Is the US government doing anything about Greenwashing?

Greenwashing is a marketing practice where a fashion brand presents a garment and/or collection as sustainable when it is not. It is companies using false advertising to lure consumers in without any clear proof or facts of sustainability. With consumers trying to be more conscious and sustainable, greenwashing has become a popular trend for fashion companies to do. It is easy for the average consumer to fall for because they trust that brands are telling them the truth and many consumers do not have the knowledge of what greenwashing is or looks like. 

Gucci’s Sustainable ‘Off the Grid’ Campaign Photo: Harmony Korine via: Elle

Greenwashing continues to be a prevalent problem within the industry to no avail. Today, for the most part, brands are self regulated and doing whatever they want to regarding greenwashing. Additionally, state by state regulations on it are minimal. There are many environmental groups in America who have been educating and calling out greenwashing instances from brands. Even recently, the US government is beginning to step in and take action, but overall, little has been done on a national level even with the government knowing about this problem and the government is not doing enough to make any real changes. 

Louis Vuitton Men’s Spring Summer 2020 Campaign Photo: Viviane Sassen via: Ignant

So what specific things is the government doing? The Federal Trade Commission is a government organization that works to protect consumers against false and deceptive business practices such as Greenwashing. Additionally, they educate consumers on how to properly spot these business practices when they are shopping or looking for specific things. The FTC is the perfect government organization to create greenwashing regulations given their goals to protect consumers. In 1992, the FTC created the Green Guides in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Photo: Levi Strauss & Co. via: Levi Strauss & Co.

The Environmental Protection Agency is a government agency that has worked to protect the environment and consumers against environmental health problems and enforce environmental regulations within the US. The Green Guides has been revised several times with the most recent one being in 2012 (the FTC and EPA are revising and reviewing the guides currently to better match with modern times). The Green Guides provide guidance for brands on how to better advertise to consumers on environmental marketing.

It also guides consumers on how to better look for deceptive environmental claims, labeling and ads. According to the FTC website, they provide specific guidance for general principles that apply to all environmental marketing claims (including logos, symbols, labeling, depictions, etc.), how consumers are likely to interpret particular claims and how marketers can qualify their claims to avoid deceiving consumers. 

Burberry Fall Winter 2019 Campaign Photo: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott via: Hypebae

Overall, the Green Guides is a great thing for the government to enforce because it not only educates consumers but it also helps brands. Should they continue enforcing it, it would be a great thing for consumers and fashion brands. However, even with some positive direction for the US government, this is still not enough to protect consumers. Greenwashing is still a huge problem within the industry and brands are not called out or regulated enough to stop from doing it. Overall, brands need to be held accountable and the government needs to protect the consumers that they swore to protect more. Additionally, the greenwashing solution also includes consumers themselves.

Gucci’s Sustainable ‘Off the Grid’ Campaign Photo: Harmony Korine via: Elle

The biggest way to protest brands is through their pockets and if enough consumers begin to see this problem for what it is, they will begin to not shop with greenwashing brands. Greenwashing should not continue to be a practice for brands moving forward and does not benefit the industry (or its consumers) in the long run. It brushes the industry’s pollution problems under the rug without actively addressing them. The government needs to do better in the future to protect consumers and call out brands for this false advertising practice.