On April 24th, 2013, a tragic incident took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where the collapse of the Rana Plaza clothing factory resulted in the loss of 1,134 lives. Despite the emergence of labor rights initiatives and the growth of global fashion activism movements like Fashion Revolution and Greenpeace's Detox campaign, the global fashion industry remains more flawed than ever before.
Between 2000 and 2014, clothing production doubled, reaching an estimated 100 billion garments annually, surpassing an already unsustainable level. In the face of these challenges, a recent Greenpeace report has exposed major fashion labels for making false green claims, shedding light on the magnitude of the issue.
While sustainability has become a marketable concept, fashion brands are often hiding their lack of substantial action behind deceptive claims of environmental responsibility. This practice, known as greenwashing, misleads the public into believing that companies are eco-friendly while they continue to contribute to environmental pollution.
Despite promising the use of recycled materials, implementing take-back systems, and introducing recycling initiatives, fashion companies find it impossible to fulfill these commitments due to the ever-increasing volume of production. Disturbingly, a scrutiny of sustainability claims within the textile, garment, and shoe sectors revealed that approximately 39% of them could be false or misleading.
Which Brands Have Been Accused?
Regulators have discovered major brands like H&M and Decathlon making false green claims, leading to investigations into similar allegations against ASOS, Boohoo, and George at Asda in the UK. Efforts are underway to develop a Green Claims Code to address these issues comprehensively.
One prevalent sustainability myth in the fashion industry revolves around recycled polyester. Garments are labeled as "recycled" without concrete evidence that they are part of a genuinely circular system for clothes. This misleading practice creates a false sense of security for consumers who may assume that "recycled" means the clothes are made from old garments and can be recycled again into new ones, which is often not the case.
Furthermore, this misleading representation conceals the truth about plastic recycling. As of 2015, only 9% of all plastic waste ever created has been recycled, highlighting the significant gap between perception and reality. The fashion industry's false green claims, greenwashing tactics, and misleading labeling practices not only misguide consumers but also obscure the urgent need for genuine sustainability efforts.
The Greenpeace Report
The report conducted an analysis of sustainability claims made by 14 brands through their self-proclaimed "eco-friendly" or "responsible" collections. It aimed to identify the brands most guilty of greenwashing. Notable brands with supposedly sustainable collections that fall into the greenwash danger zone include Decathlon Ecodesign, H&M Conscious, Mango Committed, Primark Cares, Tesco F&F Made Faithfully, and Zara Join Life.
The report revealed several shortcomings in the promises made by these brands on their labels, including:
Confusing labeling that includes false "certifications" named after the brands' own sustainability programs.
Lack of in-house or third-party verification of environmental, social, and human rights measures.
Insufficient disclosure of information across the entire production chain.
Failure to address the need to slow down the production of large volumes of clothing.
Misleading claims of "circularity" based on the use of recycled polyester from plastic bottles.
Use of terms like "sustainable" or "responsible" for materials that offer only marginal improvements.
Promotion of fabric blends such as polycotton, which cannot be recycled.
Continued reliance on discredited measurement tools like the Higgs Index on Materials Sustainability.
Lack of detailed information about materials used.
Relying on small-scale changes instead of implementing substantial transformations in volume production.
Fashion companies must take decisive actions to address these issues. The most effective approach is for companies to reduce the overall quantity of clothing they produce. However, many fashion companies are reluctant to disclose their annual production volumes.
The textile industry contributes five to ten percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, with 85% of these emissions originating from supply chains predominantly located in the Global South. Reducing the volume of clothing production would not only help mitigate these environmental costs but also alleviate the burden of clothing waste, particularly in countries ill-equipped to handle it.