We Need To Talk About the Fashion Industry’s Greenwashing Problem

The term ‘Greenwashing’ was coined in the 1980s by environmentalist Jay Westerveld in his essay touching on the “Save the Towel” movement, a movement started by hotels who encouraged customers to reuse towels under the guise of sustainability but it was really to reduce laundry costs. The term is used to describe a brand that claims to have sustainable products and/or practices in order to mislead customers into buying their products. Usually companies that greenwash heavily exaggerate how environmentally friendly they actually are and use sustainability as more of a marketing tool to be in consumers' good graces and to distract the general public from a company's environmentally damaging practices.

Courtesy of British Vogue

Greenwashed products are often rebranded, repackaged and renamed to appear more environmentally friendly. Companies usually use the terms “chemical free,” “natural,” “recycled” or “less water” on their packaging to bring in consumers. It is a way for companies to capitalize off of the recent rise of the climate change and sustainability movement. In an interview with Vogue Scandinavia last year, climate activist, Greta Thunberg said, “Many are making it look as if the fashion industry are starting to take responsibility, by spending fantasy amounts on campaigns where they portray themselves as ‘sustainable’, ‘ethical’, ‘green’, ‘climate neutral’ and ‘fair’,” she wrote. “But let’s be clear: This is almost never anything but pure greenwashing. You cannot mass produce fashion or consume ‘sustainably’ as the world is shaped today.”

Courtesy of Fashionista

Fast fashion companies in particular have been greenwashing in an attempt to ride the wave of sustainability. They have been creating new ‘sustainable’ lines and wooing consumers with little to no evidence to back up their sustainability claims. These garments are often still made out of plastics and will still through the 52 seasons of the fast fashion industry just to be thrown out and replaced with something else as quickly as it came. Also, fast fashion uses overseas factories in third world countries to make these ‘sustainable’ collections while simultaneously polluting the communities that are surrounding their factories. In short, these garments are as sustainable as the others, they just have different marketing attached to them to make it seem as if they are not. 

Courtesy of Energy Monitor

How does someone tell the difference between genuine green products and greenwashed products? Green products list scientific facts, benefits and evidence to back up their products. Their sustainability efforts will be clearly laid out and legible on their website and the garment tag. For instance, sustainable brand Reformation, tells its customers the sustainability impact for each of their products, how sustainable the fabric is and where it was made. Greenwashing claims can not be backed up by any evidence or verified by the company or consumer. They use marketing terms, fabricated claims and swayed data to sell products. They often use false pictures to back up their claims. Look out for hypocrisy; Typically truly green companies do not contribute to pollution or other not environmentally sound practices when creating their garments.  

Courtesy of The Big Issue

Additionally, there are sites and apps such as Good On You and The Environmental Working Group (EWG) that layout what is in a specific brand’s products and garments. Good On You scores clothing and accessory brands on how sustainable they are and what they could do better in the future to become more sustainable. EWG scores specific products in various categories such as beauty and food with the lowest score being the most environmentally friendly. They also give certifications to products that meet their specific criteria of brand transparency, sustainability and environmentally sound products. As greenwashing becomes more of an issue, it is up to consumers and international governments to punish brands that greenwash as a regular practice. The more punishment they get, the less likely they will do it. These days, transparency and honesty within the fashion industry is what consumers want the most and brands need to acknowledge this.