Greenwashing is a term that we hear banded around time and time again. However, what does it mean? Where does it come from? And, how does it affect high street fashion? Here’s what I learnt during my time in Topshop…
Fig. 1 Sustainable Fashion Matterz Activism Signs (2020)
What is greenwashing? The term was created in 1986 by environmentalist Jay Westervelt, and is when a company uses misleading or false claims to suggest it’s doing more for the environment than it actually is (Chan, 2020). I first noticed the reality of Greenwashing while working at Topshop in Norwich. I worked full time as a sales assistant for a year, experiencing the day to day running of a high street fashion store. I spent the majority of my time serving customers on the tills, and became repulsed by high street fashion by the end of my time there. Here is why; in October 2019, Topshop launched their Considered collection. Overnight the denim collection became “sustainable,” as supposedly the cotton that they were manufactured from was organic (although I couldn’t find any certifications to prove so). The new jeans that came into store were identical to the old, however this time with a Considered label to explain the effort that Topshop was going through to save the environment. There were a few other pieces in the collection; jumpers and t-shirts, some emblazoned with a social slogan about a mental health or saving the world.
In contrast, fashion brands such as Levi have been innovators in the denim industry. Levi released their Wellthread collection of denim made from hemp. Cottonised hemp could revolutionise the fashion industry as it grows faster than regular cotton, uses less water, energy and chemicals than cotton and leaves behind cleaner, healthier soils (Levi Off The Cuff, 2020).
Another aspect that I found to be concerning was Topshop’s “trends;” distinguishable prints, applique on jeans and t-shirts, neon lilac and green, pleather, asymmetric cut tops etc. Within weeks these garments would move from the front of store to the back, and finally to the sale rack. The short lifecycle of these collections was shocking. My colleagues also took full advantage of our staff discount, updating their uniform on a monthly basis (while wondering where their pay check was going). It was really saddening to watch garments being churned out again and again, seeing the trends on people in the high street; knowing that they would no longer be in style the following month. Teenage girls would come in and buy new garments every week, saving up for the trend pieces that they felt they needed to be accepted. At such a detrimental time in their lives when they are “naturally insecure and searching for a personal identity,” the idea that material possessions are everything is pushed onto them by advertisers. They understand the desire to be cool, and “manipulate it to sell” their garments (American Psychological Association, 2004). In addition, every product that came into store was individually wrapped in plastic. The hangers were reused, in either an effort to produce less plastic or to save money. “Faulty” garments with damage ranging from a missing button to a tear across the product, were sent back (I am unsure where, and I am assuming to be destroyed). Although Topshop is doing its best to convince its customers that it is a “sustainable brand,” my time working there showed me that it’s Considered range is merely a token gesture…Topshop will never be sustainable, so long as it is producing collections every two weeks, burning it’s faulty goods, producing and selling collections for cheap and encouraging young people to continually buy clothing in order to feel good about themselves. Ultimately their token gestures towards saving the planet are nothing more than is green washing.
My time at Topshop led me to question other fast fashion brands. Another brand that I had grown up with was H&M. The Conscious collection had been around for a while (since 2009), but over the past two years it has really expanded with a wider range of product lines and emphasis on H&M’s efforts toward sustainability. After beginning my sustainability journey (researching sustainable fashion brands and realising that they were out of my price range), I was thrilled about their cute jumpers, denim and fitness gear that was “environmentally-friendly” and at an affordable price point. It was that easy; I could look good and save the planet.
Fig. 2 Hanging denim to dry outside (2016)
Several months later after further research into sustainability, reality hit. I had discovered Greenwashing and realised that H&M were not so innocent; in 2020 they announced that they were Fashion Revolution’s most transparent brand, although they only managed to reach just under 75% of their sustainability targets (Leach, 2020). Targets included; 64.5% of materials from recycled or “more sustainable” sources, all cotton organic, recycled or “sourced in a more sustainable way,” and a 14% reduction in packaging (H&M, 2020).
