GoT had three core objectives: First, we wanted to raise awareness among young people about greenwashing; what it is, how it works, and why it matters for the environment, climate change, and sustainable consumption. Second, we aimed to enhance the greenwashing literacy of young people by developing innovative, hands-on educational materials using non-formal education methods. We wanted young people to not just understand greenwashing theoretically, but to actually be able to spot it in their daily lives as a habit. Third, we wanted to strengthen the capacity of our partner youth organizations by building their knowledge, skills, and resources on greenwashing through cross-national cooperation and exchange of best practices across four countries; the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, and Bulgaria. Ultimately, GoT aimed to turn young people from passive targets of deceptive green marketing into informed, critical, and engaged consumers who can drive real change in their communities.
Greenwashing (making false or misleading environmental claims) is a growing problem that directly targets young people as the largest consumer group. Yet most lack the knowledge to recognize it. Three of our partner organizations (NL, DE and TR) met during an Erasmus+ study visit in Azerbaijan in 2023 and realized they all shared the same gap: neither they nor the young people they work with knew enough about greenwashing. A survey we conducted among partners' target groups confirmed this; young people knew it existed but felt unconfident about detecting it. Despite the EU adopting a Green Claims Directive in 2023, no accessible educational tools existed for young people on this topic in our partner countries. GoT was created to fill exactly that gap; equipping youth workers and young people with practical knowledge and tools to recognize greenwashing and make truly sustainable choices to raise awareness of young people and improve the capacity of youth organisations.