Greenwashing and how can you spot it?
As consumers, we have the power to see through greenwashing
What is Greenwashing? Greenwashing is designed “to make people believe that your company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is”
Claiming to be green while no standard holds them accountable
WHAT CAN YOU DO IN 4 MINUTES?
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Read our highlights
Research before purchasing
Look to see what percentage of the item your purchasing is made with sustainable materials. If the percentage is not listed, it likely means only a small fraction of the item is sustainably made.
Check for sustainability certifications like:
Bluesign, Cradle to Cradle Certified, Fair Trade Textiles Standard, Global Organic Textile Standard, Organic Content Standards
Learn from reading one of these two articles and sharing them on social media!
What is Greenwashing and How to Spot It
Or
The Deception of Greenwashing in Fast Fashion
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WHAT?
In order for consumers to make educated choices that will actually protect the planet, companies must be held accountable for making sustainability claims
Fashion companies spending more time and money claiming to be green through marketing campaigns than actually putting it into practice
WHO?
Consumers and the planet
GOAL
Companies disclose the percentage of ‘sustainable’ materials used and provide greater transparency about environmental claims
Companies make valid claims about eco-credentials on how they’re “doing their part” to protect the planet
SOLUTION
As consumers we can hold companies accountable by making informed purchases by educating ourselves and by looking for proof of sustainability
Big fast fashion brands use profits generated through cheap clothing to produce large marketing campaigns promoting ‘green’ collections.
MORE INFO
Check for sustainability certifications like:
Bluesign, Cradle to Cradle Certified, Fair Trade Textiles Standard, Global Organic Textile Standard, Organic Content Standards
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What is Greenwashing and How to Spot It
In our hyper-consumption based societies, it’s always smart to raise a skeptical eyebrow when you hear organizations make claims of how they’re “doing their part” in the quest to “save the Earth”, (although at the UnSchool we truly believe that no one can “save” the Earth, but we can all change it!). But when companies invest more time and money on marketing their products or brand as “green” rather than actually doing the hard work to ensure that it is sustainable — this is called greenwashing.
As an analogy, greenwashing is to corporations as tree hugging is to individuals who say they care about the environment, it’s a symbolic reference that has little actual outcomes. And more so just confuses the issue attempting to be resolved.
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The Deception of Greenwashing in Fast Fashion
Buzzwords such as sustainable, ecofriendly, natural and green are common on the labels of everything we consume be it food or clothes. We, however, need to question whether businesses taking notice are genuinely encouraging conscious brands or merely ‘performing’ sustainability.
Greenwashing in fashion is on the rise, making it difficult for individuals to know whether they are consuming responsibly or hooked on to misleading practices.
Getting away with it
Fast fashion businesses merely tack a ‘sustainable’ line onto their supply chain, which inherently is hypocritical since fast fashion can never be sustainable. Moreover, it tricks customers into evaluating brands as more sustainable, simultaneously fuelling the fast fashion business model.
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