While H&M’s “sustainable” clothing collection Conscious does contain garments manufactured from less environmentally damaging materials (e.g. organic cotton, recycled polyester and Tencel), they haven’t explained “how, exactly, these materials are better for the environment” (Wicker, 2020). This is one of the most common examples of greenwashing, as many natural materials are promoted as being eco-friendly; although this depends on how they have been sourced. For example, Viscose is seen as an environmentally friendly material, however it is responsible for deforestation unless it is from a certified source (150 million trees are cut down for viscose production every year).
Another ethical concern that I have with H&M is their treatment of garment workers; “using sustainable materials on a T-shirt that has the word "feminist" emblazoned across the chest seems slightly redundant when it was made by a poorly paid garment female worker in Bangladesh, who may well have just been unceremoniously fired” (Leach, 2020). This point illustrates that even garment is “sustainable,” and H&M is transparent about the materials used, it doesn’t necessarily mean fair treatment for workers. Fast fashion brands are extremely disconnected from their garment workers across the globe, and in my opinion if fashion brands are only creating sustainable clothing lines (as opposed to integrating it into their business model), they are just trying to capitalise on sustainability becoming mainstream. Emelie Gintzburger Akerbrant, an independent sustainable fashion communications advisor stated that she “would probably be a lot richer if [she] took on all the clients that want to talk about sustainability,” and that “there is so much noise and so much happening around sustainability. We don’t know what’s real and what’s fake” (Gintzburger Akerbrant cited in Wicker, 2020).
In the “State of Fashion 2021” report by Business of Fashion, Helena Helmersson (Chief Executive of the H&M Group) boasted about the brand’s sustainability efforts and research into environmentally friendly materials. When asked about fast fashion and sustainability contradicting each other, Helena described her sadness at fast fashion being portrayed as a negative industry and that as a result, the younger generation can no longer express themselves. I disagree, as Gen Z and millennial consumers are concerned about sustainability and ethics in the fashion industry, so are finding new ways to express themselves without causing environmental harm (for example, 60% of Gen Z consumers purchase garments second-hand; Farra, 2020).
Fig. 3 White textile lot (2018) I believe that fast fashion and sustainability cannot coincide, and H&M is trying to capitalise on it becoming mainstream by attempting to portray itself as a socially aware brand. If the group really feels that strongly about sustainability they would integrate it into their business model, as opposed to only manufacturing one Conscious clothing line. Their latest campaign is another example of a tone deaf project they have produced. H&M has created a new system where “members” are rewarded with points for “bringing in old clothes for H&M’s garment collecting, choosing climate-smart delivery options, bringing their own bag when shopping” and buying garments from H&M’s Conscious clothing line. These points add up, and eventually provide customers with discount codes for future purchases (Shepard, 2021).
While this campaign does increase awareness and encourages consumers to shop sustainably, they would be supporting a fast fashion brand. Furthermore, it ultimately promotes overconsumption which defeats the point of sustainable fashion. Education is also a vital component to encouraging consumers to buy less. H&M have partnered with actress Maisie Williams with the hope of “changing the fashion industry” by educating Millennials and Gen Z about recycling and circular fashion through Nintendo’s Animal Crossing and further initiatives this year. The campaign is intended to “engage with customers and inspire action,” as H&M aim to use only recycled or sustainably sourced materials by 2030. Personally, I do not believe that this campaign is genuine, as yet again another fashion brand is preying on the younger, more impressionable generation. These consumers will be given the impression that if they shop at H&M they will be making more environmentally friendly clothing choices. They will be missing the point, as the most “sustainable” thing that we can do as consumers is to stop buying so many garments (only what is essential), which would have a great impact on H&M’s business. Furthermore, the campaign centres around recycling garments, and in reality only 12% of the material used in garments is recycled globally. This is due to the fact that most garments are manufactured from “problematic blends of natural yarns, mand-made filaments, plastics and metals,” making them hard to recycle (Beall, 2020). Only time will tell if the group actually put in the work to directly reduce their impact on the environment and integrate sustainability into everything they do (Nastu, 2021).
