The website umweltmission.

de (Umweltmission means environmental mission) has recently published

an article about greenwashing, its definition, examples, and consequences. Read the text below, which
is a translated and shortened version of this article and answer the questions.

A close look at contemporary advertisements makes it clear that almost all companies are now following
the so-called "green" track: they admit and promote that the Blue Planet is the only place that humans,
animals and plants have, therefore sustainability should not be an exception but the rule.
The slogans “wear the change” and “join life” in textile industries, the labels “bio” and “organic” on food
products, “cruelty-free” and “vegan” cosmetics, paper or lignin packaging and bamboo toothbrushes - all
this gives consumers the impression that the destruction of the environment caused by high
consumption in developed countries is over.

Q1. Describe briefly, what is lignin and where is it found (0,5)

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Q2. Explain, what is a developed country. Name two developed countries (according to UN) outside
Europe. (2)
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What do the “sustainability labels” do? – They tell us that consuming does not cause harm, that the
production of goods is in harmony with the environment and that shopping – whether necessary or not
– is a good thing. Some people trust the loud commercials, while others are critical. Here we will discuss
the arguments of the critics who believe that in many cases consumers are fooled that they are buying
“fair products”.
The term greenwashing is made of the words “green” which represents the environment and
“whitewashing” which means “concealing unpleasant facts to put yourself in a better light”.
Greenwashing means that enterprises develop an environmentally friendly image being, however, far
from achieving real sustainability. Sustainability has broad definitions but one thing is clear: the three
main pillars of sustainable development are … . Some critics describe the concept when the three
spheres act as equal as weak sustainability. What is then the so-called strong sustainability? A concept in
which … is the focus and weighs more compared to the other two spheres. The increased interest in
sustainable development in the recent years has been stimulated by environmental organizations
pointing out the devastating consequences of unsustainable actions: pollution, frequent natural hazards,
extinction of species. Therefore, food, cosmetics, furniture or textile companies, which have always
attached great importance to sustainability, suddenly became the "winners": consumer demand for their
products increased rapidly. When the competitors, who until then had made fun of sustainability and
labeled it as "green craze", noticed that their clients had changed their thinking, they too decided to join
the environmentally friendly companies – but often not going far from labels and slogans. Is that why
critics brought the term greenwashing to life?

Q3. Name the three main spheres of sustainable development. (1,5)

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Q4. Which of the three spheres is the focus in the strong concept? (0,5)
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Q5. Name the environmental organizations from their logos (see Resource Booklet). Write full
words, not abbreviations (1,5)
a)___________________________________________________________________________________
b)___________________________________________________________________________________
c)___________________________________________________________________________________
 Q6. Provide two examples of species that are endangered (yet not extinct) because of human
actions. Name the species, the cause, and the geographic region. (3)
1)___________________________________________________________________________________
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2)___________________________________________________________________________________
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The main driving force of businesses is competition. Every industry analyzes the consumers’ needs and
wishes which is now environmentally friendly, recyclable, plastic-free production. Real sustainability
transition usually requires high costs, whereas pretending can be cheaper and faster. Popular methods
are rebranding (green color is associated with being good and nature-friendly), using the power of
prices, getting support from political organizations through campaigns and public activities. According to
Terra Choice Environmental Marketing, the main instrument of greenwashing is manipulation of
information: lack of statistics on company’s website, unclear and meaningless statements like “We need
to protect nature”, usage of fake labels and ambiguous terms like “natural” or “ecological”. Another
widely used strategy is focusing on one aspect of “greenness” but hiding details of the entire production
cycle from the consumers.

