How to identify bullsh**

I know that this title is a little more provocative than previous ones.

I usually watch what I say and how I speak.

I do not ever use "bad" cuss words.

I did not decide to not use them, it just came pretty naturally and I thought about why I don't use them, if I even would and when.

I don't think I would when speaking in every day life.

But I do understand that out of emotion if can feel f***ing great to use them once in a while, if only to make an impression.

Generally I strongly believe that what you say and how you choose your words matters a lot.

💡Words can make a court rule against you or in your favor.

💡Words can make someone have the greatest day or leave them feeling horrible about themselves.

💡Words can bring on wars or be the reason for peace.

So I say – better choose wisely.

Because words are very powerful they can convince you to do or - in this case - buy something by tricking you into thinking you're making a good choice.

They are POWERFUL tools in most areas of life.

Today I want to explore this further in cases of marketing and greenwashing.

Marketing is something we encounter every day.

In different shapes and forms.

Ads on TV, YouTube, Instagram, magazines, . . .every day, all the time.

They are supposed to influence us and in the case of

“normal, not eco-friendly brands” keep the stream of mass consumption flowing.

Starts with marketing research and production, advertising the hell out of it, getting it onto the market and manipulating people to buy whatever you’re selling.

🤑Makes sense, if someone is producing something, then they usually want to make a buck out of it.

Greenwashing: behavior or activities that make people believe that a company is doing more for the environment than it actually is.

I guarantee you that you’ve seen it.

Maybe even without noticing.

A deodorant that comes in a plastic packaging and has nothing but chemicals in it, with the riveting title “natural, herbal deodorant”

just because it has 0.02 % of a herb in it that you could barely spot with a microscope.🧐

Printing the words “sustainable” or “green” on anything just to make it seem…”green”.

“Sustainable” has become a very popular word to make people feel like they are buying from a reliable brand.

Just like the word “green”, “sustainable” is an unregulated word and can be used to manipulate and confuse buyers.

🌱Be sure to look up brands or even just look at packaging or tags to see if there are certified labels on there or phrases that elaborate on the “sustainability factor”,

like “low-impact, biodegradable, organic, 100 % recycled”.🌱

Another lovely one is “recyclable”.

A lot of things are “recyclable” but that doesn’t mean that they get recycled.

If everything that can be recycled were being recycled, we would be in a very different situation.🧺

🌱Better look out for 100 % recycled.

Especially with plastic and paper items like:

toilet paper, tissues, printer paper and note pads.🌱

🚀Oh and here comes a good one: you know that *something* has hit the fan when fossil fuel companies are “going green”.🚌🚔

How we love those genius marketing strategies.

It’s not like we don’t need to filter enough, toss in the trash, information already.

It is very helpful to find good brands to stick to, so you don’t even have to think about avoiding the greenwashing trap every time you want to buy laundry detergent.

And finding good brands nowadays is not that hard anymore.

Search the internet to find zero waste online stores that sell all of your household items in one place.

Look around in your usual shops and ask store assistants to point out certified brands.

Even go and watch YouTube videos of zero-waste/sustainability advocating,

German, Italian, Hungarian, American, …YouTubers to see which eco-friendly brands they are buying so you can get recommendations for brands in your country.

You have the resources to inform yourself and make good choices and contrary to popular belief – sustainable living is not crazy expensive and can even save you money (if that is a concern).

So get out there, vote with your dollars and make good choices by supporting companies that actually give a **** for the planet and people.

Thank you for reading💚

See ya next blog👋🏼

Xx Stella