BETWEEN GREEN MARKETING AND ENVIRONMENTAL FRAUD: GREENWASHING AS A VIOLATION OF DIFFUSE RIGHTS

Resumo

This study examines greenwashing as a phenomenon that extends beyond the scope of misleading advertising, proposing its interpretation as a violation of diffuse rights within the framework of Environmental Law. Initially, it discusses the conceptual evolution of the term, highlighting its critical origins and its consolidation as a structural practice associated with the dissociation between actual environmental performance and corporate communication. The study demonstrates that greenwashing takes multiple forms, including omissions, vague claims, dubious certifications, and symbolic strategies, thus characterizing it as a multifaceted and multi-level phenomenon. From an economic perspective, it is interpreted as a manifestation of information asymmetry, generating market failures and distorting consumer and investment decisions. The legal analysis shows that such practices undermine diffuse rights, particularly the right to adequate environmental information and the protection of an ecologically balanced environment. Greenwashing produces collective harms, including informational damage, erosion of social trust, competitive distortions, and indirect environmental impacts. Furthermore, the article discusses structural factors that foster the phenomenon, such as corporate governance incentives and limitations of ESG metrics. Finally, it proposes an integrated analytical framework and argues for the need for a more robust regulatory response, grounded in transparency, standardization, and the integration of environmental law, corporate governance, and economic regulation.