To conclude, we must look beyond high street fashion brands’ sustainability claims and investigate their materials, supply chain, manufacture, packaging and treatment of garment workers. The fact that big brands don’t deal with the production elements of their supply chain directly allows them to ignore that appalling practices that are happening in their factories. Additionally, with sustainability becoming mainstream, consumers are becoming more aware of their buying choices and the environmental impact of the fashion industry. However this gives brand more incentive to greenwash. As said best by Aja Barber; “if you wouldn’t trust a cigarette company to evaluate the effects of cigarettes and health…why would you trust H&M to evaluate fast fashion and sustainability?” We will always be a consumerist culture, and it is up to these fashion brands to drive for a more sustainable way of life and to change consumerism. Finally, with the fall of Topshop earlier this year, the responsibility falls on ASOS (its new owner) to reduce their impact on the environment. Will they step up to the mark?
Bibliography
Amed, I. and Berg, A. (2021) “The State of Fashion 2021” In: Business of Fashion pp.8-101. At: http://cdn.businessoffashion.com/reports/The_State_of_Fashion_2021.pdf (Accessed 28/04/2021).
American Psychological Association (2004) Driving teen egos--and buying--through 'branding.' At: https://www.apa.org/monitor/jun04/driving(Accessed 28/04/2021).
Beall, A. (2020) Why clothes are so hard to recycle. At: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200710-why-clothes-are-so-hard-to-recycle(Accessed 28/04/2021).
Chan, E. (2020) “6 Ways To Be Greenwashing Vigilant” In: Vogue 12/02/2020. At: https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/greenwashing-in-fashion#:~:text=Coined%20in%201986%20by%20environmentalist,environment%20than%20it%20actually%20is (Accessed 28/04/2021).
Farra, E. (2020) Levi’s Launches Its Own Recommerce Site and Buyback Program, Levi’s Secondhand. At: https://www.vogue.com/article/levis-secondhand-launch-vintage-denim-sustainability (Accessed 28/04/2021).
H&M (2020) Sustainability Performance Report 2020. At: https://hmgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/HM-Group-Sustainability-Performance-Report-2020.pdf(Accessed 28/04/2021).
Leach, F. (2020) “Pandemic or not, ‘sustainable’ fashion brands are still ignoring the exploitation of thousands of garment workers” In: The Independent 02/07/2020. At: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/fast-fashion-asia-garment-factory-h-and-m-a9582561.html (Accessed 28/04/2021).
Levi Off The Cuff (2020) This is Cottonised Hemp.At: https://www.levi.com/GB/en_GB/blog/article/this-is-cottonized-hemp/ (Accessed 28/04/2021).
Nastu, J. (2021) Maisie Williams Joins H&M as ‘Sustainability Ambassador,’ But Both Face Greenwashing Claims. At: https://www.environmentalleader.com/2021/04/maisie-williams-joins-hm-as-sustainability-ambassador-but-both-face-greenwashing-claims/ (Accessed 28/04/2021).
Shepard, R. (2021) Watch: H&M incentivises sustainable behaviours with green loyalty points. At: https://www.retail-week.com/fashion/watch-handm-incentivises-sustainable-behaviours-with-green-loyalty-points/7037028.article (Accessed 28/04/2021).
Wicker, A. (2020) “The flawed ways brands talk about sustainability” In: Vogue Business 16/04/2020. At: https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/the-flawed-ways-brands-talk-about-sustainability-coronavirus (Accessed 28/04/2021).
List of Images
Fig. 1 Birkner, C. (2020) Sustainable Fashion Matterz Activism Signs. [Photo] At: https://unsplash.com/photos/J6MJPuJiDPo (Accessed 25/05/2021).
Fig. 2 Nascimento, B. (2016) Hanging denim to dry outside. At: https://unsplash.com/photos/GPDK300BCKU (Accessed 25/05/2021).
Fig. 3 Bodnar, E. (2018) White textile lot. At: https://unsplash.com/photos/kgC99X3WH1w (Accessed 25/05/2021).
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