Have you ever experienced that icky feeling that you’re being lied to? It’s more common in friends or your ex but what about a company? Yes. A giant corporation lying straight to your face via packaging! They would never … side eye

This might sound harsh but consumers are much more concerned about making environmentally friendly purchasing decisions. So, companies have a real financial incentive to appear sustainable and socially conscious. Hence, greenwashing. So, what is greenwashing?

Let’s talk about greenwashing

What is greenwashing

“Greenwashing is where a company uses advertising and public messaging to try to appear to be environmentally sustainable and green – greener than it really is. It’s also a technique used by certain companies to distract consumers from the fact that their business model and activities actually do a lot of environmental harm and damage.” (Client Earth)

What are some companies that have been called out of greenwashing?

According to Earth.org, here are 3 fast fashion brands that have been called out for Greenwashing:

H&M– In 2021, Quartz launched a full-on investigation into H&M’s ethical practices when they started tagging clothing items with their green “Conscious Choice” tag, however, these tags were displaying inaccurate data. This might have made the customer (i.e. you) feel good when purchasing but the report found these claims were misleading and deceptive.

Aside from using a couple of eco-friendly materials here and there, there is no evidence the brand is taking any meaningful action to reduce its substantial impact on the environment. 

Zara – Another case of vague sustainability tagging happens with the ever-growing in popularity Spaniard brand, Zara. “Inditex, Zara’s parent company, said that it would only use cotton, linen, and polyester that was “organic, more sustainable, or recycled.”(Fast Company). With vague terms like this, envrionmentalists everywhere are wondering what does “more sustainable” mean in this context? As a consumer, do we jsut take the Spaniard giant’s word for it?

Nike – Recently launching their new “Move to Zero” plan, Nike has over-promised, very publicly, and underdelivered. It has been said that this sustainable marketing campaign is a marketing ploy for consumers that just “repackages old commitments without offering new ones”. Nike’s Chief Sustainability Officer Noel Kinder was quoted in Fashionista’s article that Nike went about this as a “crazy dream we intend to go for,” with little evidence on how to actually achieve these zero waste and zero carbon goals. Once again, just another greenwashing tactic.

Related Article: How I Started My Sustainable Fashion Journey

What can you do about it?

Learn how to spot the red flags of corporate greenwashing and what you can do to make sure your company’s climate actions live up to its promises to help you spot possible greenwashing. 

• Images of nature or green buzzwords. Just because a company throws a green tag on a garment doesn’t make it sustainable. Does a company fill its branding with images of trees, the Earth, or rivers, even though those things have nothing to do with their business? Do they throw around terms like “eco-friendly” and “sustainable” with no details about what that means?
• Hiding information. Look for supply chain information. If companies are doing a good job within their supply chains, they’re going to want to boast bout it. Supply chains is where a majority of the resources are wasted, or labors are underpaid.
• Read their sustainability page. If you see vague or and more emotional wording on a sustainability page, there is a good chance that company is not reporting their sustainably impact as well as they could be.
• Someone else is in charge. A lot of companies have parent companies that consumers aren’t aware of the parent brand name. Did you L Brands is Victoria’s Secret parent company? Have you even heard of L Brands? Look out for companies that brand themselves as a small, eco-friendly business, but in fact they are owned by a larger company with unsustainable practices.
• Not really recyclable. Get this, I’ve seriously heard of companies putting a recycle logo on the tag of a garment because the TAG is made of recyclable materials, but the garment is not. However, the consumer feels the entire garment is made of recyclable materials, making them feel good about their purchase.

This is step one in becoming a conscious consumer. Defining what is greenwashing and how you can combat it is a personal decision too. Do your research. If something is truly sustainable, a company is going to want to bring about all the things they are doing for the climate, with factual evidence. Follow the sustainable breadcrumb trail to make the best decision for you.