In practically every industry, from fashion and beauty to tech and energy, brands invest millions into convincing consumers to believe their sustainable claims. This ‘greenwashing’ is now a term seen everywhere in 2020, but what does it actually mean, and how can you spot greenwashing out in the wild? Here we explore what it is, why it happens, and how to become an expert at calling out brand deception, plus the solution to truly sustainable fashion.

What is greenwashing?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines greenwashing (a term coined in the 1980’s by environmentalist Jay Westerveld) as the “dissemination of misinformation by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image”. Put simply, it refers to brands claiming to be more sustainable than they really are, which misleads customers into believing they’re investing in an eco-friendly product or service. Brands do this through marketing and PR, using many different methods, some of which can be explained through the ‘deadly sins’ of greenwashing, for example:

Hidden trade-off | When a brand invests in one area of sustainability, at the expense of another. For example, they might use organic cotton in their t-shirts, but not pay their garment workers a living wage to make them, or they might call their jackets ‘vegan leather’ but make them from plastic instead.
No proof | When a brand claims to be sustainable but cannot provide any evidence, for example through scientific data, third-party certifications or independent audits.
Vagueness | When a brand uses terms such as ‘eco friendly’, ‘natural materials’ or ‘kind to the planet’, but haven’t gone beyond to actually define how their products can be described using these terms.

Examples of greenwashing in the fashion industry

Fashion is infamous for using greenwashing to jump on the ‘bandwagon’ of sustainability in order to attract conscious consumers. We see this in the luxury industry, for example when designer brands announce they are going ‘seasonless’ but continue to churn out excessive quantities of products, or when they describe their garments as ‘artisan made’ but in reality they are mass produced. However, fast fashion is the most notorious side of the industry for completely shameless greenwashing on a global scale.

Fast fashion is all about speed and price. Garments are produced in vast quantities, and low qualities, at breakneck speed to be sold at the lowest possible price with the highest possible profit margin. Therefore, by its very nature, fast fashion can never be sustainable simply due to the business model itself. That’s why as more of us become aware of the negative impacts of fast fashion and more high profile scandals are being highlighted in the press, retailers are getting smarter at shifting the narrative.

Some common examples of fashion greenwashing include:

High street brands that launch ‘sustainable’ capsule collections. Instead of transforming their entire business to be more sustainable, they are choosing to focus on a tiny percentage of their overall product range in order to convince consumers that their whole brand carries the same ethics. What’s more, they use terms like ‘conscious’, ‘responsible’ and ‘green’, which conjure up images of planet-friendly fashion, but don’t mean anything in reality.
Designers which announce that they are ‘carbon neutral’, but are simply offsetting (not reducing) their colossal carbon impact. These schemes usually involve partnering with an organisation that measures a brand’s carbon footprint and plants trees to offset the CO2 amount. Unfortunately, this is an insufficient way to fight climate change, and we need to get to the root of the problem rather than simply working to erase the harm already done without significant changes in the brand itself.
Retailers using recycling as an equivalent to being a ‘circular’ brand. For example, many high street retailers have been participating in ‘closed loop’ schemes, claiming that they will recycle unwanted garments dropped in boxes at their stores. However, the vouchers provided as an incentive encourage overconsumption, and there is no information on what happens to the clothes after they are dropped off. These systems are not ‘circular’ because post-consumer clothing cannot be endlessly recycled, particularly when made from low quality fabrics - eventually, they still end up in landfill.

How to spot greenwashing from brands

We all want to make better purchasing decisions for people, animals and the planet, which is why greenwashing can trick even the most ethical shoppers. This is why we need to stay vigilant to brand marketing tactics to decipher the mixed messages. As sustainable fashion finally trickles into the mainstream, corporations are pushing their environmental stance more than ever before, but ultimately, their end goal is to make a larger profit, not to build a better world. If you want to know how to spot greenwashing in the wild, here are five questions you should ask whenever you see a big brand talking about sustainability online:

Does this product reflect the rest of the brand’s output, or is it just a limited edition or capsule collection?
Is there science-based information available to me, such as data on the brand’s impact, or third-party certifications like Fairtrade?
Is this brand passionate about environmental and social justice in every part of their business model, or do they just want to follow a trend?
Can this product really be ethically made from quality sustainable fabrics, by workers that are paid fairly, if the price is only £10, £20 or £30?
Could I support an independent designer or small sustainable brand, instead of a multinational, billion-dollar corporation?

It’s important to do your research on a brand beyond just their own website before you purchase. You could also use a brand directory such as Good On You, or Fashion Revolution’s Transparency Index, which do some of the hard work for you on brand transparency, ethics and sustainability.

Our commitment to transparency

One of the best ways to decipher whether or not a brand is sustainable is to look at how much information they are disclosing about what goes on behind the scenes. When fashion brands are transparent about their entire supply chain and share plenty of information about materials, manufacturing and product life cycles, you can be reassured that they aren’t hiding the true cost of your garment. That’s why we provide so much detail about each and every KerrieALDO piece, and we’re always happy to chat with customers on any questions about how we make our clothes. Find out more about our sustainability policy here.

A Beginner's Guide to Fashion Greenwashing

What is greenwashing?

Examples of greenwashing in the fashion industry

How to spot greenwashing from brands

Our commitment to transparency

Further resources on fashion greenwashing