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Bluewashing: What It Is and Why You Can’t Wash it Away!

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You might have heard of bluewashing through Netflix’s Seaspiracy documentary, or maybe you’ve heard about it in relation to the United Nations. Either way, we want you to have a full picture of what it means for a company to “blue wash” in any way.

Because, as it turns out, there are a couple shades of blue! So, we’ve created a short guide to help you work out what bluewashing means in different circumstances, and how to spot companies that are bluewashing you right now.

What is Bluewashing?

bluewashing

People use bluewashing to mean several different things. It first popped up as a spin-off of greenwashing. But whichever definition of bluewashing you’re interested in, one thing remains the same:

Bluewashing is deceptive marketing used to make you believe a company is better and more ethical than it is.

By better, we mean more eco-friendly, more socially responsible, or just to boost the public perception of a company. The bottom line is, bluewashing is deceptive and bad for consumers (and usually by extension, the planet).

The Difference Between Bluewashing and Greenwashing

We’ve written an in-depth, riveting guide to greenwashing here at beeco, but in a nutshell: greenwashing is clever marketing that a company uses to appear eco-friendly and sustainable, when actually it isn’t.

The difference between bluewashing and greenwashing is that green came first! Greenwashing refers to companies who lie about their environmental impact. For example, claiming to have carbon-offsetting for all deliveries, when actually they don’t.

On the other hand, bluewashing refers to more specific things. Using the fashion industry as an example:

  • UNGC bluewashing – claiming to follow UN rules about non-slavery clothes production when actually they aren’t,
  • Ocean bluewashing – claiming their clothes are non-toxic because they’re made from organic cotton, when actually their clothes dye contributes to water pollution,
  • General bluewashing – claiming that their clothes are ethically made when actually the company shirks their social responsibilities.

Overall, greenwashing tackles the eco-friendliness of a company while bluewashing is all about their social responsibilities and/or ocean pollution.

Let’s take a closer look at both definitions of bluewashing.

UNGC Bluewashing

man carrying bricks on his head

This type of bluewashing is about companies claiming that they don’t abuse human rights and ethical codes… when actually they do.

The writer of the rules when it comes to human rights is the UN. And the UNGC is specifically responsible for outlining the rules through 10 principles:

  1. Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.
  2. Businesses should make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
  3. Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.
  4. Businesses should uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour.
  5. Businesses should uphold the effective abolition of child labour.
  6. Businesses should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
  7. Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges.
  8. Businesses should undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.
  9. Businesses should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
  10. Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

What is the UN Global Compact?

The UNGC is a non-binding pact, which is important. It means that it actually has very little power as an organisation. Instead, they “encourage” companies to follow their principles, rather than enforce them, and refer to their principles as “framework” rather than rules.

As a result, there’s nothing stopping an unethical, rule-breaking company from joining the UNGC and using that accreditation to promote their services/products.

In fact, a 2004 survey found that for 40% of companies in the UNGC, participation in the pact had no impact on company reform. AKA, they joined the pact but didn’t change any of their company policies to meet the principles.

In 2004 there were just 1100 companies in the UNGC, but now there are over 8000 companies involved, plus 160 countries… including China, who we know doesn’t follow the rules on forced labour.

The UNGC has good intentions, but when companies, organisations and countries abuse their participation, the entire concept becomes meaningless.

How to Spot Companies Bluewashing the UNGC

What you need to look for are claims without any evidence. 

Working with Fairtrade initiatives, showing transparency and sharing stories from their workers, etc. all put socially responsible policies on display.

But if there’s a claim with no evidence behind it, then you should immediately be suspicious.

Of course, the problem is that many companies use their UNGC participation to provide a reliable certification, or as their evidence, when really, it’s not all that reliable!

If a company uses their UNGC participation to market a product, but you can’t find any further evidence to show that they are being socially responsible, then they may be bluewashing.

Seaspiracy Bluewashing Definition

dead fish floating

This is about companies making you think their products are good for the oceans – or at least, don’t harm them – when actually they do.

We already gave an example of bluewashing in the clothes industry above. Water pollution is a huge problem, so clothes dyes need to be non-toxic. But as the Netflix documentary Seaspiracy highlighted, the fishing industry has a huge bluewashing problem too.

We highly recommend watching the documentary to get a grasp of the sheer scale of this dilemma, but to summarise some key points:

  • Sustainable fishing is impossible – there is intense over-fishing,
  • Discarded fishing nets account for almost half of all ocean plastic,
  • Tax payers are unknowingly contributing $35 billion globally to fishing subsidies.

Normally, this impact on our oceans, sustainability and eco-friendly practices would come under greenwashing. But the fishing industry specifically has a lot of problems with ethics, forced labour and social responsibility too.

What’s worse, is that our governments are using our taxes to pay for it all.

Companies Bluewashing Our Oceans

According to Seaspiracy, one of the biggest contributors to bluewashing is the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Their logo of the blue fish even says “Certified Sustainable Seafood” when the documentary claims that there’s no such thing.

Giving certifications for sustainable seafood when they cannot prove them is the literal definition of bluewashing, so we need to take this seriously! Plus, it appears that 80% of the MSC’s income comes from licensing seafood too, which smells a bit fishy.

But what do the other side say?

The MSC has come back with a response claiming that “One of the amazing things about our oceans is that fish stocks can recover and replenish if they are managed carefully for the long-term.” They also argue that they are transparent and not-for-profit, despite Seaspiracy’s claims to the contrary.

It’s now a game of “he said, she said”.

Regardless of how much has been exaggerated, Seaspiracy has still brought to light the troubles with sustainable fishing. The MSC might be right about careful management, but we’re clearly not there yet. And the impact of all this may have led to extremes such as slavery and criminal activity, due to unbelievably fierce competition over a limited resource.

So, can we really say that any fishing company or brand isn’t bluewashing unless they can admit, quantifiably measure, and explain their true global impact on human and marine life?


A Quick Side Note: Bluewashing IBM

We’ve had a few enquiries from readers at beeco wondering how IBM fits into the bluewashing scheme of things. It’s not what you think!

It turns out that “bluewashing” is the term that IBM (the global software and app company) use for acquiring new/competitor software vendors, making them part of the IBM network.

Sure, it’s an unfortunate coincidence but it’s good to know that if your employer or company uses IBM software, they aren’t knowingly bluewashing (in the UNGC and Seaspiracy definitions) either way.

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Jonathan Davies

Jonathan Davies

Content manager @ beeco. Raised in the countryside, you can find me near water, whatever the weather.
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