This document discusses greenwashing practices used by some companies to mislead consumers about their environmental and social impacts. It identifies seven "deadly sins" of greenwashing, including making unsubstantiated claims, using vague language, false labels, and focusing on unimportant attributes to distract from more significant issues. The document advocates for transparency and encourages consumers to make informed choices to support companies that practice responsible corporate citizenship and sustainability.

1. Greenwash or Great?

2. There is no such place as AWAY...

3. ELECTRONIC WASTE

4. I WANT...

5. CUSTOMER OR CONSUMER?
CONSUMER CUSTOMER
You do not You do insist
question on making
what you an informed
buy or use. choice.

6. YOUR CHOICE IS POWERFUL

7. GREENWASHING
• Concise Oxford Dictionary: Green-wash (green’wash’,
-wôsh’) – verb: the act of misleading consumers
regarding the environmental practices of a company
or the environmental benefits of a product or service.

9. 7 DEADLY SINS
• Customers are starting to
insist on environmentally
responsible products.
• But can we always trust
the message that
company’s and brands
are communicating
around their
sustainability practices?

10. TRANSPARENT AND HONEST ?
• Packaging states that the
product contains organic
cotton
• Online customer reviews
were extremely positive.
• They were glad to have a
"natural" alternative.
• Would their opinions
change if they knew that
the only organic cotton
used in the product is on
the outside, so it doesn’t
even touch the baby’s skin!

11. THE HIDDEN TRADE-OFF
• When a company/ brand states it’s “Going Green” by only
addressing one element of their business practices.
• What is the broader picture?

12. NO PROOF
• Making claims that cannot be substantiated by easily
accessible supporting information or reliable third
party certification.
• Advertising Standards Authorities banned Coca Cola
from using the word “nutritious”.

13. VAGUENESS
• Overly used and generalised claims that leads
to the real meaning being misunderstood.
• What can be defined as natural?

14. FALSE LABELS CERTIFIED LABELS
Ygygug Marine Stewardship
Council
• A product that gives
the impression that Fair Trade Products
it is endorsed by a Badger Friendly
third party, without Honey
such endorsement FSC – Responsible use of
existing. forest resources
South African Bureau
of Standards
Certified Organic

15. eLabel
eLabel was developed to enable the sharing
of unbiased information about products and
services, particularly with regard to
environmental, social justice and animal
welfare concerns.
The importance of this platform is that it
connects and empowers like-minded consumers
and that it collates information that would
otherwise have been scattered across the net, or
in the confines of a manufacturer's database
Register FREE of charge @ www.elabel.org
Mobile application coming soon

16. IRRELEVANCE
• A truthful, but unimportant environmental claim.
• CFC’s * Eco-friendly * Natural fragrance *

17. LESSER OF TWO EVILS
• The claim may be true for
the specific product
within the category, BUT
it distracts the consumer
from the greater
environmental impact of
the category as a whole.
• Can an airline be “Green” ?
• Organic Cotton: What is the
influence i.t.o water usage and
Biodiversity?
• Organic Coffee: Is it Fair Trade
and not just Free Trade?

18. FIBBING

19. GOOD CORPORATE
CITIZENSHIP
• Good corporate
citizenship means that a
company has a holistic
focus on creating value
for all their stakeholders.
• This means being
responsible towards the
community in which they
serve, as well as the
environment which they
impact.

20. TRUSTED FAMILY BRANDS?
• Exploiting Natural Resources
• Human Rights Violation
• Destroying rainforest

21. WATER
CONSUMPTION
“In every glass of water we
drink, some of the water has
already passed through
fishes, trees, bacteria, worms in
the soil, and many other
organisms, including
people...Living systems cleanse
water and make it fit, among other
things, for human consumption.
This is the wonder of the
hydrological cycle.”
Elliot A. Norse

22. DID YOU KNOW?

23. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

24. CONSIDER US
• Youth from all over the nation have the opportunity to raise
their voice.
• Tell the world in 20 words why the earth is precious to you
and why the leaders at COP 17 should CONSIDER YOU when
they are making their decisions.
A sustainable future in South Africa: Enough For all, Forever.

25. BE THE CHANGE
YOU WANT TO SEE
“THERE IS ENOUGH FOR
EVERYONE - BUT NOT
ENOUGH FOR OUR GREED.
THERE’S ENOUGH FOR US
ALL TO LIVE A FULL LIFE - SO
WHY DO WE WANT TO
DESTROY THE ONLY HOME
WE HAVE?”
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

26. CONNECT WITH CONSIDER US
 Contribute YOUR 20 words
 Join us on Facebook
 Follow us on Twitter @OgilvyEarthSA

27. ESTABLISHED ROOTS
• OgilvyEarth Cape Town:
http://www.ogilvyearth.co.za/
• PetCo:
http://www.petco.co.za/flash.html
• Advertising Standards Authority:
http://www.asasa.org.za/
• Story of Stuff:
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
• Ecolab Index:
http://www.ecolabelindex.com/ecolabel
s/?st=country,za
• National Consumer Forum:
http://www.ncf.org.za/
• Poodwaddle:
http://www.poodwaddle.com/
• Virtual water:
http://virtualwater.eu/
• eLabel:
http://www.elabel.org/south-
africa/about