For more than a decade, the Two Sides Anti-Greenwash campaign has challenged misleading environmental claims that unfairly slander the environmental performance of paper communications and paper-based packaging. Today, the campaign has reached another milestone, with 1,500 organizations worldwide removing or amending unsubstantiated anti-paper statements following engagement with Two Sides.
From banks and utilities to retailers, insurers and public sector organizations, businesses have increasingly used environmental messaging such as “Go Green – Go Paperless” or “Choose e-billing and save a tree” to encourage their customers to switch to digital communications. While often presented as sustainability efforts, these messages frequently lack credible evidence and are primarily used to reduce operational costs rather than environmental impact.
Consumers do not support nor want these forced digital switches. Data from the 2025 Two Sides Trend Tracker report shows that 56% of European consumers are aware that the environmental reasons given for moving to digital are dishonest and primarily motivated by cost reduction. Furthermore, 76% of consumers want the right to choose how they receive communications and oppose being forced into digital-only options.
While the Anti-Greenwash campaign initially focused on misleading claims encouraging consumers to abandon paper communications, the scope of the campaign has expanded alongside changing market trends. Increasingly, Two Sides is seeing environmental claims relating to paper-based packaging, including unsupported statements suggesting that alternative fiber materials are inherently more sustainable than paper from responsibly managed forests, or that eliminating paper packaging automatically reduces environmental impact. As with all environmental claims, these statements should be supported by robust, independently verifiable evidence.
Greenwashing doesn’t just mislead consumers, it can influence purchasing decisions, reduce confidence in genuine sustainability initiatives and unfairly damage industries and companies with strong environmental credentials. The print, paper and paper-based packaging sector has invested heavily in sustainable forestry, responsible manufacturing and recycling infrastructure, yet continues to be undermined by inaccurate claims suggesting that avoiding paper automatically benefits the environment.
Misleading anti-paper messaging has real-world consequences. Every time an organisation encourages customers to “go paperless to save trees” without evidence, it reinforces misconceptions about a renewable and highly recycled material while encouraging decisions based on inaccurate environmental information.
These claims also carry a significant economic impact. Europe’s print, paper, packaging and forestry sectors support more than 640,000 jobs across 112,000 businesses. Research commissioned by Two Sides found that greenwashing could cost the European mailing and postal sector alone more than €337 million annually through reduced paper volumes and declining consumer confidence.
“The success of this campaign demonstrates that organizations are willing to listen when presented with credible evidence,” says Jonathan Tame, managing director of Two Sides Europe. “Most businesses don’t deliberately set out to mislead consumers. However, environmental claims must be based on facts, not assumptions or marketing slogans. Suggesting that choosing digital automatically saves trees or is always the greener option oversimplifies a complex issue and risks undermining consumer trust.
We’re also seeing more environmental marketing around packaging. Innovation is essential, and new materials have an important role to play, but claims that one fibre source is automatically more sustainable than another, or that eliminating paper packaging is always better for the environment, should be backed by credible lifecycle evidence. Consumers deserve accurate information, not misleading or over-simplified marketing messages.”
In Europe alone, Two Sides has persuaded more than 950 organisations, including many well known big brands such as; Acerta, Barclays, TSB and more, to withdraw misleading anti-paper messaging from their communications.
“Our aim isn’t to criticize organizations, but to help them communicate sustainability accurately. Paper comes from a renewable resource, is one of the most recycled materials in Europe and supports the sustainable management of millions of hectares of forest. Businesses should celebrate genuine environmental progress rather than rely on misleading claims.”
As environmental legislation continues to tighten, including the Green Claims Directive and Green Claims Code, organizations have an increasing responsibility to ensure all environmental messaging is accurate, substantiated and transparent.
 Two Sides encourages businesses to review any communications that discourage the use of paper on environmental grounds and ensure they are supported by credible scientific evidence.
