happen without the free, prior, and informed consent of communities that often result in farmers being forced from their homes and families left hungry".
Unilever is harming people and planet, with many of its brands' products containing unethical palm oil. The UK’s consumption of palm oil is a key driver of tropical deforestation. It claims on its website that “our [Unilever’s] actions alone won't solve the climate crisis so we're advocating for systems change.” Yet Unilever is a big player in global supply chains and has the power to create meaningful change from within. That's why we're holding Unilever responsible for its conflict palm oil.
3. Tesco bragging about plastic reduction while contributing to deforestation
Tesco has a page on its website all about how it protects the environment from plastic waste, complete with a catchy slogan, its “4Rs”: remove, reduce, reuse and recycle. On the surface it looks promising. It also tells us some pretty impressive stuff: Tesco removed 2.2 billion pieces of plastic from its UK business, it's redesigned packaging to be more recyclable, and it's giving us “a wide range of options” to bring us on the journey to reduce plastic waste.
Yet just last year the supermarket chain hit the headlines for being accused of greenwashing when it was found to be selling Brazilian meat. Tesco had previously pledged not to do this when it reformed its supply chains to help end deforestation within the Amazon rainforest. Claiming it's making positive changes for the environment isn’t enough. It needs to look at its entire business model, including its supply chains.
Encouraging recycling and changing practices around waste are positive. But if a company heavily promotes this while neglecting broader sustainability practices, it’s a performative attempt to appear environmentally conscious without making substantial changes.
How to spot greenwashing in action
It’s clear brands know how to put on a show and trick us into thinking they’re taking action to prevent climate breakdown. But dig a little deeper, we can see all is not what it seems.
What’s worse, these brands effectively displace the blame onto us: we should buy their reusable cups, we should buy brands like Unilever’s Dove which champion self-esteem in women and young children, and we should tackle the climate crisis by recycling. All while they continue to profit from unsustainable practices and products.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to tell whether a product is ethical, read our handy guide to get you started.
