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January 27, 2023 at 6:30 am EST
Cosette Joyner Martinez, associate professor in the department, said: “Greenwashing is a mixture of not having meaningful information, but regurgitating things and wording things in a way that sounds amazing, but there’s no evidence.” of Design, Housing and Merchandising at Oklahoma State University. “Cleaning means ‘ultimately provide you with rich information that doesn’t make sense.'” Give me the street address of a supplier in China that doesn’t tell me anything about what’s going on there.
Unfinished or left to argue With inaccurate information, experts say, many consumers struggle to make sense of it all. “Customers are mostly informed by a company’s marketing, and that’s where the confusion comes in,” says Linda Groth, a professor of fashion design and critical studies at California College of the Arts. “All companies… always put their best face forward, and are very selective about what they choose to be transparent about and what they choose not to be transparent about. This creates a lot of confusion among the people.
And it’s often difficult to assess whether a brand is intentionally or mistakenly exaggerating its claims, says Roland Geier, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Brain School of Environmental Science and Management.
“Sometimes you want to believe that a company or people in an organization are actively misleading, or that they’re true believers and that they’re barking up the wrong tree, or that this is how they can make a difference. ” says Geyer.
But developing a discerning eye and taking the time to research will help you better understand what is true and what is not in the fashion world. Here are some common types of greenwashing to watch out for, as well as tips from experts on how to vet brands and their claims.
Retailers who use environmentally or socially conscious buzzwords such as “sustainable” to describe themselves or their products should raise red flags without providing further evidence or explanation.
“There’s really no industry agreed-upon or legal definition of sustainability,” says Katrina Kaspelich, chief marketing officer of Remake, a global nonprofit that advocates for fair pay and climate justice in the apparel industry. “As a result, brands are defining sustainability through their own interpretations to drive revenue, growth and profits.”
A company can make improvements to just one aspect of a resource-intensive and emissions-increasing supply chain, such as reducing the amount of water needed to make the clothes and calling the clothes “sustainable,” experts say.
But in reality, sustainability is very complicated. For example, cotton is considered more sustainable than polyester, a synthetic fiber commonly associated with petroleum, a non-renewable resource, and high carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. But the sustainability of cotton depends on several factors, such as how it was grown and processed, or whether pollutants or harmful chemicals were used to treat the fiber, Joyner-Martinez said. Often times, “None of that information is revealed so it’s permanent [claim] It’s not guaranteed at all.”
Certifications and efforts to support more sustainable practices can indicate that a company isn’t all hype, experts say. Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) or Organic Content Standard (OCS), for example, are two organic certifications established for clothing. Some brands also participate in organizations focused on cotton sustainability, such as the Better Cotton Initiative.
The overall durability of a garment depends on its use, especially how long it can last out of the landfill, says Joyner Martinez: “When we talk about the sustainability of clothing, the brass ring is the longevity of the garment.
It is common for brands to introduce campaigns or changes that appeal to discerning consumers. But the way companies advertise these efforts gives the impression that “that’s their whole process,” says Karen Lyonas, a professor of textile science at Wilson College. in textiles from North Carolina State University.
For garment workers who are paid a living wage or use low-resource production methods, a single line or collection of clothes is a good step, but not enough, experts say.
“It can’t just be a measure of your company’s sustainability,” says Alice Roberta Taylor, chief of staff at the nonprofit Global Fashion Agenda. “Just doing this in one region doesn’t mean the company is sustainable.”
Instead, it’s important to evaluate a company or industry’s net profit, Gross says: Are brands paying for overall carbon emissions and water use, as well as living wages?
“There’s waste built into the current system and it doesn’t move the needle by a small percentage,” she said.
‘Vegan’, ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ ingredients
Experts caution against overvaluing certain materials simply because they are associated with sustainability-label language. Vegan leather, for example, is “one of the most green-washed claims,” says Sonali DDD, an associate professor in the Department of Design and Merchandising at Colorado State University who studies sustainable clothing production and use.
While vegan leather is a popular alternative to traditional leather, the name is a rebranding of “pleather,” or plastic leather, a synthetic, fossil-based material. These fake skins are usually made of polyurethane or polyvinyl chloride, also known as PVC – both are types of plastic. (Some companies are working on plant-based alternatives, but those products are not yet widely available.)
“In terms of sustainability, vegan leather is definitely not sustainable at all,” says DDD.
But by describing the material as “vegan” — which is technically correct, since it contains no animal by-products — consumers think they’re buying environmentally friendly clothing. “It’s playing on people’s emotions and values to get them to buy something that might not be very good,” Joyner Martinez said.
And remember that materials labeled as “natural” or “organic” aren’t always sustainable.
“Yes, bamboo is natural,” said DDD. “People, the moment they hear about bamboo products, they think, ‘Well, I’m a savvy consumer of bamboo products.’ However, bamboo is also recognized as one of the worst manufacturing practices.
Some studies show that organic cotton produces less than conventional cotton even though it uses the same amount of resources, says DDD. “Just because it’s organic doesn’t mean it’s the best.” she says.
And while the material may be organic, the company may use cheap labor to make the clothes, he said.
How to see green washing
Once you have an idea of what greenwashing might be, they say, the next step is to figure out how to evaluate brands and their claims.
“We have to do our homework,” says Mark Summers, a lecturer at Leeds School of Design who focuses on sustainability in the textiles, clothing and fashion industry. “The homework is to try to understand which brands you want to buy from, and to understand why, and then to think about what do those brands do?”
Research the brand’s website. See if brands are talking about sustainability in a clear and easy-to-understand way. For example, are they sharing details about how they source materials, how they manage issues in their supply chain, and are they part of voluntary agreements aimed at improving their practices? “If you’re not saying any of these things, the easiest rule is to assume you’re not doing anything,” Sumner said.
Kaspelich also suggests examining the images that brands use alongside their sustainability claims. Generic nature photos or stock photos should be red flags.
Look for proof of practice. If you want to be more confident that a brand isn’t just talk, Sumner recommends looking for sustainability reports — preferably those that have been audited or reviewed by a third party.
Independent reviews of brands can be another helpful resource. The 2021 Accountability Report from Remake ranks dozens of fashion companies on key issues such as environmental justice and climate change, wages and safety, and raw materials, among others. Other resources that rate and rank brands include Good On You, a website and app, as well as annual reports such as the Code of Conduct from Baptist World Aid, an Australian-based Christian charity, and Fashion Revolution’s Fashion Transparency Directory.
Check the certificates. You’ll also probably have more confidence in a brand or product if it has a trusted third-party certification, experts say. In addition to GOTS and OCS, other required labels include Fairtrade, Oeko-Tex or Bluesign.
The Ecolabel Index, an international directory of labels, can be a useful research tool to better understand what different certifications mean.
Ask questions and trust your gut. When in doubt, you should contact the brand with questions, Kaspelich says. Otherwise, she and other experts suggest relying on your instincts.
“If it sounds too good to be true or is too sweeping a statement, it’s probably greenwashing,” says Lyons.
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