The writer is Sophomore in Colorado.

To the CEOs of the United States’ favorite companies,

I am a young teenage girl; I can’t vote, don’t have my own money, don’t own property or have a job, so why does your mass-producing deceitfulness bother me? Because I’ll have to live through the consequences of your actions. Through growing temperatures, ocean pollution, animal extinction, greenhouse gas increases, and more. And while you are lying six feet under, I will need to spend my short life brainstorming our planet’s reprieve from your manufacturing indolence. Do you care? How dare you come to me for your solution?

Your lies have a price, and it’s not the one on your cheaply made products. Your greenwashing has a price. What is greenwashing? It’s a deceitful marketing ploy to trick innocent consumers into believing that the many pounds of products they buy are “green.” Greenwashing eases the moral dilemma of buying one-and-done items; you have convinced the public that the millions of tons of plastic we throw away don’t end up in landfills, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Over 90% of plastic products that are supposedly recycled are dumped into landfills or burned.

More specifically, I’m looking at you, Fiji Water. Yes, you, the beverage that claims to be “Natural Artesian Water” with a tropical flower on your packaging. You claim to be lowering your carbon emissions, but your plastic bottles still end up in landfills and oceans. You export your fresh water from Fiji (around 6,000 miles) to your consumers worldwide, depleting local water resources with your thirst for money. While you profit off your pristine reservoir, villages in Fiji often face water shortages and must rely on poorly maintained infrastructure. So, who really benefits from this “natural” resource?

Let’s not forget what you put inside the bottle, either. A recent study found that your water contains high levels of microplastic contamination. So much for “untouched by man.” These tiny plastic particles not only destroy your green image but also pose health risks for your consumers. You are a greenwasher; admit it. You project an eco-friendly image while exploiting natural resources, harming communities, and polluting the planet.

And Fiji Water isn’t the only brand greenwashing our consumer minds. Do you know the brand P&G? Definitely not their policies. P&G produces many of the cleaning brands you use daily, including Bounty, Crest, Gain, Downy, and more. A report found that using virgin pulp in the production of P&G’s toilet paper, facial tissue, and paper towel brands is a significant source of greenhouse gases. Many other brands you use daily have policies like these that you don’t even know.

We need to change. From 2016 to 2022, 57 companies produced 80% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. We need to change. In 2022, the U.K.’s top 10 food and beverage companies generated 477 million tons of CO2 globally. That is more CO2 than the entire United Kingdom and the global aviation industry produced in that same year. Change needs to start at the top of the chain for it to cascade down to its consumers. So please, we need to change. Our beloved companies, listen to me; I urge you to take action. Reduce your carbon emissions. Change your policies. Save our planet. For all of us, not just for your profit.

Sincerely,

Avery Lyders