Greenwashing can pull the shade over even the most trained eye. With a larger marketing budget and greater fan base, many big brands have begun producing products that appear to be sustainable. However, these brands continue to package their “green” products in plastic. Some continue to produce products with toxic chemicals such as sulfates and phthalates. One sustainable product does not create a sustainable brand or even an environmentally-friendly solution. Educating ourselves is the first step to stopping companies from getting away with half-hearted attempts at change.
S.C. Johnson owns Stasher
Owned by S.C. Johnson, Ziploc is one of the world’s largest producers of plastic baggies. In 2019, S.C. Johnson also acquired Stasher Brand, one of the first reusable silicone bag producers to become well-known. With the marketing of S.C. Johnson behind them, Stasher can now succeed without hurting Ziploc. The reusable bags can be found in Target and grocery stores, as well as many zero-waste stores, but the money spent is not going to the great cause many customers hope.
Related: Tree planting programs are actually greenwashing in disguise
The Alternative: In 2017, Zip Top launched as an alternative to Stasher with standing silicone bags in sizes ranging from four to 32 ounces in bag, dish and cup shapes. They are made with 100% platinum silicone and are microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe. Net Zero Company also launched its own version of zipping bags in 2022 after years of producing bags with slide-in-place seals. Additionally, Net Zero Co. offers a Silicone Takeback Program made possible by teaming up with TerraCycle to collect any silicone products from any company.
Garnier’s Whole Blends Shampoo is greenwashing at its finest
Garnier’s Whole Blends Shampoo advertises itself as shampoo with the finest ingredients from coconut to honey. Most of these products are packaged in recycled plastic, but any pumps and caps are new plastic. This entire line is paraben free, but only one shampoo is silicone free. What about sulfates, phthalates and other harmful chemicals? Although their shampoo bars are 94% plant-based, the remaining 6% is in question, as is the vague ingredient of “fragrance” that fails to identify the actual ingredients you are washing your hair with. Even with this line, Garnier is hardly a green company.
The Alternative: With compostable packaging and plastic-free shipping, Ethique has raised the bar for shampoo. Since their first shampoo bar launched in 2012, they have worked to pay employees a living wage, give 2% of proceeds to charity and source their ingredients in fair and transparent ways. Ethique has bars for everyone from fine to curly hair, and has even expanded beyond shampoo to other cosmetics.
Burt’s Bees is owned by The Clorox Company
Burt’s Bees has been leaps and bounds above its competitors for years. They have been carbon neutral since 2013, landfill-free since 2010, and 95% of their ingredients have a natural origin. Their packaging is recyclable, though only through TerraCycle, which you can request a label for on their website. However, their ownership weighs down on their values. Of all the products on this list, choosing Burt’s Bees is far from the end of the world, but Clorox’s use of bleach can lead to long-term health problems if inhaled and Glad, another Clorox Company brand, is only contributing to the landfill with plastic trash bags.
The Alternative: You can make your own lip balms and lotions at home with locally-sourced beeswax from your farmer’s markets or bulk goods stores. However, if that is difficult to locate, Sister Bees sells Michigan beeswax and Mickelberry Gardens sells Pacific Northwest beeswax. Shea butter and coconut oil are also moisturizing alternatives that can be found in many lotions and lip balms, and are often accessible at grocery stores.
Sun Bum is also owned by S.C. Johnson and may contain benzene
When looking for a reef-safe sunscreen that will not destroy your wallet, Sun Bum has recently been high on market lists because it is accessible in stores, works well and smells good. A class action lawsuit was dismissed after making claims that Sun Bum sunscreens contained benzene, a known carcinogen, and many sunscreen brands have faced the same claims in recent years. While it is not definitive, it is known that not all Sun Bum sunscreens are in fact reef safe, so it is important to check ingredient lists yourself. Only Sun Bum’s Mineral sunscreens are approved for use in Hawaii where there are clear restrictions on beach goer’s sunscreen use.
The Alternative: First, read the list of ingredients. Beaches are beginning to ban any sunscreens that contain oxybenzone and octinoxate. Raw Elements uses non-nano zinc oxide as the active ingredient to protect against UVA and UVB rays. Zinc forms a physical barrier against the sun’s rays on your skin rather than absorbing the rays. Every other ingredient is certified organic, and sunscreen can even be bought in aluminum tins for easy recycling. All Good is another sunscreen brand that utilizes non-nano zinc oxide, but they add in non-nano titanium dioxide, which is also reef friendly. However, their website does fail to talk about their packaging.
Keurig pods’ recyclability is hotly debated
Whether you use Keurig for speed, convenience or space, the recyclability of K-cups has been debated for the last several years. The problem with recyclable parts of a product is that in order to be successfully recycled, each material has to be separate. K-cups contain an aluminum lid that must be removed and the coffee grounds inside need to be thrown away, reused or composted and the cup itself washed out.
That is a lot of steps for the average person looking for a quick cup of coffee. The truth is most people just throw the whole cup away. Though Keurig does have a takeback program called K Cycle, it is only available to offices, leaving out the average at-home Keurig user.
The Alternative: Buy a reusable K-cup and fill it with finely ground coffee. The cups are easy to wash out, allow you to choose your coffee and can last for a very long time if taken care of properly. If you have yet to buy a coffee machine, check out Nespresso instead of Keurig. Nespresso began by producing entirely aluminum pods, so while consumers still need to rinse the pods, the pieces do not need to be separated. In 2022, Nespresso launched entirely compostable pods that can be composted industrially as well as at home. Therefore, you can simply toss the pod, coffee and all, into your compost.
No environmentalist is perfect, but with some research, we can each do a little better for ourselves and the planet. Learning to read through greenwashed marketing and understand ingredient lists are just the beginning of personal education toward a more sustainable future.
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