Greenwashing is a big problem in 2020. Many brands have nothing an increase in consumers' desire to buy more sustainable clothing and use this as a marketing technique. They claim that their products are more sustainable that their competitors even if they are not. This makes it really hard for consumers to tell how sustainable their purchasing choices are.
In this blog post, I hope to explain the various things that a company can do to be more sustainable and to show you want to look for when you want to make a more sustainable purchase. It would be unrealistic to expect one brand to be doing all of these things so you should look for a brand that is doing a number of or most of these things. I would say that a company is greenwashing if they only do one of these things and then try to claim that their brand is super sustainable.
(When I wrote this most, I had fashion brands in mind but all of these points could apply to any product.)
1. Using Sustainable Resources
The most obvious thing that a brand should be doing is using sustainable resources to create their products. In my eyes, the most sustainable resources are recycled waste materials as this does not involve the harvesting of any new materials and it helps to reduce the amount of waste already sitting on the earth. The second best option would be to use natural organic materials that are not created with toxic chemicals and will not degrade into dangerous microplastics.
2. Making Their Products High Quality and Durable
They should also be making products that are high quality and durable. If a product is high quality, then the customer will want to keep hold of it for longer and if it is durable then they will be able to keep hold of it for longer. After all, the most sustainable way to consume is to buy less and brands should encourage us to buy high quality and to buy less instead of encouraging us to buy lots of low quality items that will once be used once or will deteriorate quickly.
3. Not Constantly Changing Their Product Line
One of the main issues with fast fashion is that they intentionally create a perceived shortage of products in order to stress us out and lead us to make more impulsive purchases. A brand does this buy constantly changing their product line so that you have to buy something the moment you see it as you know it may not be available next week. They also do this by constantly having sales or 'last chance' offers. The consumer is more likely to make an impulsive purchase under this stress that they might not have made if they had time to think about the purchase.
A more sustainable brand will stock the same products for a much longer time so that you can take the time to think through your purchase and decide if it is something you really want without fear that it won't be available in the future. This is very useful for more expensive purchases as you have the time to save up for them and then invest in them.
This also means that you can wait until the appropriate season to buy more seasonal items. For example, you might see a gorgeous winter coat in the spring, but it is much more sustainable if you can wait until winter when you will actually wear it to make the purchase. This will also give you more time to think about this purchase and wherever it is actually something that you want or need.
Organic basics and Lucy & Yak are great examples of companies that stock similar products all year round.
4. Selling All Their Stock
Sadly many fast fashion brands will bin their stock if they do not manage to sell it by the end of the season. Some brands even destroy the products (by ripping them up etc.) so that people cannot retrieve them from the bins. This is especially true for more expensive designers, as they do not want less wealthy people who could have afforded the clothes to be seen wearing them. This is a gross waste of materials and resources and should never be allowed to happen.
This is much easier for brands do not constantly change their product line and therefore is another argument for slower fashion.
5. Not Constantly Asking the Consumer to Make More Purchases
If a company is constant pushing sales and repeat purchases then they are not sustainable. A better company will recognize that constant consumption is not sustainable. It is better for a company to charge more and expect you to make less purchases or to make a product that is so great that you like recommend it to your friends.
6. Offering a Repair Service
Another great way for a brand to be more sustainable is to offer a repair service. This prevents the customer from having to buy a completely new product involving more materials and it also makes customers more likely to invest in expensive items if they know that it is a one off cost and there is a repair service for when their item breaks.
I think it is okay for a company to charge for this repair service as it will obviously take time and effort to repair someone's product but this cost should be significantly less than the original item cost in order to encourage consumers to send their product for repair instead of simply binning and replacing it.
BOSE is actually a good example of this, especially because electronic waste is so dangerous and wasteful.
7. Collecting and Utilising Worn Products
Similarly, a perfect company would collect products which are worn beyond repair if they can utilise the materials. This is a good way for a company to show they are taking responsibility for the waste associated with every stage of their product. Again, this should be free or affordable so that the customer feels incentivised to return the product instead of simply binning or recycling it.
Rapanui is a good example of a company who are doing this.
8. Using Sustainable Packaging
As well as using sustainable materials for the product itself, the packaging should also be made from sustainable materials. The best option in my opinion is compostable packaging as this disappears completely. The second best option is for it to be made from widely recycled materials such as paper, cardboard, aluminium or glass. Even better if the company uses recycled materials in the first place.
You can read this blog post to learn more about my recyclable plastic is not a sustainable option.
9. Collecting a Reusing Packaging
An even better way for a company to package their products is to collect used packaging and reuse it. Again, this should be free or affordable so that the customer feels incentivised to return the packaging instead of simply binning or recycling it.
You can read this blog post to learn more about recycling and why it should never be our first choice.
Lush and Beauty Kitchen are great examples of companies who do this.
10. Paying Workers at Every Stage of Production a Living and Fair Wage
Sustainability is synonymous with longevity. The definition of sustainability is the capability to continue something long term. Therefore, in order for a product to be sustainable it must also be ethical. You can read this blog post to learn more about the links between ethics and sustainable when it come to fast fashion and why both are important.
In order for a product to be ethical and therefore sustainable they should be paying their workers at every stage of the production line at a fair wage that is indicative of the effort that has been put in. This should be at least a living wage, no matter the minimum wage of the country of the workers.
11. Providing Safe Working Conditions For Workers At Every Stage of Production
As well as paying workers a living wage, a company should also provide their workers with safe working conditions and in less economically developed countries they could also provide access to facilities such as showers with hot running water which workers may not have at home.
12. Offering Career Development Opportunities for Their Workers at Every Stage of Production
If workers are only paid a living wage then their is no way for them to improve their quality of life or escape the cycle of poverty if they are trapped in it. Therefore, a perfect company will provide opportunities for promotion and career development for their workers. This will not only help the individual workers but it may also have a trickle down effect and help the local economy and community. It may also help the company itself as workers will feel more engaged and feel insentivised to work harder and try to better the company.
13. Using renewable energy sources for production
Another way in which a company can make their production even more sustainable is to use renewable energy for the production of their products.
14. Offsetting their carbon emissions and environmental footprint
If companies cannot produce their product without any environmental footprint (which is virtually impossible), they can be more sustainable by spending a portion of their profits investing in sustainable projects and technologies in order to help offset their emissions.
15. Investing / donating profits towards good causes
Offsetting footprints is one thing, but if a companies truly values sustainability then they may choose to donate or invest some of their profits towards ethical or sustainable causes even if it does not directly benefit the company. They will understand the value of looking after are planet and wanting to make it a better place for everyone.
16. Transparency
Although transparency does not make a company sustainable in itself, it is still very important. Transparency allows a company to build trust with their customers and, after all, the more sustainable a company is, the more they should want to celebrate this and therefore have nothing to hide. If a company doesn’t give much information about their steps to me more sustainable, they could well be greenwashing and this is something to look out for.
If you can think of anything else, or any more great examples of where companies are doing these things, leave a comment below and I might add it to the list!
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