Here’s How Small Businesses Accidentally Greenwash

Needless to say, a lot of small business owners often wear their hearts on their sleeves. Well, that, and at the same time, they’re trying to do anything and everything they can to ease the pressure off themselves in hopes of being up with the big leagues. Like, many genuinely want to do right by the planet, so they lean into “sustainable” packaging, “eco-friendly” suppliers, or “green” branding.

Now, this might sound crazy, but what looks like responsibility can sometimes backfire into something called greenwashing. Yeah, when people hear “greenwashing”, it’s usually about businesses lying, being manipulative, well, just intentionally giving false info, right? Well, plenty of small businesses end up greenwashing by accident without even realising it. Alright, that alone is unfortunate, but there’s another problem here, too; customers notice. And once they think you’re being misleading, even unintentionally, trust is hard to win back.

Keep in Mind there’s the Buzzword Trap

“Eco-friendly”, “natural”, “sustainable”… they sound great, don’t they? Sure, they look fantastic on a label or in a social post. The trouble is, these words are often vague and unregulated. Like, a product can call itself “natural” even if it only has one natural ingredient buried in a long list of chemicals. “Eco-friendly” packaging might look the part with its brown cardboard aesthetic, but if it’s not recyclable or compostable, then it’s just a nice marketing trick.

You need to remember that small businesses often rely on these words because they’re easy and everywhere. But the mistake is not digging deeper into what they actually mean, and customers are savvier than ever before, and when they catch on that a business is throwing around green buzzwords without evidence, they feel duped. Oh, and bad reviews will be on the horizon, too.

Suppliers don’t Always Tell the Whole Story

Okay, so here’s where things get even messier. A lot of small businesses take their suppliers’ claims at face value. If a supplier says their packaging is biodegradable or their materials are sustainably sourced, that claim often goes unchecked. The problem is, not every supplier is as honest as they should be. Yeah, in a perfect world, they would be, but it’s just not how it is, sadly. Plus, some exaggerate, others are vague on purpose, and a few just make things up entirely.

So, that alone leaves small businesses caught in the middle, unknowingly passing on half-truths to their customers. You’re not trying to mislead anyone, but if your information isn’t accurate, the result looks the same from the outside. It’s not entirely your fault either, but there still needs to be improvement. 

Actually, if you’re a new business owner, it could help to look into organisations like ESCP, because you can learn about how responsibility should be (and is) woven into business practices. Well, that, but understanding the genuine impact of your business that goes beyond the surface level claims (and that’s not something you learn by sitting around researching things on your phone). So, to sum it up, it might help to just learn more, and not take everything the supplies say to heart.

There’s the Cost of Looking Greener than You Are

Well, even if greenwashing is accidental, customers don’t usually care about the intent. They just see the outcome, so promising something you can’t back up damages credibility, even if you were only trying to show you cared about the planet.

It doesn’t help that social media makes everything public. Basically, if one customer points out that your packaging isn’t actually recyclable or that your “organic” claim doesn’t add up, it can snowball into a bigger issue. The last thing a small business needs is to look dishonest when the original goal was to look responsible.