In the photo: Environmental activists with placards `stop fast fashion` take part in protest in front of H&M Clothes store in Rue Neve in Brussels, Belgium, 30 September 2023. This striking action echoes the publication of a survey carried out by the NGO Changing Markets, which highlights the greenwashing of used clothing take-back systems. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
With most firms making green claims that may or may not be genuine, might sustainable marketing be part of the solution rather than the problem?
Fast fashion has been chastised for making hollow promises, profiteering from customer desire for sustainable options, and providing poor and misleading information about "green" initiatives.
To put this in context, the fashion industry emits the same amount of greenhouse gases each year as the economies of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined, accounting for roughly 10% of total global carbon emissions. Furthermore, it is the second largest user of the world's water supply and a significant contributor to microplastics in our oceans.
Consumers are concerned about the environmental impact of their clothing selections. To capitalise on this shifting perspective, prominent labels are announcing more sustainable collections each season, in what looks to be a win-win situation for both profits and the environment.
But are these marketing promises genuine, or are our brands content to engage in the age-old practice of fooling customers through greenwashing? Finally, there is legal control.
Consider the following recent occurrences: H&M, the Swedish fast-fashion conglomerate, is facing a class-action lawsuit in federal court in New York for unduly profiteering off consumer climate worries by using misleading and outright deceptive environmental scorecards on its apparel line. Surprisingly, the case stemming from a Quartz investigation was filed by a marketing student, Chelsea Commodore, who alleges she payed for a "conscious" fashion item that wasn't. According to investigations, items from the brand's Conscious Collection were represented as requiring less water to create when, in fact, they required more. H&M maintains the significant disparity is due to technical concerns.
Other retailers, like Asos, Decathlon, and Boohoo, have been caught up in similar ethical quagmires and are currently under investigation by regulators in the UK, US, and Norway for making outrageous sustainability claims. /BGNES