Q7. Does this mean lowering or increasing prices? Explain your choice. (1)
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Q8. Study the figures in the Resource Booklet and explain in detail why these examples from a) food
and b) textile industry can be considered greenwashing and not sustainable production. (6)
a)___________________________________________________________________________________
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b)___________________________________________________________________________________
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Consumers often do not know whether the green-labeled product in their hands really is sustainable.
Research and examination of the company’s and product’s origins are required in many cases. A way of
avoiding greenwashing is to trust well-known brands that provide clear data records and proved
information about their activities - and not to products. It can be useful to look at the enterprise’s goals:
does it focus on the entire life cycle of its product? Is it concerning sustainability only as a tool for gaining
competitive advantages or also as a way of using resources more effectively and rationally? Does the
company motivate customers to avoid unnecessary consumption?
A further key point that helps to distinguish between greenwashing and sustainability is the packaging of
products. It acts as evidence of the company's true activities. Paper and cardboard, little or no plastic
are important indicators for companies that are unlikely to be greenwashing. If packaging is
irreplaceable, it should at least be recyclable. Consumers who take these points into account make an
important contribution to protecting themselves and the environment.
 Q9. Some companies try to be “green” by switching from plastics to so-called bioplastics. Study the
figures in the Resource Booklet and discuss the properties that can make bioplastics a sustainable
alternative as well as factors that can make a “bioplastic” label an example of greenwashing. (4)
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Q10. Name one example of packaging made directly from natural materials (not requiring any
industrial actions to be produced or composted) and a geographic region where this technology can be
implemented in the easiest and most efficient way. (1)
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Sources:

umweltmission.de
alumniportal-deutschland.org
reset.org
tagesspiegel.de
bmz.de
sustainability-times.com
Resource Booklet

Q5.
a)

source: wikipedia.org

b)

source: wikipedia.org
c)

source: wikipedia.org
Q8.
a)

source: rewe-bechter.de
b)

source: scmp.com
source: theslowlabel.com

source: almendron.com
Q9.

source: tainstruments.com

source: bootstrapcompost.com
source: nerg.org
Answers:

Q1. Lignin is a complex biopolymer found in trees (actually making wood being hard as wood) – 0,5 mark

Q2. A developed country, or high-income country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life,
developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized
nations – smth like this – 1 mark
Examples: USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand – each of the two 0,5 mark

Q3. Economy, ecology, social sphere – each sphere 0,5 mark

Q4. Ecology – 0,5 mark

Q5. A) United Nations Environment(al) Program(me) – 0,5 mark

B) Rainforest Alliance – 0,5 mark
C) World Wildlife Fund or World Wide Fund for Nature – 0,5 mark

Q6. Species – 0,5 mark, human action – 0,5 mark, location – 0,5 mark.
For example orangutan – deforestation – Sumatra island
or black rhino – poaching – African savanna

Q7. Increasing – 0,5 mark. Because people tend to think that more expensive products are more likely to
be trustworthy – smth like this – 0,5 mark

Q8.
a) bio fruit in plastic packaging is not nice. This way of selling fruit is not very sustainable as if it is not
bought on the day it rots and will be thrown away. You can buy apples and strawberries from German
producers when it is the season of the fruit: this can save travel costs and CO2 as well – up to 3 marks for
a full answer
b) organic cotton is cotton grown without fertilizers, GMO technologies and pesticides. This means the
yield is not expected to be very high. Therefore, if the need for organic cotton further increases, we will
have to use larger fields to produce a sufficient amount. Cotton is grown in warm countries where need
for extensive agriculture leads either to deforestation or desertification. Also add travel costs and CO2 to
transport the cotton to consumer… (this was written in another article from umweltmission.de) So many
aspects have to be considered before assuming organic cotton to be sustainable – up to 3 marks for a full
answer

Q9. The problem is that the term “bioplastics” is too broad and simply putting it as a label does not
mean that this exact material is environmentally friendly. Bioplastics can mean either or both “made out
of bio sources” and “able to decay without special industrial processes” (scheme in the resource
booklet). If plastics is made from biopolymers but is not bio-degradable and there is a lack of composting
facilities (info about Rhode Island in the resource booklet), it can cause as much harm as conventional
plastics, becoming microplastics, polluting the environment etc. Another aspect (also mentioned in an
article from umweltmission.de) is that production of bioplastics often requires much raw material like
corn starch, so for this corn must be grown (this needs a lot of agricultural lands and very likely fertilizers
too) and not used into food, so the whole process has to be evaluated in terms of sustainability – up to 4
marks for a full answer

Q10. Material – 0,5 mark, location – 0,5 mark

For example egg packages made of hay – Europe, America, somewhere else
Or packing food into banana leaves – Thailand, Brazil, tropical countries