Greenwashing & Hidden Plastics

Greenline organised the ‘Greenwashing & Hidden Plastics’, a workshop to make citizens aware of how to spot greenwashed products to avoid falling prey to them, on Thursday 8th September 2022, at St. Dominic Savio High School, Andheri. This workshop was conducted in-person, in collaboration with the Hum Prithvi Se team members, Pooja Domadia and Mansi Shah. Through this event we aimed to bring to light the different and subtle ways companies, brands and entrepreneurs brainwash us into believing that products wrapped in different shades of green, with green slogans and all sorts of jargony terms are good for us and the environment. Whereas, in reality it’s just overly falsified advertisement.

During the workshop, the Hum Prithvi Se team presented the students with trays full of regular household items that contain hidden plastics and products that appear to be eco-friendly but are not actually environmentally sustainable. The students witnessed through their own eyes how companies and people so unabashedly proclaim their products to be good and safe for us and the planet. The speakers also taught the students how to identify such “green” items in our market and to avoid falling prey to such advertisements.

The Programme Coordinator gave a vote of thanks to Mansi and Pooja, the resource persons, for sharing their knowledge with us, and St. Dominic Savio High School for providing the space for the workshop. The resource persons concluded the session by answering queries posed by the students, teachers and parents, and a few audience members sharing their own tips and experiences. A final group picture was taken with everyone and pleasantries were shared before everyone departed the premises to their respective destinations.

The event was a huge success with 38 out of 42 schools having participated and shared this experience with us.