Greenwashing also called "green sheen",[1][2] is a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that an organization's products, aims or policies are environmentally friendly.Although the term was first used by the enviromentalist Jay Westerveld to make hotels change their policy about towels, nowadays it is used by sneaky and huge worldwide businesses to attract conscius customers and to promote themselves as eco-friendly. The methods of greenwashing vary and its evolution is more sophisticated than ever. Going green is of course amazing but it can also be misleading.
There are many ways that a company can use to greenwash. Brands can make vague claims or omit important and relevant facts. They may do this inadvertently, just using information from their suppliers; in the recent case where several clothing companies claimed that they sold eco-friendly bamboo-clothing when they in fact sold rayon produced from bamboo - but processed in a way that uses harsh chemicals and can also release hazardous air pollutants.
A truly sustainable product, Lewis Perkins of Cradle to Cradle, a nonprofit organization believes, is a reusable item that has a positive impact on the environment and those who make it. That is an area where the clothing industry, which is based mostly on mass manufacturing in the developing world, has serious problems, mainly labor abuses and industrial practices that lead to pollution or accidents. These issues were highlighted in the starkest way last year when more than 1,100 garment workers were killed and about 2,500 injured after the collapse of a textile factory in Bangladesh.
Greenwashing in the fashion industry:
Everyone that has walked into an H&M store has noticed the clothes recycling bin that gives you a 15% off. The company pretends to reuse these materials in order to make new pieces. H&M has been recognized as the world’s number-one user of organic cotton, which has a lighter environmental impact, and reduces the use of “probably” carcinogenic pesticides. But only 13.7% of the cotton H&M uses is organic. The production of clothing is still enormous and it is getting bigger and bigger by the year due to consuming needs. And a landfill overflowing with organic cotton is still an overflowing landfill.
Greenpeace in partnership with 76 retailers, is fighting greenwashing by creating the DETOX 2020 programme in 2011 to make companies choose the path of toxic free materials. NIKE was unfortunately the only brand that failed the programme, and we can also see that by the rage against the company during the last months, when people were burning NIKE products (still causing air pollution as a way to protest ) . You can find the Greenpeace's list here.
In conclusion sustainability and consumerism do not go hand in hand. It is admirable that all these brands are doing some work to change the way the product things, not only clothing, but cars, food, and even technology.
There are very options out there that are "eco" or "sustainable" and it is now very confusing for the customers to validate what that means and to understand it fully..
References: Wikipedia, NFA, Aljazeera, The New York Times, Quarz, Greenpeace.