January 27, 2023 at 6:30 AM EST
“Greenwashing is kind of a mixture of lack of meaningful information, but also tweaking things or manipulating words in a way that sounds great, but is delivered. There is no evidence that it was,” says Cosette Joyner-Martinez, an associate professor at the department. He holds a PhD in Design, Housing and Merchandising from Oklahoma State University. “Clearwashing is like, ‘I’m trying to give you the appearance of a wealth of information that is ultimately meaningless.’ If you give me the address of a Chinese supplier, I have no idea what’s going on there.”
incomplete or Experts say inaccurate information makes it difficult for many shoppers to make sense of it all. “Customers are primarily informed by a company’s marketing, and that’s where confusion arises,” says Linda Grose, professor of fashion design and critical studies at the California Institute of the Arts. “All companies are always looking their best and are very selective about what they choose to be transparent about and what they choose not to be transparent about. ”
According to Roland Geyer, a professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, it’s often difficult to assess whether brands are exaggerating their claims intentionally or falsely.
“Are people within companies and organizations actively misleading, are they actually true believers and are just barking the wrong tree, or are they just wanting to believe it’s a way to really make a difference? can be difficult to determine,” Geyer says.
But with some insight and taking the time to do some research, you can get a better sense of what is true and what isn’t in the world of fashion. format and expert tips on how to scrutinize brands and their claims.
Retailers who use environmentally or socially conscious buzzwords such as ‘sustainable’ to describe themselves or their products without providing additional evidence or explanation should issue a warning.
“There really is no industry-agreed or legal definition of sustainability,” said Remake, chief marketing officer at Remake, a global nonprofit advocating for fair wages and climate justice in the apparel industry. One Katrina Kasperich says: “As a result, brands are defining sustainability based on their own interpretations to justify salaries, growth and profits.”
Companies can only improve one aspect of their supply chain that consumes a lot of resources and produces a lot of emissions. For example, we can reduce the amount of water needed to make clothes and call those clothes “sustainable,” experts say.
But in reality, sustainability is much more complicated. For example, cotton is widely considered more sustainable than polyester, a synthetic fiber that is generally made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource, and has higher carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. But the sustainability of cotton depends on many factors, including how the cotton is grown and processed, and whether pollutants or harmful chemicals were used to treat the fiber, says Joyner Martinez. . Often she says: [claim] It’s never been proven in practice. ”
Certifications and efforts to support more sustainable practices may indicate that companies aren’t saying it all, experts say. For example, the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and the Organic Content Standard (OCS) are two of her well-established organic certifications for clothing. Some brands also participate in organizations such as the Better Cotton Initiative, a non-profit organization focused on cotton sustainability.
Joyner Martinez says the overall sustainability of clothing also needs to be determined by how it is used, especially how long it can be kept out of landfills.
It is common for brands to drive campaigns and operational changes that appeal to conscious consumers. But the typical way companies advertise these efforts “creates the impression that their whole process is like that”.North Carolina State University Textiles.
Launching a single line or collection where clothing workers are paid a living wage or made using less resource-intensive production methods is a good step, but experts say it’s not enough. says.
“You can’t judge a company’s sustainability on its own,” says Alice Roberta Taylor, chief of staff at the nonprofit Global Fashion Agenda. “That he can’t say a company is sustainable just by doing one range.”
Instead, it’s important to assess the bottom line of the company or industry, says Grose.
“Waste is built into our current system, and reducing its impact on a small percentage doesn’t move the needle,” she says.
“Vegan”, “natural” or “organic” material
Experts are also wary of taking certain materials at face value simply because they are associated with language implying sustainability. Vegan leather, for example, “is one of the most greenwashed claims he’s made,” says an associate professor in the Department of Design and Merchandising at Colorado State University, who studies sustainable clothing production and consumption. Sonali his didi says.
Vegan leather has become a popular alternative to traditional leather, but its name is a rebranding of “artificial leather” or plastic leather, a synthetic, fossil-fuel-based material. These synthetic leathers are mostly made of polyurethane or polyvinyl chloride (also called PVC), both types of plastic. (Some companies are working on plant-based alternatives, but those products are not yet widely available.)
“From a sustainability standpoint, vegan leather is not sustainable at all,” says Diddy.
However, by describing the material as “vegan” (which is technically accurate, as it contains no animal products at all), consumers may think they are buying eco-friendly clothing. “It’s using people’s emotions and values to make them buy things that aren’t very good,” Martinez said.
Also, keep in mind that materials labeled as “natural” or “organic” are not always more sustainable.
“Yes, bamboo is natural,” says Didi. “The moment people hear the word bamboo, they think, ‘Okay, I’m a good consumer of bamboo products.’ But bamboo is also known to be one of the worst manufacturing methods. , often requiring large amounts of water and chemical treatment.
Some studies have also shown that organic cotton yields less than conventional cotton despite using the same amount of resources.” she says
Also, while the materials may be organic, the company may be using cheap labor to make the clothes, she added.
How to See Past Greenwashing
Experts say once you understand what greenwashing is, the next step is knowing how to evaluate brands and their claims.
Mark Sumner, Lecturer at the University of Leeds School of Design focusing on Sustainability in the Textile, Garment and Fashion Industry, said: “The homework is to try to understand which brands you want to buy from and why, and what those brands actually do.”
Examine the brand’s website. See if your brand talks about sustainability in an open, detailed, and understandable way. For example, do you share details about how raw materials are sourced, how supply chain issues are managed, whether they are part of voluntary agreements aimed at improving practices? If they haven’t, a simple rule of thumb is to assume they aren’t doing anything,” says Sumner.
Caspelich also suggests scrutinizing the images brands use along with their sustainability claims. Generic nature and stock photography is a red flag.
Look for evidence of action. If you want more assurance that your brand is more than just lip service, Sumner recommends looking for sustainability reports, especially those that have been audited or evaluated by a third party.
Independent ratings of brands can be another helpful resource. His 2021 accountability report for Remake assesses dozens of fashion companies on key issues such as environmental justice and climate change, wages and benefits, and raw materials. Other resources that rank and score brands include the website and app Good On You, as well as the Ethical Fashion Guide from Australia-based Christian charity Baptist World Aid and Fashion Transparency from Fashion Revolution. There are annual reports such as the Index.
Check your certification. According to experts, having a credible third-party certification will give you confidence in your brand and products. Besides GOTS and OCS, other labels to look for include Fairtrade, Ecotex and Bluesign.
A global directory of labels, the Ecolabel Index is a useful research tool to better understand the implications of different certifications.
Ask questions and trust your intuition. When in doubt, you should reach out to the brand and ask questions, says Caspelich. Otherwise, she and other experts suggest relying on your instincts.
“If it’s a statement that’s too good to be true, or too blanket, it’s very likely greenwashing,” says Leonas.
