George Harding-Rolls, Campaign Lead
2025.03.28
Global backlash against everything from aid to LGBTQ+ rights to renewable energy has left many with whiplash, given how breathlessly social and environmental causes were espoused by the same companies just a few years ago. If global climate action was a zoom call, it might be tempting to look at the corporate world and exaggeratedly mouth “you’re on mute!” — or so it seems in 2025.
On green claims in particular, the current corporate reluctance is the latest in a series of retreats from communicating about causes since the explosion of greenwashing witnessed a few years ago. But the crackdown on greenwashing has led to a new era, one where shyness to communicate is the new normal. Move over, greenwashing: there’s a new buzzword is town. It’s called greenhushing and it has seemingly descended to mute corporate sustainability actions en masse. But all may not be what it seems…
Let’s rewind
For the last 30 years, give or take, society has largely devolved responsibility for fixing the climate onto the free market and corporate actors to solve. In other words, government policy on climate was broadly absent and action was left to whether businesses wanted to voluntarily clean up their act or lessen the damage of their products or services on the planet. While some have taken legitimate action, most simply saw this as another marketing angle.
As people’s awareness and alarm about climate change has grown, so too has the opportunity for companies to capitalize on this anxiety to make a quick buck. Scared about the future of the planet but feel powerless to do anything about it? Here, buy this t-shirt made with recycled ocean plastics. And guess what? We’ll pass the cost on to you, so you’ll pay a premium for it.
Out of this opportunism flowed a flood of green claims, on everything from diesel to leggings to flights, funds and furniture. It all seemed too good to be true, and it was.
What is greenwashing?
Greenwashing is the practice of falsifying or overstating the green credentials of a product, service or brand, according to greenwash.com, a platform set up to track examples of greenwashing in food, fashion and plastics. To understand what is greenhushing, you first have to fully understand why greenwashing is such a malign deception.
Firstly, greenwashing deceives consumers with misleading marketing, making them more likely to make choices from an ethical standpoint despite the lack of evidence backing up the claim.
Secondly, greenwashing is unfair business practice, disadvantaging business who have taken the time and effort to substantiate their green claims, compared to those just using it for marketing purposes
And finally, and I believe most importantly, greenwashing acts as a smokescreen, preventing us from sorting the bluster from the true solutions, and tricking us into thinking that the market alone has the solutions to climate change, without the need for policy interventions or more active citizen participation.
The push-back against greenwashing, led by NGOs and lawmakers, collapsed the weakest green claims like a house of cards, and led to a tightening of laws around consumer protection legislation, governing how companies could make claims and what evidence they need to back them up.
The result? Far fewer green claims, and with it a reluctance to talk about sustainability initiatives for fear of backlash – in other words, greenhushing. Some criticised the greenwashing backlash because of this greenhushing effect — and yes, greenhushing is painful to watch. It lays bare the pitiful lack of meaningful progress we have actually made towards critical climate and environmental targets. But it’s also a really important step on the way to identifying the right solutions, the ones which can be substantiated and verified, and for clearing the smokescreen of deceptive marketing practices. Ask yourself what you’d really prefer: a return to the blissful innocence of the past, or a sober reality check where we still have a chance to act?
Down but not out
But while greenhushing certainly is a noticeable phenomenon, it doesn’t mean we’re back to square one. An eye-opening analysis reported in the FT challenges the idea that “corporate attention to sustainability was a passing fad that’s now behind us.” For example, the number mentions of climate and emissions in analyzed CEO earnings calls with investors peaked in early 2022, and while they have since decreased, they are still higher than in 2019.
While in the US, the chilling effect on climate action seems likely to persist, there are signs it is being met with greater ambition by other countries looking to fill the vacuum. Looking beyond the headlines, we start to get a picture of the more measured approach to climate that the crackdown on greenwashing was looking to bring in. Corporate action on climate hasn’t been snuffed out, what has clearly passed was the giddy over-zealousness by companies that left consumers and investors adrift in a sea of flimsy green claims.
Finding a balance
So what needs to happen to strike the balance between the bluster of greenwashing and perceived inaction of greenhushing?
- Better and clearer regulation: consumer protection and competition law is evolving in response to green claims, such as in the EU, UK, Canada and many others. People need protection from deceptive marketing, but companies also need clear guidelines as to what they should and shouldn’t say. Beyond claims-related legislation, we also need a strong regulatory framework to make reducing a company’s impact on the planet the default, not the exception.
- Training and education: Most greenwashing mistakes made could have been avoided with a level of education and awareness from companies, customers, investors and policymakers around climate issues. Many issues within sustainability — from EVs to recycled polyester to farmed fish – are highly nuanced and context dependent, hiding pitfalls for people and businesses alike, and requiring a high level of substantiation to be communicated accurately. We also need to be aware that we cannot eco-consume our way out of the climate crisis. A quest for “better” products will only get us so far, we must also look beyond our pigeonhole as consumers and become active citizens.
- Continued accountability from civil society: The backlash against greenwashing shows how civil society can act as a correction mechanism and watchdog to trim the worst impulses of the corporate sector (I’ve written more about that dynamic here). Civil society (that’s you, me, and organizations outside the market or states) acts as vital witnesses and remedies to the harms of people and the planet going on around us. To end with a quote from American anthropologist, Margaret Mead:
“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.”
