You’ve probably heard of the deceptive terms white lies and whitewashing, and now  greenwashing is joining them. Greenwashing is the term given to describe making a product seem more environmentally friendly than it actually is.

Words like organic, all-natural, and green are often used by companies to make products seem more attractive and eco-friendly. However, laws aren’t as stringent in the organic beauty industry as they are in the food industry, so manufacturers can call a product eco-friendly with very little evidence to back it up. Often, these descriptions can be misleading, with organic materials being combined with more synthetics than advertised, or products containing little amounts of actual green materials, or products called themselves organic when it is not certified by the Soil Association.

So next time your cleanser or moisturiser claims to be ‘green’ take a better look at that label and make sure you know what you are buying.