The Fashion Industry's Dirty Secret: Unveiling the Truth Behind Greenwashing

The Fashion Industry's Dirty Secret: Unveiling the Truth Behind Greenwashing

by Katie Sullivan

With the recent claims that the climate changes we’ve been experiencing could be limiting the life expectancy of our wonderful home, it should come as no surprise that our own simple habits could be contributing to its demise. Habits as simple as the clothes on our backs. Impact’s Katie Sullivan reports.

Greenpeace describes the concept of greenwashing as “a PR tactic used to make a company or product appear environmentally friendly, without meaningfully reducing its environmental impact.” This type of indoctrination is rapidly creeping onto our local high streets and advertisements in the media, making it impossible to get away from. But how exactly can we know what to look for?

Sustainability sells. As soon as a label vaguely mentions that it is environmentally conscious, we find ourselves eagerly reaching into our pockets to join the movement for a greener planet, whilst being dressed up in a snazzy new jacket. But, how much of said jacket is truly sustainable? Nike, for example, is the highest industry user of recycled polyester. They divert more than one billion plastic bottles a year on average from landfills, according to their vice president of sustainable innovations.

However, these recycled plastic fibres are simply weaved into the non-sustainable synthetic fibres we recognise as wool, linen, or silk – essentially just attempting to patch the damage the fully synthetic garments of the past have caused.

These strategies stretch beyond the individual products themselves. Brands, such as Zara and H&M, are increasingly using campaigns that make their products seem sustainable. This marketing tool is often used as a way to gaslight consumers into feeling guilty for the damage their demands are causing to our planet.

Zara has been plastering manifestos all over the media about “working towards sustainability”, causing consumers to encourage not only themselves but others around them, to buy these supposedly “greener” items. This only results in an even larger boost in fast-fashion sales.

This is even prevalent within the in-store shopping experience. The aesthetic of a store itself can have a significant impact on the way a consumer views the garments on the shelves. The wooden-cabin-feel from floor to ceiling within Urban Outfitters, for example, accented by the seemingly upcycled scaffolding pipes for shelves and clothing rails, can convince the in-store shopper to feel that they are financially contributing to a “greener” alternative within the fashion industry.

Combining this with the fact that most of what is on the shelves has an aged, attacked-by-a-wolf look to it, consumers feel as though they are doing right by the planet. But in actual fact, Urban Outfitters’ sustainability report openly states that only “10% of their direct raw materials are responsibly sourced”, contrasting the immersive ‘cabincore’ aesthetic of the store itself.

It is evident that many students don’t shop within the couture section of the online shopping market very often, but there is something to be said about the under-representation of sustainability in high fashion. 2023 marks 10 years since the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh where over 1,100 people (predominantly women and children) were killed. Sustainability doesn’t just account for the impact on the environment, but also the people involved in manufacturing. The factory was a go-to sweatshop for global brands such as Walmart and Primark, but among the labels of bargain brands that you might expect to find originating from such conditions, were the luxuries of Prada and Versace.

This is key to the concept of greenwashing because the reputation of these high-fashion brands is so pristine that they do not have to advertise their efforts to be sustainable when in actual fact, they are using the exact same low-quality manufacturers as the biggest culprits on our local high streets.

How can issues like these be addressed in high-fashion? When interviewed by Vogue on the topic of “What is the future of fashion?”, designer and style icon Victoria Beckham was adamant that “everything has to change [...] not just for fashion, but for beauty as well”. In response to the same question, Sarah Burton, designer at Alexander McQueen, revealed how “early on in lockdown”, they only used fabrics that they “already had on hand”. She stated how it made her aware of “how much time things take to make” and the importance of “only making things she passionately believes in”.

Despite the fact that big names such as Alexander McQueen bombard the media, these discussions and policies go unnoticed in high fashion, meaning that a huge opportunity for the advocation of sustainable fashion is completely missed.

Only in January of 2023 were the Global Reporting Initiative standards made compulsory in the fashion industry. These help organisations understand and communicate their impacts on issues such as climate change and sustainability. Prior to that, many brands had been publishing Sustainability Reports annually to their media outlets and websites, giving the impression that efforts were being made to make improvements.

The details of these reports generally highlight the negatives of a brand. Prada’s latest report, for example, states that rather than moving towards using more sustainable materials, they are instead choosing to prioritise improving “raw materials traceability”, ignoring the fact that their products are still made of low-quality, non-sustainable materials.

As the consumption of fashion is a necessity to survive on this planet, whether that be wearing pyjamas all day long or crafting new atelier-inspired looks for every occasion, there are simple things we can do to control the damage we cause individually. Awareness is key. A large part of the population is not aware of the dirty secrets behind greenwashing in the fashion industry. Don’t be fooled by vague claims, and ask more questions!

Shop sustainably where you can on second-hand sites, apps, and stores where millions of people are selling, not only used but brandnew items every day. In stores, look for recycled polyesters, recycled nylon, and even reworked fabrics.

Oh, and don’t join the green movement for a cleaner planet with a dirty outfit!