Climate change: Seven ways to spot businesses greenwashing

Most of us are trying to be greener and for some that means seeking out brands and companies that are environmentally-friendly. But how can you check firms really are as green as they make out?

Greenwashing - branding something as eco-friendly, green or sustainable when this is not the case - misleads consumers into thinking they are helping the planet by choosing those products.

And businesses are being held to on this in the way they . But what do customers need to look out for to spot greenwashing?

The Advertising Standards Authority says this is the area it receives the most complaints about. And some firms have already had adverts banned.

In 2019, the advertising regulator banned a Ryanair ad claiming it was the airline with Europe's lowest emissions without sufficient evidence to the claim. And a Hyundai advert, claiming a car "cleaned the air", was also judged by the ASA to be misleading.

Ingredients in a product being described as "natural", "organic" or "eco-friendly", when only some of the ingredients can be described as this, can also fall into this category.

Sue Davies, head of Consumer Protection Policy at Which? says, in general, customers should try to find a secondary, authoritative source of information to back up manufacturers' claims.

"Think about the bigger picture. For example, can environmental claims made on a single-use plastic water bottle be taken seriously":[]}