Greenwashing really bugs me. Like to my core it annoys me.

I recently was watching a news story on the internet. The story was all about how toxins in our environment are linked with the obesity epidemic. Yep, you read that right. It’s not just poor food and lack of exercise, it’s also related to the endocrine disruptors that lurk in just about everything.

Well…back to my point about greenwashing… the ad before the story was for Grove Collaborative. While the mission for Grove may be good, their methods aren’t. They market themselves as a resource for natural and healthy living. But as we know, the term “natural” isn’t regulated. It just that…a marketing term.

And guess what… Grove Collaborative sells greenwashing products like Mrs. Meyers. Did you know Mrs. Meyers is owned by SC Johnson? Oh, and did you know that Grove Collaborative was created to fit a marketing niche - not necessarily as a method to distribute truly safe products into homes?

What’s greenwashing again?

 Greenwashing is a marketing technique used by companies to imply that their products are green or safe, when they actually aren’t. Some greenwashing terms to look out for are:

• Natural

• Botanical

• Green

• Eco-friendly

• Non-toxic

• Organic

• Preservative-free

• Dermatologist-approved

I don’t know about you, but I get pretty mad when I buy a product and it’s not exactly what I thought it was. Often, I realize that I bought a product simply because I was marketed to.

So what’s the lesson here? Ignore the pretty label and terms on the front of the product. Look on the back. Read the ingredients. This is the only way to truly know if what you’re buying lives up to the claims.