Eco-Truth: Decoding Greenwashing in Media KA153-YOU | Mobility of Youth Workers

PROJECT CONCEPT NOTE
Eco-Truth: Decoding Greenwashing in Media
KA153-YOU | Mobility of Youth Workers | Bursa, Türkiye | 5 days training + 2 days travel
Number of Youthworkers for the Mobility: 3+1 (3 Participants + 1 Group Leader)
Number of Partners: 6 (İncluding Türkiye as the Host Country)
Host (Türkiye): 5+1 (5 Participants + 1 Group Leader)

Total Participants: 24
Slogan: “Don’t Just Believe. Verify the Green.”
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1) RATIONALE / CONTEXT
With the European Green Deal and the rapid spread of sustainability discourse, terms such as “organic,” “natural,” “eco,” and “green” are widely used in marketing and social media. This increases the risk of greenwashing, misleading claims, and concept confusion. Young people often either trust every “natural” label or develop distrust and eco-anxiety. Youth workers need practical tools to help young people verify claims, interpret labels responsibly, and create evidence-based digital content.
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2) NEEDS
• Misleading green claims are widespread online, creating information pollution and consumer confusion.
• Marketing language blurs key distinctions (e.g., “natural/homemade” vs. certified organic).
• Youth workers require hands-on verification skills and ready-to-use non-formal methods to address the topic with young people in a constructive, non-alarmist way.
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3) OBJECTIVES
1. Strengthen youth workers’ capacity to identify greenwashing and analyze sustainability-related claims using practical “red flags” criteria.
2. Increase understanding of traceability and certification logic through real-life exposure to certified organic production (or equivalent evidence-based input).
3. Build competence in ethical, verifiable digital communication (short-form video/audio/post formats) using a Claim–Evidence–Source approach.
4. Co-create a transferable resource: The Green Lens Field Kit, enabling participants to replicate local workshops after the mobility.
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4) APPROACH & METHODOLOGY
The project uses non-formal education with strong participant involvement:
• Co-creation and peer learning
• Gamified analysis (case-based scenarios, claim-testing challenges)
• Field verification (farm visit or alternative evidence-based session)
• Digital production lab focusing on source-checking, ethics, and clear messaging
• Reflection and learning recognition via Youthpass
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5) MAIN OUTPUT
The Green Lens Field Kit (Digital, Plug-and-Play)
• Greenwashing Red Flags checklist
• Label & Proof Map (what evidence to request and how to assess it)
• 90-minute “Media Detective” workshop plan
• Ethics & Eco-Anxiety communication guide (supportive language and safe facilitation)
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6) PARTICIPANTS
• Target group: youth workers, NGO staff/leaders, trainers, educators, digital content practitioners working with young people
• Scale: 24 participants (4 per partner country, indicative)
• Profile: motivated to run follow-up workshops and contribute to local multiplier impact
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7) EXPECTED IMPACT
• Individual: measurable improvement in participants’ verification and greenwashing-detection competence (pre/post learning checks).
• Local: each participant implements at least one local workshop within 4–8 weeks after returning.
• Organisational: partner organisations integrate a Food & Media Literacy component into regular youth work practices and training offers.