Busting Blue-Washing with Provenance

If you thought greenwashing was a problem, it’s safe to say there’s a whole new wave coming our way. Blue-washing, the exaggeration or fabrication of sustainability impact or actions made by a company to appeal to consumers, is rampant. Studies have identified that anywhere from 40% to 70% of sustainability claims could be exaggerated, misleading or false. Currently, there is no regulation of sustainability claims in the United States. And while that might change in the future (one can hope), we want transparency now.

Enter Provenance, a leading sustainability technology platform (based in the UK) that verifies sustainability and social impact claims made by companies, stores their ‘proof points’ on a blockchain, and makes those proof points visible to the conscious consumer. Yes, that’s you.

While laws about sustainability claims vary from country to country, the UK’s Competition & Markets Authority issued a Green Claims Code in September 2021 to address greenwashing and misleading claims that can impact consumer buying decisions. Other governing bodies across Europe are following suit, with perhaps some consistent governance happening across the European Union in the future. With the UK’s Green Claims Code in place, companies can be held criminally responsible if their claims are misleading or worse, unsubstantiated.

Provenance’s sustainability communication software helps companies get ahead of the curve by offering a solution that creates transparency by highlighting a company’s claims with clickable data points, which they call proof points. Today we are announcing that Beauty Heroes is Provenance’s first U.S. retail partner, and the platform is now LIVE on our website, with an interactive integration for brands like Pai, Innersense Organic Beauty, Captain Blankenship and more to come. Our conscious consumers can find company-wide claims featured on brand pages and individual product claims on their specific product pages.

While no certification or claim is the answer to climate change or any other environmental problem, and each claim and company is only as good as its own integrity, the collective and intentional actions taken by companies are helping to turn the tide of the beauty and personal care industry. And Beauty Heroes wants to encourage these conversations and build on the momentum, because there’s still a long way to go. With the vast number of ways companies are doing better for people AND planet, Provenance is one way we can clearly communicate these initiatives to consumers and offer up the transparency they deserve. As you browse the Beauty Heroes website, we invite you to click on the Provenance integration and see how easy it is to learn more about the brands you love.

If you have questions about the Provenance integration on Beauty Heroes, or anything else, be sure to email our Heroic Customer Care team at hero@beauty-heroes.com.