Social washing
ESG & GovernanceOverstating a company's or fund's social credentials, such as labour standards, diversity or community benefits.
Social washing is the social version of greenwashing. Examples include a large CSR budget presented as proof of good social practice while contract workers face unsafe conditions, or a "social" bond whose projects bring little benefit to the stated groups. Social data is often harder to measure than environmental data, which makes social washing harder to spot. Check worker safety records, grievance data and supply chain disclosures, not just headline programmes.
Related terms
Learn the concept
From the research
A Comparative Financial Analysis of Three Listed Companies
Three IT services leaders, five years of numbers: similar growth, very different margins and returns on capital, and their October 2026 valuations.
MarketsIPO Issue Price vs. Listing Price vs. Subsequent Performance
Seven of India's most talked-about IPOs since 2021, tracked from issue price to listing to October 2026. Buying on listing day lost money in six of seven.
ValuationPaytm: Valuing a Company With No Clean Comparable
Paytm is part payments processor, part device business, part loan distributor. Why no single peer fits, and how to value it in parts and in reverse.