Welcome back to Leeds RAG! This week we put our heads together and decided to offer some thoughts surrounding the authenticity of seemingly sustainable purchases. From personal experience, we know that it can sometimes be hard to know which brands to trust; are their sustainability and green claims true? Is it just a marketing tactic? Unfortunately, it can be very hard to tell the difference sometimes, so we have made this little guide in an attempt to help clear the fog a little…
Greenwashing is the act of using sustainability focused marketing, without actually fulfilling these claims. The Cambridge Dictionary defines greenwashing as a tactic used to “make people believe that your company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is”. This could sometimes happen unintentionally, but more often than not it is a tactic from companies to appeal to consumers in order to sell more products.
Examples of greenwashing are evident everywhere. Take fast-fashion chain H&M for example; in 2018 they introduced their Conscious Collection. That sounds great, right? Sadly, this only accounts for 5% of their entire business. Another example of seemingly good work by H&M, is their scheme of awarding consumers a £5 voucher for the clothes that they recycle back to store. Again, this sounds great in terms of recycling, however, the £5 voucher is securing another sale for fast-fashion. Does this mean it is actually just a marketing tactic to retain customers? Is this enough positive action to claim that change is at the core of H&M’s business?
We don’t want to put a damper on H&M’s efforts so far, so yes, they should be commended for implementing these changes. Don’t get me wrong, if you are purchasing fast-fashion then Conscious edits deserve your money more than standard ranges. This is because there are some environmental gains from these choices, for example, H&M’s Conscious Collection includes items with up to 50% recycled material. It is just important that we take these claims with a pinch of salt. The fast-fashion business model is still fundamentally unsustainable, so if you are browsing for a sustainable fashion purchase, I would continue the search. Have a browse through our past blog posts for the low down on some second hand fashion stores which offer the same low price as fast-fashion chains but without additional environmental degradation.
Fast-fashion chains need fundamental change, rather than shallow attempts to come across as more sustainable version of themselves. Carry on reading for our advice when it comes to reading fashion brands sustainability claims….
1. Natural Fibres aren’t always eco-friendly.
I know, it’s frustrating isn’t it. You’d think natural fibres are surely sustainable- they are natural right- they come from the earth? Actually, natural fibres are sometimes the biggest culprits of environmental damage, due to the vast amounts of water and space they need to grow. Take cotton for example, it is the most widely produced fibre in the world. This HUGE global demand intensifies its environmental issues as it is produced on such a large scale. It is extremely water intensive; it has a global average water footprint of 10,000 litres per kilogram.
However, there IS hope. When scanning the material of the garment look for cotton credited with BCI (Better Cotton Initiative),or recycled cotton, both of which have been grown in a way which is less damaging to the environment. The BCI initiative was set up in 2005 to reduce the amount of water and pesticides used in cotton production. This is great news for the cotton industry- in 2018, 2 million farmers were growing this cotton, accounting for 19% of global cotton production.
2. Check who is making the products.
Another tip, when trying to work out if a brands sustainability claims can be trusted, is to look for who is making the clothes. If the company doesn’t publish information about their supply chain, or where the clothes came from, there may be a reason for this!! If showing this information would make the company look bad in the eyes of their shoppers, then it is probably the reason they are withholding information.
Our partner charity, Labour behind the Label, strives for worker’s rights globally to ensure they are paid and treated fairly by their employers. Keep an eye out on their website and Instagram here, to keep up to date with which fashion brands are doing wrong by their workers.
There are also various reports you can check out to get the ins and outs of how your favourite fashion brands are doing in regards to treating their workers fairly. One of our favourites is Fashion Revolution's Transparency Index, which is a review of 250 brands ranked according to their transparency on their social and environmental polices. The Index aims to encourage brands to become more transparent in order to see who how to help those negatively affected by the brands actions, as well as ways their environmental impact needs to be improved.
3. Check if the product has authentic sustainability certifications.
To feel more secure that your purchase is actually living up to those green claims, keep an eye out for certifications to prove it! This way you can feel confident that the items you are buying have passed sustainability credentials. A main one to look for is Cradle to Cradle Certificated. This is a globally recognised certification which labels safer and more environmentally responsible products which follow a circular economy. This product standard helps encourage companies to make a positive impact on their environment. The products are measured on environmental and social attributes including material health and reuse, renewable energy and carbon management as well as water stewardship and social fairness. The product is awarded bronze, silver, gold or platinum for each of these elements so it is easy to see how well each product is performing in regards to sustainability- it takes out the hard work for consumers like us! Here at Leeds RAG, we are very passionate about leading a circular economy lifestyle as much as we can, so this certification ticks all our boxes!!
Another key certification you can trust is the Fair Trade Textile Standard- this ensures that the workers that made the product are paid a sustainable price for their service. They believe that by shoppers making better choices to support Fair Trade products, the workers will reap the rewards. This is an easy way to improve the lives of those who make our products. The Fair Trade organisation’s goal is powerful, and one which we at Leeds RAG resonate with: the aim for “a world in which all producers can enjoy secure and sustainable livelihoods, fulfil their potential and decide on their future”.
4. Vegan doesn’t always equal sustainable.
It is a common misconception that vegan products are also more sustainable- this is not always the case. One example of this would be faux leather, or Pleather. We understand this might be a bit misleading, surely fake leather is more sustainable than real leather? But actually, in terms of environmental impact Pleather is actually very harmful- it is effectively plastic! This means it is produced using petrochemicals which have nasty environmental effects for animals and the environment. It is also made from fossil fuels- so non-renewable resources! This material cannot be recycled, nor can it biodegrade. Shocking I know. But, before we lose all hope of being able to buy a leather jacket whilst retaining a conscience…. there has been some more effective vegan alternatives made out of plant based textiles such as pineapple leaves and cork! More research is needed on the long-time environmental impacts but this is defo a step in the right direction!! So next time you’re looking for a leather wardrobe update, have a look for brands that use these new plant based materials rather than the typical ‘vegan’ leather alternatives, which are actually harming the environment more than you might think....
We hope you enjoyed reading our thoughts on greenwashing; we understand that navigating this can feel like a minefield- it is almost impossible to know what to believe and which brands we should actually be supporting. We hope you bear all of this in mind and that this has made the process a bit less daunting!
This may still seem like an impossible task, but the first step into building a more sustainable wardrobe, is questioning the authenticity of the sustainable claims brands make. Actively checking up on the companies you are supporting is great progress towards a more ethical and sustainable way of life and something we could all do. We are excited to make 2021 the year we aren’t fooled by greenwashing and plan to give our money to the companies that are making a REAL difference.
Love Leeds RAG x