Bluewashing

Why in news?

• The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems has released a report titled “who’s tipping the scales”. The report has highlighted the visible manner in which corporate takeover of food governance systems is taking place.
• According to the report, partnerships between corporates and intergovernmental bodies like the UN create conflicts of interest and allow the corporates to blue-wash or social-wash their reputations.

About Bluewashing:

• Bluewashing refers to a deceptive form of marketing in which an enterprise uses deceptive marketing techniques to overstate its commitment to responsible social practices.
• It can be used interchangeably with the term greenwashing but has a greater focus on economic and community factors rather than the environment.
  • Greenwashing is the process of conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company’s products are environmentally sound.
  • It involves making an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive environmental impact than is true.

Origin of the term bluewashing:

• The term bluewashing was first used to refer to companies who signed the United Nations Global Compact and its principles but did not make any actual policy reforms.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

UPSC 2022

Which one of the following best describes the term “greenwashing”?

(a) Conveying a false impression that a company’s products are eco-friendly and environmentally sound

(b) Non-inclusion       of ecological/environmental costs in the Annual Financial Statements of a country

(c) Ignoring the disastrous ecological consequences while undertaking infrastructure development

(d) Making mandatory provisions for environmental costs in a government project/programme

Answer