One poll conducted a study on behalf of CG Roxane LLC that revealed 7 in 10 Americans do not trust companies that claim to be eco-friendly. In the survey of 2000 Americans, researchers found that 71% of Americans believe that the term ‘green’ has been used so much that it has lost meaning. The same view is 54% on ‘eco-friendly’ and 36% on ‘sustainable.’
Of the respondents, 71% believed that not all companies that claimed to be sustainable were being honest. Only 26% believed it to be true when a company said they were green.
Despite their doubts about a company’s labels, 23% will still purchase a product that claims to be ‘green.’ Of the respondents, 68% said they try to make environmentally friendly decisions. Another 64% claimed that they are trying to work towards that goal by purchasing more ‘green’ products. Some respondents said they would willingly spend 21% more than the price if the product they were buying was actually ‘green.’
Greenwashing prevents Americans from pursuing an eco-friendly lifestyle
When the term greenwashing was mentioned to the respondents, only 41% knew what it meant. It was later explained as spreading disinformation to the public, so a company appears to be environmentally responsible. On hearing this definition, 44% said they believed that they had purchased products from companies that participated in ‘greenwashing.’
Out of the 2000 respondents, 59% said they look for green companies so they can purchase from them. However, these were difficult to find. Those that struggled to find companies that lived up to their claims were 59%. All these issues are a result of ‘greenwashing.’
Barriers that get in the way of an eco-friendly lifestyle
Researchers also looked into the barriers that get in the way of people living an eco-friendlier lifestyle. For example, about 44% cited the high cost of eco-friendly products as an issue, and 39% believed that eco-friendly decisions took more time to implement. In addition, over 27% of respondents said they lacked access to eco-friendly options. However, 94% of the participants said that they do care about making eco-friendly decisions.
