Eco-friendly, biodegradable, sustainable - what do these words have in common? Perhaps very little! In reality, they are advertising arguments that seek to attract the attention of the consumer, especially those consumers who are more environmentally conscious, when shopping. However, some of these advertisements are not backed up by any evidence regarding the sustainability of the product or company in question.

So at a time when 57 percent of EU consumers are receptive to environmental claims when choosing and buying, for some companies going green has become a way of doing good in business and increasing their sales.

For this reason, DECO is concerned about greenwashing. According to the Consumer Protection Association, the increase in consumers' ecological awareness has brought with it a marketing technique known as "greenwashing", in the light of which a company can claim that it meets "certain" environmental protection objectives or has a "certain" environmental performance, although in reality this is not true.

Unfortunately, the large number of such claims on the market - a high percentage of which are empty - leads to an unclear situation where most consumers cannot understand which products are truly eco-friendly, DECO said.

As such, DECO wants consumers to know what greenwashing is, how it works and how it should be fought. The campaign also suggests to companies "Don't be painted green! Tell it like it is" seeking to prevent consumers from spending their money on whitewashed choices with false claims by increasing their knowledge about truly sustainable choices.

Stay tuned to DECO’s social media and special episodes on DECOPODe about greenwashing. DECO wants to help you separate the wheat from the chaff!