How to Spot Humane Washing

Feb 15, 2021

"A lie told once remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth."
-Joseph Goebbels

What Is Humane Washing?

Like greenwashing, humane washing is the marketing practice of claiming a certain product, service, or business is beneficial to animal welfare. These assertions, though they may be legally permissible and truthful under animal welfare laws, are often grossly and intentionally misleading. By using catchy phrases and words, they allow consumers to connect the dots without explicitly painting the picture for them. Additionally, by making claims that certain "humane" practices are indeed humane -- such as organic animal farming -- the public accepts them as true even if that assumption is, at best, a stretch.

In a very real sense of the word, humane washing is a form of propaganda that seeks to falsely present certain animal products and services as beneficial alternatives to the "inhumane" use of animals. Particularly by appealing to our ethics and our ambition to be good, compassionate people, they generate a sense of morality around the consumption of what -- whom -- they're selling.

Terms to Watch

When reading through the following list, think about some of the themes present just in this handful of words. What are their goals in using these terms? We'll discuss below...

Cage-free
Catch of the day
Clean
Family farm
Farm-raised
Free-range
Fresh
Grass-fed
Happy
Healthy
Humane
Humanely-raised

Local
Natural
No added hormones
Non-GMO
Organic
Pasture-raised
Real
Responsibly-raised
Sustainable
We love our animals
Wholesome
Wild-caught

Analysis

Notice how these terms emphasize how the animals are raised and completely avoid the animals' slaughter; they don't want their products associated with death or killing, and by refusing to acknowledge that part of the process, consumers don't have to think about how animal welfare and slaughter don't truly align. Subsequently, most consumers aren't aware that animals are killed for products other than meat, leather, and fur, and even then, it's much easier to accept slaughter when they never have to truly acknowledge it.

By using words like "real," "natural," and "clean" marketers allow customers to make the inference that other products are "fake," "unnatural," and "dirty." These terms have a negative connotation, and therefore make the products associated with them also seem unsavory as compared to the "real" options.

Though health-based words aren't strictly a form of humane washing, it's important to understand the mindset of consumers who believe these claims. If one believes that dairy yogurt is a health food, that leads to the assumption that the product must, therefore, be good for both animals and humans. There's a presumption that the animals are treated well, whatever that truly means, and even if it comes to light that they aren't, then it's still acceptable because that product is beneficial to our own wellbeing.

Positive Imagery

Instead of plastering their packaging and websites with photos from inside their own buildings, these industries generally use generic images of "healthy" and "happy" animals, goofy caricatures of animals, or silhouettes and more abstract depictions of animals who are used in these businesses. In order to draw upon a sense of traditional values, farmers are often depicted alongside the stereotypical red barn or in a field with grazing animals, though their real work -- such as separating dairy calves from their mothers or loading up slaughter trucks with the animals whom they claim to so dearly love -- is noticeably absent.

Humane washing often goes hand-in-hand with greenwashing when it comes to imagery, as both employ marketing tactics that use catchphrases and "natural" color schemes or appearances instead of proclaim their legitimate initiatives to benefit animals or the planet.

Initiatives

One of the most blatant forms of humane washing is when a company promotes their animal welfare standards or new initiatives to improve animals' wellbeing. Some examples of this include: the end of breeding programs at marine parks (disregarding the animals who are already imprisoned and have perished there); "kill-free" eggs (disregarding the slaughtered hens and roosters); and gestation crate-free pork products (disregarding everything else that's wrong with the pig exploitation industry).

Response to Activists

If you have nothing to hide, then there's nothing to fear, and boy oh boy, do these industries have a lot of (literal) skeletons in their closets that they'd prefer to keep hidden away from prying eyes. Like magicians, they use diversions to keep consumers' attention elsewhere, broadcasting claims of how their animals are raised humanely without offering any specifics on what this truly means, as can be seen in my examples in the next paragraph.

Several times, I've emailed Australian shoe brand Allbirds inquiring about their "humane" wool practices and the farms they patronize and have never received a response, typical of businesses participating in humane washing. Similarly, I messaged hair color company Madison Reed inquiring about the keratin they use and if any of their products do not contain this animal-derived ingredient, to which I got an obviously prewritten response; after following up with two subsequent messages, I finally was informed that none of their products are vegan, even though they boldly claim on their website that they "love animals," which is why they promote their Leaping Bunny cruelty-free status.

Delegitimization

And when activists protest or catch the attention of the media, the industry is quick to delegitimize them. By placing some form of blame back onto the activists or reinforcing the common belief that they are dangerous extremists, the public is assuaged. Blissful once more, they return to their ignorance and continue consuming the propaganda being faithfully pumped into their minds and mouths on a daily basis.

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