TL;DR: Greenwashing gave way to greenhushing, but neither serves communicators well. The brands cutting through right now are showing that transparency and candor build more trust than either extreme.
Sustainability has become one of the most complicated and polarizing topics for communicators to navigate. Growing scrutiny of environmental claims has led many organizations to believe that sustainability may no longer belong in their messaging.
It’s a pendulum swing from the peak of greenwashing—the deceptive practice of presenting an organization as more environmentally friendly than it actually is. While consumers have been questioning greenwashing tactics for years, “greenhushing” is a newer phenomenon in which organizations are suddenly staying quiet about their sustainability plans altogether.
Sustainability messaging, however, doesn’t have to be a tale of two extremes. How much companies overstate or hide about sustainability is only part of the problem. The other part is how disconnected that messaging can get from what’s actually happening.
The most effective organizations are being authentic with both their reality and their aspirations, pairing the wins with the work in progress.
Earning the Trust of Wary Audiences
Consumers have become increasingly skeptical about corporate environmental initiatives, especially those making broad claims about their positive impact. A 2025 report by VisualGPS found that 76% of consumers believe that products and services are labeled as “green” merely as a marketing ploy. Gleaned from ongoing research VisualGPS conducts with Marketcast to track shifts in consumer attitudes, the study also noted that 2 in 3 doubt that companies are genuinely committed to sustainability.
This skepticism, in addition to heightened political pressure, has resulted in a cooling effect across CSR (corporate social responsibility) and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) communications. Per sustainability advisory firm GlobeScan, consumers are seeing less consistent sustainability communications from brands, a decrease of 13% from 2023 to 2025. At the same time, consumer trust in these existing messages has eroded by 9%.
Consumers, however, haven’t abandoned sustainability completely. A separate international study from GlobeScan and Ingka Group last year reported that 7 in 10 consumers want companies to communicate more clearly about the environmental and social impacts of products.
Audiences want fewer sweeping promises, more proof, and clearer explanations of how sustainability benefits their own lives. That’s why communicators shouldn’t be focused solely on how much to say for maximum impact in minimum time. Instead, the key question is about what needs to be said. On sustainability, that starts with asking what it means to the organization, not only how the room will react.
Four Questions to Ask Before You Talk About Sustainability
Ask yourself these questions to determine whether—and how—sustainability belongs in your brand story.
- How do your stakeholders view sustainability? How will you balance your investors’ perspectives on environmental issues compared to those of your customers?
- Are you willing to talk about work in progress, not just what’s already working? Communicators who only share polished outcomes read as curated, not credible. Successful communicators should feel comfortable talking about projects that are still a work in progress.
- Can you support your sustainability goals with data? Do you have the evidence and metrics to quantify your sustainability metrics?
- Is sustainability inherently linked to this story? Not every announcement needs an environmental angle. Don’t try to force environmental messaging where it isn’t necessary; that’s how you can develop a skeptical audience.
The Brands Choosing Authenticity—and What We Can Learn
Even in the recent peak of greenhushing, consumers are still looking to their favorite brands to be transparent about the work they’re doing, rather than going quiet. According to the Visual GPS report, 82% of consumers still agree it’s important for companies to have clear ESG guidelines and practices to demonstrate a commitment beyond profit.
Enduring consumer trust is developed through consistent transparency. People are increasingly interested in brands that communicate authentically about their successes and challenges in sustainability. Look at Patagonia’s ‘Work in Progress’ report, where the founder and CEO are upfront about recent pain points and their products’ actual environmental impact, from sourcing to disposal. The organization balances its millions in environmental grant dollars while admitting it uses the same factories as fast fashion brands. This is the kind of honest narrative that not only builds trust but also keeps consumers engaged throughout these massive initiatives.
Google’s 2026 Environmental Report follows a similar playbook. Google acknowledges that AI-driven growth has outpaced its net-zero progress, and it frames its reporting approach around being transparent about setbacks, including the loss of a satellite central to its emissions tracking. That kind of candor echoes the same lesson Patagonia’s report does: credibility comes from acknowledging where the work is still unfinished.
Communicate with authenticity—about why sustainability is important to your brand, what your goals are, what’s working, and what isn’t yet. Greenwashing and greenhushing both wager that the simple truth isn’t good enough to say out loud. The communicators who are finding success are betting that it is.
