Are ‘Green’ Social Media Ads Too Good to be True?

Many advertisements on social platforms promote products labeled as “green”. Power companies claim to be “carbon neutral”, electronics are marketed as being “for the planet”, clothing is advertised as “circular”, and travel is promoted as “sustainable”. However, our research, which analyzed over 8,000 ads displayed over 20,000 times on Facebook, reveals that numerous green claims are ambiguous, lack substance, or are unsupported, potentially leading consumers to be misled.

This costs consumers, as products claimed to be greener are often more expensive. And it’s costing the planet because false and exaggerated green claims—or “greenwashing”—make it seem like more is being done to combat climate change and other environmental crises than is actually happening.

The widespread use of these claims may delay important action to combat climate change by diluting the sense of urgency.

The colors of environmental friendliness

Our research is part of a recently published report produced by the non-profit Consumer Policy Research Centre, researchers at Melbourne Law School and the Australian Ad Observatory, a project of the ARC Center of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM S). ).

Ad Observatory collects ads from the personal Facebook feeds of about 2,000 people who “donate” their ads to the project through a browser extension. This allows us to analyze otherwise undetectable and short-lived advertisements.

We found that the most common claims were “clean”, “green” and “sustainable”. Other popular terms included “bio”, “recycled” or “recyclable”, “clean” and “eco-friendly”, often without an explanation of what is behind them. All are very general, undefined terms, but they still mean a more environmentally responsible choice.

Our report did not confirm each claim or analyze their accuracy. We wanted to highlight the number and scope of green claims consumers see in social media ads.

Many advertisements used colors and symbols to create a green “halo” around their products and business. These included greens, blues and earthy beiges, wallpapers of nature images and emojis featuring leaves, planet earth, the recycling symbol and a green tick, often without context or specific information.

The top five contributors to green claims were energy, household products, fashion, health and personal care products, and travel.

This was consistent with a recent internet survey by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which found that 57% of business websites reviewed made claims. The share was the largest in the cosmetics, clothing and footwear and food and beverage packaging industries.

Strong incentives for greenwashing

According to a recent survey by the Consumer Policy Research Center, 45% of Australians always or often consider sustainability as part of their purchasing decisions. At least 50% of Australians say they are concerned about the truth of green claims across all sectors.

Given consumer concern, companies have a strong incentive to “green” their business. But there is a strong incentive to demand more than is justified.

Australia’s major business regulators – the ACCC and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) – both prioritize enforcement action against greenwashing.

ASIC has launched dozens of actions to expose misleading and deceptive environmental disclosures by companies and super funds. The ACCC has published draft guidance for companies to avoid greenwashing in environmental and sustainability claims.

A Senate inquiry into greenwashing is expected to report back in mid-2024 on whether stricter regulation is needed to protect consumers from misleading greenwashing.

So what is “sustainable”?

Our research highlights the green claims made by companies on social media. Consumers are forced to choose whether to accept the claims at face value or commit to a deep dive to investigate every product they buy and the claims they make.

Many green claims come from the energy industry, with some energy companies claiming to be “greener” without any details. Some claim carbon offsetting or carbon neutrality – highly contested terms.

Advertisements for “sustainable” tourism often showed destinations that emphasized connection with nature, but did not explain what aspect of tourism was sustainable.

One personal care brand heavily advertised their “sustainable” packaging, but the fine print only applied to the boxes their products come in, not the actual product packaging. Such a claim can create an undeserved green halo over the entire product range.

Claims that products are biodegradable, compostable or recyclable can be particularly problematic as this is often technically true but difficult in practice. Some products labeled as biodegradable may need to be taken to a specific facility, but the consumer may assume that they will break down in a biodegradable home compost bin.

What can we do?

Australians cannot wait years for enforcement action against potentially misleading green claims. The economy and the digital world are moving too fast and the need for sustainability is too urgent. Governments must now legislate to ensure that green terms are clearly defined and based on truth.

The European Union is currently preparing a directive on “green claims”, which aims to ban generic claims such as “environmentally friendly”, “green”, “carbon positive” and “energy efficient”. Claims must be accurate, relevant and based on an independently verified excellent level of environmental protection.

The United Kingdom has already issued similar guidance through the Environmental Claims Code and is also considering tightening the legislation.

Australian regulators should have the power to blacklist green terms that cannot be justified and are inherently meaningless or misleading.

Some highly polluting industries should be banned from making any kind of green claims in advertising because their business models and practices have a huge negative environmental impact, as the EU is considering. For example, companies that use fossil fuels should not be allowed to use green claims in their marketing.

Australian consumers deserve green choices that are clear, comparable, relevant and true.