How To Spot GREENWASHING Brands - YouTube

Do you know if you're being tricked by greenwashing?

Hi everyone, welcome to My Green Closet.

So, recently I asked if there were any video topics that you guys wanted to see

and Evelina who runs the awesome blog Earth Wanderess said:

"I'd love to learn more about how to see through companies greenwashing.

"How to research if a company is really as ethical and sustainable as they claim to be, how to see through the crap, basically."

And this is a great topic, greenwashing is definitely a problem

and I'm sure that I, and probably a lot of you, have been tricked before by greenwashing

and while there's no guaranteed way to avoid it, there are some things we can look out for.

But first let's talk about what greenwashing is.

So the term "greenwashing" refers to when brands try to promote or spin themselves

to make it seem like they're a lot more environmentally conscious than they actually are.

So they're putting way more effort and energy into promoting themselves as green,

instead of actually just trying to reduce their impact.

The word "greenwashing" was actually first used to criticize the hotel industry

and how so many hotels were putting up those little signs about reusing towels

and about how environmentally conscious they were for doing this,

but in reality reusing towels actually doesn't make that big of a difference in the impact of a hotel,

and if they really cared they would need to do a lot more.

However, this was used to make them appear really good to guests.

Examples of government greenwashing are using terms like "clean coal" or "clean burning gas"

to try and promote these known environmentally harmful fuels and make them seem not as bad.

Now in fashion, greenwashing typically happens when brands make big claims

about how environmentally conscious they are,

but in practice really aren't doing very much and are still creating a lot of damage.

So, how can you tell if a brand is greenwashing?

Basically, you want to see if there are discrepancies between what they're saying and what they're doing.

Now, brands know that consumers want more transparency, and better practices and products,

so they create these social and environmental responsibility pages

where they make claims and set goals and make it seem like they care and are improving.

and this, unfortunately, does make it really difficult to figure out what's actually going on

but there are some things you can look for.

The first thing to look for is what percentage of their collection is actually sustainable?

and I think this is really telling.

So with brands like H&M

their sustainable and recycled products only ever make up a small percentage of their overall inventory

and yet they really use that to promote how environmentally conscious they are.

If brands are actually sustainable, all or the majority of their product should be eco-friendly in some way.

Or if they are newer to sustainability, they should be aggressively trying to improve their products

and not just talking about it.

Next is how transparent are they? and the amount of information available can be really telling.

So brands that don't really get into details about their factories, materials, practices:

it creates questions and maybe suspicions about how genuine they are.

However, some brands do seem to have a lot of information, which is great.

But then you want to look at how vague they are.

And if they have a lot of fluffy writing about how much they care about the environment or their workers,

that isn't good.

Ideally, brands will have specific information about what materials they use, where they manufacture,

what kinds of policies and programs they have in place to ensure fair wages,

safety, to reduce pollution, whatever.

I think there's a big difference in brands saying "we're trying to reduce our impact"

versus saying "we're doing X, Y, Z to reduce our impact."

Next, what is their track record?

So does the brand have a history of trying to deceive people or maybe being untrustworthy?

And something easy you can do is just google the brand name and "greenwashing"

or maybe the words "controversy" or "scam" and just see what comes up.

I don't like to keep focusing on H&M, but for me, they're a brand I've paid a lot of attention to,

and I think is doing some serious greenwashing.

So for example five years ago H&M set a bunch of sustainability and living wage goals

and one of their goals was that they would be paying all of their workers a living wage by 2018.

So here we are in 2018 and this goal has just disappeared.

Clean Clothes Campaign has done a bunch of work and research and found that they're not paying living wages.

And also H&M's "goal" has now morphed into their "living wage strategy"

Which doesn't have a deadline and has a bunch of fluffy wording,

so there really isn't a way anymore to hold them accountable.

So this and other things has shown me that H&M isn't a trustworthy brand.

So basically if a brand has done some shady shit in the past I would proceed with caution.

Now for big fast fashion brands this information is easier to find

and there are independent groups like Clean Clothes Campaign which research and report on them.

But what about smaller brands with less information available?

Try to assess how much they're using sustainability to promote themselves versus what they're actually doing.

So if a company is really using their sustainability as a marketing tool and talking a lot about it

but there isn't a lot of evidence of it in practice or their products, I would be suspicious.

For example, if a brand is really promoting how conscious they are,

but all they're doing is maybe using organic cotton

While that is better than other brands,

I think brands that truly care about sustainability are trying to reduce their impact in a lot of different areas.

So maybe things like using greener packaging and using lower impact dyes or trying to reduce their energy.

In my experience brands that truly care don't just have the attitude of:

"Ok, we did this one thing we're good."

They're always trying to find ways in different areas that they can do better and reduce their impact.

Also pay attention to what kind of information is being left out.

So maybe it's materials or manufacturing information.

For example a brand that I've called out before for greenwashing is Matt & Nat

and this really pains me because I used to love their products, but I just think they're shady.

So a quick overview: right on their about page they talk about their commitment to the environment.

And on their ethics and sustainability page they specifically say:

"PU is less harmful for the environment than PVC and we make a point to use it whenever possible."

However, I found out the majority of their products are actually made from PVC

which is incredibly harmful to the environment and people.

And what's worse is they don't even say on their website that a product is made from PVC.

The only material they list is the recycled lining and no mention of the outer material.

So it really seems like they're trying to hide this but also make it seem like they're sustainable by using recycled material.

Anyways, I have a blog post more about Matt & Nat and why I no longer purchase their products

which I will link below if you want to check that out.

But to me, leaving out key information like the fact that your products are made from PVC

while really promoting your recycled bottle lining: that is greenwashing.

Next, if you have questions about a brand and their practices, ask them!

I think if brands are open and willing to provide more information, that's a great sign.

Another thing you can do is look for reliable certifications like GOTS or Fairtrade certifications.

And this means that you don't just have to trust what a brand is saying

but that a third party has actually verified their products and practices.

So basically, read through what information to brand has available,

do a search to see if anybody else has talked about potential ethical or sustainability issues with them

and finally, trust your gut.

I know that doesn't sound very scientific

but I think you can get a sense if a brand seems genuine and transparent or maybe a bit shady.

Although, I do really want to say that even though there are brands greenwashing

and we might occasionally get fooled,

there also are a lot of amazing sustainable brands doing wonderful things.

I don't want you to feel like you can't trust anyone or to approach all sustainable brands with suspicion.

While it is really unfortunate that brands greenwash,

I feel like it's mostly the big brands,

and a lot of the small, independent brands are just trying to make products

that they believe in, that reflect their values.

Also, nobody's perfect and everybody has something to work on,

so you can't expect to find brands that are a hundred percent sustainable.

It's more about finding brands that align with your priorities and your style.

So I guess I just want to say that while greenwashing is good to look out for,

I don't think it's good when people are suspicious of all sustainable brands.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this video

and I'd love to hear in the comments if green washing is something you're concerned about

or if you've had any experiences with it.

Thank you for watching

and thank you so much to those of you supporting my content through Patreon

and I'll see you in the next one.