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Greenwashing

Age group: 11-15

This page provides you with a snapshot of this activity that teaches students how companies and organisations use ‘Greenwashing’ to make their company, products or services seem environmentally friendly when in reality they are not. Learn how to use the 10 signals to find out if an advertisement is greenwashed. Test your knowledge and become an expert at spotting greenwashing so that you never get tricked again! Discover how to become a conscious consumer and buy products that are good for the environment and share this with your family and friends.

We recommend that you use the ‘Introduction to Solid Waste’ activity before any of the other activities as it is a good starting point for students to learn about waste. It provides a comprehensive overview of how waste is generated and its impacts on animals, the environment and us. If you have already done so and wish to continue to download the rest of this free activity please click on the download icon below. Enjoy!

Objectives:
  • Understand the term greenwashing.
  • Develop skills and use tools to recognise signs of greenwashing
  • Learn how you can evaluate products, companies, services, etc. that use greenwashing.
Participants:

Groups (3-4 students)
Entire class

Materials:
  • Copies of the ‘10 signals of greenwashing’ student handout.
  • Copies of the ‘Bottle advertisement’ student handout.
  • Copies of the ‘T-shirt advertisement’ student handout.
  • Teacher reference sheets.
Duration:

2-3 class periods (105-135 minutes)

  • 1st class: steps 1-2
  • 2nd class: 3-4
  • 3rd class: 5-7
Skills used:

Critical thinking
Problem solving
Communication

Subjects:

Science
English

Preparation:

  1. Read through the information sheet and the teacher reference sheet provided in the activity.
  2. Print a copy of the ‘10 signals of greenwashing’ student handout for every student.
  3. Print copies of the ‘Bottle advertisement’ student handout so that every group has 1 handout.
  4. Print a copy of the ‘T-shirt advertisement’ student handout for every student.

Class I

Instructions:

1 Class discussion (10-15 minutes)

Write the terms ‘conscious consumerism’ and ‘greenwashing’ on the board. Lead a brief discussion with students about these terms by asking the following questions:

  1. What is conscious consumerism?
  2. How can we be conscious consumers?
  3. What is greenwashing?
  4. Why is greenwashing a problem?
  5. What can we do?

 


Information

What is conscious consumerism?

  • Everything we buy has an impact on the environment.
  • Conscious consumerism focuses on making better/more informed choices on what you buy in order to avoid the negative impacts that consumerism has on the planet (natural resource use and pollution).
  • We all want to be conscious consumers and buy products that are good for the environment. So how do we do it?
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Included:

Lesson plan (English)
3 Student handouts