Purpose: The article presents green marketing and greenwashing as phenomena in the context of the promotion of selected brands. The aim of the article is to present the essence of green marketing and greenwashing and, on this basis, to show and expose bad practices used in marketing activities that pretend to be truly ecological projects. Design/methodology/approach: In the article, the following research methods and techniques were used: problem, analytical, synthetic, chronological, interview, questionnaire, comparative, and participant observation. Findings: Green marketing was sufficiently shown in many studies. Greenwashing, on the other hand, as a dynamic and willingly practiced in marketing activities phenomenon, aroused the greatest research attention of the Author, who, by giving many examples, revealed tricky methods and eristic tricks leading to a quick promotion of a company and achievement of undeserved profits. In the opinion of the Author, it is advisable to present brands that promote themselves through green marketing, because their names should be remembered. On the other hand, for companies that use greenwashing, as entities negatively assessed by consumers, being included in the scientific text, cannot be an opportunity to promote. Originality/value: Despite many positive actions, we can still observe companies using greenwashing that soak their messages with ecological hollow words. Greenwashing harms not only consumers, but also honest companies that take problems of sustainable growth seriously. Therefore, the ability to recognize unfair practices is extremely important. At this point, we can indicate the relationship between the level of environmental awareness of customers and the actual or apparent activities of companies. Therefore, this article is aimed especially at consumers and people interested in sustainability.