How We Get Thru Podcast: Wellness, Healing & Spiritual Tools for Growth in Real Life · Jen Hershey

S3 Ep 89 Greenwashing & Consumer Power with John Pabon

·55 min·3 clips

John says the Resnicks hold about 60% of California's water and charge the fire department for it.

John Pabon joins the conversation as a sustainability expert and former United Nations consultant. The episode starts with the question of whether brands are as green as they claim, then widens into how consumers can tell the difference between real responsibility and polished messaging. The tone stays practical throughout. Climate change, environmental impact, and media influence all come up, but the discussion keeps returning to actions people can actually evaluate. Amazon becomes one example. The conversation notes that even small operational improvements can matter when a company is huge, while still making clear that scale is not an excuse for bad behavior. Cleaning products get a deeper look. Some companies are openly building sub-brands that look small and local while still belonging to much larger operations. That can be straight greenwashing. Other brands may be small, sincere, and simply wrong or uninformed at first. Those mistakes can be corrected. Intentional deception is the harder problem. The episode argues that big companies spend heavily on market research and consumer trials to avoid scrutiny, often choosing message-shaping over real environmental change. That distinction matters. The hosts also touch on whether any product can ever be fully clean or organic. The question is left open, with the larger point being that the claim has to match the reality behind it. The conversation ends by extending the same skepticism to social media brands and the old haul culture. Something better may be coming. The episode stays grounded, curious, and a little wary of easy virtue language. It is built for listeners who want a sharper way to think about buying, branding, and the power they have as consumers.

As heard by us

A clear look at green claims, corporate spin, and the consumer power hiding in plain sight.

Greenwashing is handled with enough restraint to stay readable, and John Pabon, a sustainability expert and former United Nations consultant, helps keep the focus on how corporate responsibility gets packaged, softened, and sometimes distorted.

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Why you'd press play

If green labels make you suspicious, this episode helps you read the shelf with a steadier eye.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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