Nice history here- the troubling evolution of corporate greenwashing
The term greenwashing was coined by environmentalist Jay Westerveld in 1986, back when most consumers received their news from television, radio and print media – the same outlets that corporations regularly flooded with a wave of high-priced, slickly-produced commercials and print ads. The combination of limited public access to information and seemingly unlimited advertising enabled companies to present themselves as caring environmental stewards, even as they were engaging in environmentally unsustainable practices.
Underplays the importance of social movement activism in forcing this into being – a co-evolution etc.
See – those Shell adverts…
eco-innovation (which is more than greenwash, mostly. Sometimes)