Boycott Green Washing

“Oh, look at the cute little ducklings they are rescuing from oil spills. They really do care about the planet.”

Have you ever had this thought while considering what dish soap to purchase? I hate to say it, but if you have, you are a victim of greenwashing. Greenwashing is how corporate entities make themselves look good at a glance, creating a positive public persona in order to sell more products. In this article, I am going to share a few companies to consider boycotting for the health of our oceans and our planet—and you, the consumer of those products.

Dawn Dish Soap

It can be hard to tell the good from the bad. Just looking at a list of ingredients on some of the dish soap available can make you go cross-eyed. Sodium lauryl, sulfate, PEG-8 Propylheptyl Ether. Wait a second. PEG-8 Propylheptyl Ether. That is a petroleum product. Plus, there are the fragrances and colorants that go into the soap. Dawn isn’t alone in this.

Nestle

I love Kit Kat chocolate bars. I wish a different company made them. Nestle makes over 2000 brands so they are very hard to avoid: coffee, chocolate, drinks, ice cream, pet food, and bottled water. It’s a bit of a nightmare so let’s just focus on chocolate.

If you have ever taken a look at a Nestle chocolate bar wrapper you might see a little “rainforest alliance certified” logo. I thought that meant I was making an informed choice about my chocolate consumption. Turns out it is more complicated than that, and I’m still not sure how credible the certification is. Rainforest Alliance Certified is funded through royalty revenue, grants, and donations—I wonder how much Nestle donates? Most chocolate, coffee, and bottled water companies raise my suspicions.

Coca-Cola

Another nightmare company with numerous brands that are hard to avoid including bottled water. First, most bottled water comes in a plastic container. Hopefully, I don’t have to explain the problem with that. Some communities are forced to drink bottled water—they either don’t have the support to get running water or their drinking water has been contaminated by an outside source. Yes, there are places in Canada and other first-world countries without drinkable water. But there are many people that refuse to drink tap water because it isn’t “pure” or “doesn’t taste good”. Where do you think Coca-Cola gets its bottled water from? Some perfectly untouched spring where it flows straight from the ground completely uncontaminated? No. It is sourced from wells or municipal supplies. In other words—tap water put in a bottle. Sure, the bottles can and often are recycled but plastic is only viable for reuse so many times. I think I’ll stick to my tap water and lose the plastic.

Dollar Stores

They go by numerous names: Dollarama, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree. All of them are packed with products sold for cheap. With items being so cheap it is easy to buy in bulk. The problem with that is most of those items end up in the landfill after a short life. Either they fall apart after a few uses or were only made to be used a few times in the first place.

It isn’t easy to figure out which companies are greenwashing. It requires research and critical thinking. Companies may look reputable on the surface but once you dig deeper the credentials can become suspect. Help everyone out by boycotting dishonest companies. Protect our oceans, lower your carbon footprint and consider some of my tips, recommendations, and products I love below.

A Few of My Tips & Recommendations

- Reduce, reuse, recycle. Focus on reducing first!

- Buy what you need instead of what you want.

- Buy as locally as possible from reputable, researched sources.

- Buy used when possible. Make thrift stores fun to shop at.

- Seek out natural alternatives when possible.

- Support ethical companies making sustainable materials and products.

- Don’t give in to impulse buys just because something is on sale for a cheap price.

- If you have the option, try growing your own food (or at least the herbs you use often?). I know not everyone has a green thumb.

- Choose quality (and sometimes quantity).

- Buy bulk instead of snack-sized. Rather than getting individual wrapped candies, cookies, or chips, get a large bag.

Some Products I Love

- Reusable water bottles and coffee mugs. Ditch the disposable plastic and the wax-coated coffee cups. I know it is tough with COVID but always ask places if they can fill your mug instead of using a disposable cup.

- Reusable grocery bags. I never go without them. My sister even got me an adorable monogrammed cooler bag that should last me a very long time.

- Plastic-free toothbrushes. Bamboo ones are a good alternative even though the bristles are still plastic. Bamboo can also be sustainably sourced due to how quickly it grows.

- Natural cleaning products like baking soda and vinegar for cleaning tough stains and deodorizing.

- Shampoo and soap bars in place of plastic bottles.

- Reusable pads and menstrual cups in place of disposable tampons and pads.

- Metal drinking straws. If you don’t want to forgo straws, then get a reusable one. Mine has a rubber tip to avoid chipping my teeth and comes with its own cleaner.

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Everything is connected. Written by Kelsey Reich on April 29/2021 in Ontario, Canada.