Little green lies!

Did you notice the towel-environmentalism of the hotels? In most of them, ‘changing the towel harms the environment. But, if you still want it changed, leave it on the floor.’ messages are everywhere.

So, can a hotel’s entire impact on the environment be related to towels and their washing? In the simplest case, what will be the lights? What energy is required for heating and cooling? What are the effects of this?

_{^{This is where the concept of greenwashing first emerged. Hotels!}}

It also explains the concept very well. ‘The environmental sensitivity, which you only show off on towels, is green-washing. However, if you aim to manage all your environmentally harmful operations, you are on the right track. Having a concrete plan with real follow-up points confirms you are an environmentally friendly organization. The rest is just pretending!’

_{^{Look it is green}}!

Greenwashing is not a new concept. It is one of the concepts that has been discussing for a long time. Here’s the definition: A company or organization spending time and money on marketing themselves as environmentally friendly. That is, not managing environmental impacts with true sincerity and transparency. Instead, they aim to be perceived as doing so through marketing and advertising. Namely, the dark side of marketing and advertising, with examples written, drawn and discussed all over the world…

_{^{So, is it really the dark side?}}

Perception is reality! Can this famous saying of the communication world maintain its validity in today’s world?

Inquiring, pressing consumer networks can put brands in very difficult situations all over the world. Those brilliant marketing and advertising fictions, where the content is bad (for human, environment, planet, etc.) but the packaging delicious, is no longer enough to throw reality behind the scenes and replace it with a foamy perception.

We should not overlook that companies and brands embrace greenwashing as a lifesaver. They actually do this because of consumer sensitivity and pressure. Therefore, although it has many sides to be criticized, its benefits can be mentioned even from this point of view.

Let’s go back to the hotels. Even if the towel issue is greenwashing, isn’t it a good enough situation on its own? Well, hotels may not be fully managing their other environmental damage. However, improving the washing system would still benefit the planet. Enhancing washing systems in hotels worldwide could make an impact.

_{^{Green-wash today, green-transform tomorrow}}

The issues, which are dealt with superficially through greenwashing today, will not be managed this way tomorrow. Both the regulations and the rapidly rising consumer awareness and consciousness will abolish the function of the green-washing phenomenon. It will force companies to take real and perhaps even more radical steps.

With the support of an optimistic point of view, it’s possible to see green-washing practices frequently today as a warm-up. This is a warm-up for the entire green transformation. There are many issues to discuss. Increased consumer sensitivity will push companies and brands even harder. The situation ‘managed’ with greenwashing today will evolve into a real transformation. Brands that cannot do this will not have a chance to survive anyway. Instead of constantly criticizing and ignoring, we should start discussing how the transformation should be done. This approach will be much more pragmatic for the future.

This will be supported by several issues. These include making international sustainable product definitions. We will see this more clearly in the coming period. Additionally, the establishment of certification and accreditation systems will play a role. The new trade ecosystem will also become more evident within this framework.

_{^{What future does humanity want?}}

Sustainability is an important opportunity for a better humanity and planet. This is not a romantic point of view. The issues we talk about and discuss today give hope for tomorrow. Yes, hard! A lot! We need a paradigm shift at many points. But it is possible in every sense to make tomorrow better than today!

While discussing sustainability-oriented transformation, we must focus on issues like basic human rights. Equality and justice should also be at the center. The issue is not only environmental sensitivity, climate crisis, global warming, but more critically the future of humanity. Indeed, what future does humanity want?

The ideal goal should be to create societies that are sensitive to the environment and the planet. They should also be sensitive to each other. The business world can also be a driving force for the transformation of the social structure in this sense.

_{^{Tomorrow will be better than today…}}

So every small, but right step will pay off, even if it’s for green-washing purposes at first. Steps will grow, leading to greater change and transformation. Tomorrow will be better than today…

What do we always say? Progress is always good, even if it’s not perfect…