greenwash
/ˈɡɹiːnwɒʃ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.31 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A false or misleading picture of environmental friendliness used to conceal or obscure damaging activities.
verb
To portray with a false or misleading image of environmental friendliness so as to conceal or obscure damaging activities.
Intransitive verb; Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "People can be cynical about companies hiding behind green ideals, their radars finely tuned to detect a greenwash."
- "Greta Thunberg has blasted politicians as hypocrites and international climate summits as empty words and greenwash."
- "But what happens more often is that media “greenwashes” dirty energy sources (coal, gas, nuclear power) as “clean”—a particularly dangerous notion because it belies the threat they pose to our planet and human health."
- "The commercials were very effective – in 1990, they won an Effie advertising award, and subsequently became a case study at Harvard Business school. They also became notorious among environmentalists, who have proclaimed them the gold standard of greenwashing – the corporate practice of making diverting sustainability claims to cover a questionable environmental record."
- "WWF recommends including the following Clauses in the Bill to avoid potential loopholes: […] Provide clear and comprehensive definitions of “disposable” and “single-use” to avoid greenwashing and false claims for products designed to be disposable but falsely marketed otherwise to circumvent the ban."
Etymology
Blend of green (“environmentally friendly”) + whitewash (or green + -wash), coined by Jay Westerveld in 1986.