Greenwashing:
Greenwashing is a promotional strategy that fashion brands use to mislead consumers by advertising themselves with green credentials and using techniques to pass on false messages to shoppers.
For an instance, a fast fashion brand like Zara has more than 4600 retail stores in seventy-seven countries runs less carbon footprint or even no carbon footprint campaigns and the reports speaks the same.
How is it possible?
Easy.
The most prominent brands escape the responsibility of significant carbon emissions generated in the fashion manufacturing because their production houses are primarily based in developing countries like India, and Bangladesh.
According to a recent study by changing market foundations, nearly 60% of green claims were made by 12 prominent brands in the UK and Europe with misleading credentials
Unfortunately, it is hard to outline greenwashing strategies by consumers as most brands use familiar terms like sustainability, eco-friendly and responsible. Therefore, the idea of greenwashing builds a faux world of change and drives consumers to believe in it when it is not.
Feasible Solutions:
A set of standards for defining the terms sustainable, eco-friendly, and organic should be imposed.
An expert committee should be in place for authenticating the quality and standards of sustainable/eco-friendly businesses to issue a certified license to market businesses as sustainable businesses.
Also, educating the consumers to demand transparency in the production supply chain.