In a world where sustainability has become part of the mainstream visual language, being environmentally conscious is no longer just a value, it’s a style. From leafy packaging designs to muted earthy tones, everything looks green. But what happens when the visual suggestion of sustainability far exceeds the actual impact of what we’re designing?
This is the core of greenwashing: the illusion of sustainability.
Greenwashing occurs when products or brands appear environmentally friendly but fail to deliver meaningful environmental benefits. It’s a form of misdirection that plays into the growing demand for “eco” without the effort or structural change needed to support it. And in the world of design, this illusion is often pointed out through the tools we know best: language, materials, finishings, and visual cues.
Designers may not always intend to greenwash. Often, it begins with good intentions, a natural color palette, a label that reads “biodegradable,” a conscious choice of uncoated paper. But without knowledge of what lies behind those choices, the result can do more harm than good.
Green Claims – Grey Reality
One of the most common tools of greenwashing is the language we use. Words like eco, natural, biodegradable, or planet-friendly appear everywhere and yet they often lack explanation.
Take biodegradable, for example. It evokes something that returns to nature. But in reality, many materials labeled biodegradable only break down in tightly controlled industrial conditions, facilities that are rare or inaccessible to most consumers. Without that infrastructure, these materials behave just like plastic.
Likewise, calling something recyclable says little unless we know how, where, and whether it actually is recycled. Multi-layer packaging may technically include recyclable components, but once combined into one product, they often can’t be separated. The result? A technically recyclable item that’s practically destined for landfill.
The danger of these vague claim is the sense of false reassurance, the idea that by choosing one product over another, a consumer has “done their part.” It disarms critical thinking and slows down the push for real solutions.
Mixed Materials – Beauty with Consequences
In packaging, one of the biggest hidden challenges is the use of mixed materials. Combining paper with foil, plastic, or even wood can create a luxurious, layered effect. It looks rich. It feels intentional. But these combinations are often irreversible, they cannot be separated by waste processors and therefore cannot be recycled effectively.
Designs that involve glued layers, plastic windows, metallised linings, or coated textures often enter the waste stream as “residuals”. These are the very designs that often carry the most eco-focused messaging.
Even when the individual materials are recyclable on their own, the fusion of elements makes them incompatible with standard recycling systems. Paper and plastic, once bonded, lose their individual recyclability. And once that bond is aesthetic rather than functional, we have to ask: what are we prioritising; visual appeal or environmental responsibility?
Spot-UV – Shine with a Shadow
Spot UV, a glossy finishing layer applied selectively to designs, has long been a favourite in premium packaging. It adds contrast, tactility, and a touch of light. Visually, it elevates a surface, and environmentally, it complicates everything.
Spot UV is typically made from plastic-based varnishes, cured under UV light. It creates a layer that prevents the natural breakdown or recycling of the material underneath, especially when used on paper. The result: packaging that looks sophisticated, but cannot return to the material loop.
Even small design details can have outsized consequences. A single finish can transform a recyclable box into non-recyclable waste. And the consumer, drawn in by the shimmer, rarely knows the cost.
If you still want to add this contrast? Foilco’s recyclable foils offer a more circular alternative.
What you can do
Greenwashing is not always intentional. Often, it comes from a lack of transparency in the supply chain, limited access to truly sustainable materials, or confusion around certification and terminology. But that’s exactly why design must slow down; to ask harder questions and stay open to uncomfortable answers.
As designers, we can’t control every step of the production process, but we can control the decisions we make at the beginning: the materials we propose, the finishes we avoid, the language we write, and the assumptions we challenge.
Sustainability in design isn’t about perfection. It’s about clarity. Honesty. Willingness to admit trade-offs. The best work doesn’t just look good, it lives well and leaves well.
Green is not a style. It’s a practice.
And it begins before the first sketch.
