'Greenwashing' makes it harder for the public to identify genuine green products, study says

Misleading claims that exaggerate how environmentally friendly a product is, known as "greenwashing", have made it difficult for consumers to identify genuine green products.

That's according to new research from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which also found that consumers who are informed about greenwashing are better able to identify it.

The research bodies' experiment echoes previous EU calls for better education about the environmental durability of products and suggests that companies that greenwash their products are spoiling the competition for genuine eco-friendly brands. (More on thejournal.ie)