Fashion Tingz: Agony Aunt #5

Greenwashing, the copycat fashion economy and fashionable budgeting

Each month I’ll be tackling whatever unsolved fashion scenarios you send my way. These scenarios can be lighthearted and fun or deep and personal, the choice is entirely yours. Let’s tackle these things together. Remember to be kind in the comments, everyone’s experience of the world - and the way we view it - is different.

---

Ecoalf Autumn/Winter 2019

Question one: I'm making a conscious effort to try and buy fashion that has less of a damaging impact on the environment, but with all of the greenwashing going on it's hard to know how to do this. What's the deal with actually shopping sustainably?

Greenwashing irks the hell out of me. In a nutshell, greenwashing happens when a brand makes claims about their eco-credentials that can’t actually be backed up or proven. So if you can’t trust a label to do what it says it does, or you can’t trust a PR or marketing campaign to be as environmentally friendly as it claims, what’re you supposed to do about it? It's annoying when brands are more concerned about profiting from the increasing demand for sustainable and ethical products, rather than putting in the actual work that can make their products as eco-friendly as they claim. There's a few things to consider and look at when shopping sustainably in fashion if that's something you’re passionate about and want to do. When brands release ‘conscious’ or ’sustainable’ collections but can’t support these claims with data, that's usually a red flag. When a brand - such as a fast fashion giant - creates a minimal collection of products that are sustainable or eco-conscious, then tries to market and position their whole brand as environmentally friendly, major cause for concern as the company profits off of the unsustainable goods they produce and their minimally eco-friendly collections don't equate to the whole brand being good for the planet. When a brand shoves their impressive sounding sustainability initiatives down your throat, but you haven’t seen them put said initiatives into practice, that's another telltale sign of greenwashing. When a brand highlights their eco-friendly packaging but doesn’t make steps within their business model and supply chain to reduce their environmental impact, this can seem misleading as consumers are often tricked into believing that they take the same amount of pride and care with their overall business as they do with their packaging. Now, there's really no-one holding brands to account to make sure their environmental claims are substantiated. In the UK the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) is starting to dig into fashion brands that make such claims, and that's a small step in the right direction. Soon they’ll be naming and shaming the worst offenders so you can cross these brands off of your list. But for now, I’d just be extra vigilant and considerate when you shop and thoroughly research the brands you buy from.