How to Fight Greenwashing as a Translator or Copywriter

The final part in my greenwashing series is what we – translators and copywriters – can do to combat #greenwashing. This is the toughest position of all to be in, because you have very little power. As a consumer, you have the purchasing power and the ability to deny that; as a brand you hold the majority of the power. As a copywriter or translator who’s been hired by a brand, you have few cards to play, because you’re reliant on the brand paying you for your time if you wish to pay your bills, for example. However, you’re not powerless…

Call out

You can call out clients using greenwashing and help them choose better, more accurate wording. After all, this is (or ought to be) a collaborative, creative process, whether you’re crafting copy from scratch or transcreating. You can ask your clients to clarify phrasing which is exceptionally vague or sounds greenwashy. You could suggest more precise wording or adding figures to back up claims. Perhaps you can ask them about making their tone of voice more frank – if it suits the brand. Or show them how to retain their tone of voice, while upping the accuracy of their claims.

Educate

You can educate your clients. Let’s give people the benefit of the doubt, especially if you’re translating out of another language. They might not know why using a particular wording is problematic. You can point them to resources about greenwashing and give them examples of more accurate, explanatory language. The benefit for them is, a better, more honest tone of voice and copy that is easy for the customer to understand – the customer feels trusted and they feel like they have control over their purchases. We all know customers are becoming more conscious and intentional in their shopping habits, so that can only benefit the brand.

Create resources

Why not collect or create resources specifically for your client? I’m thinking – help create a style guide or a tone-of-voice document, wording guidelines that explain how to be honest and transparent while still sounding appealing, or cool, or exciting. You could show them best-in-class examples of how other brands are being transparent in their copy. This is time-consuming, of course, and (often) unpaid too. But a brand could really appreciate it and thus want you as their trusted resource for all future projects. You’ll have made yourself the expert on speaking about the brand’s green* policies and processes. (*Excuse the vague terminology) 

Be selective

You can be selective about which brands you work with, too. Of course, this option is a huge privilege, because many of us can’t afford to be picky about the work we accept and can’t manage to give up clients who don’t meet our ethical standards while we advertise to those that do. But if it is something you have the luxury of doing, it’s worth considering.

As a translator or copywriter, do you ever find a way to help brands move away from greenwashing? Have you ever tried any of these or other tactics?

Want to try a radical new tone of voice that wins new customers, makes existing ones enthusiastic and bucks the industry trend of greenwashing? Let me help you!