Why is greenwashing a problem?

Greenwashing is a marketing term and a play on the Word "whitewashing." Greenwashing is the practice certain companies undertake to project an outward image of eco-friendliness and environmental awareness while performing only the most superficial of tasks. An example of greenwashing would be an advertising campaign of a paper towel manufacturer stressing that each of its paper towels now contains 2% less virgin fibres, but not disclosing that the reason for this reduction is that the overall size of each paper towel has decreased by 2%. The change is only cosmetic, sometimes even deceptive, as when one whitewashes a decrepit, old fence to give it a fresh new appearance, but not fixing the fundamental problems.