By Dina Elwa
According to The Business News Daily, Greenwashing is when a company implies being environmentally conscious for marketing purposes but is not making any sustainability efforts. This term was coined in 1986 by environmentalist Jay Westerveld when he criticized the “save the towel” campaign launched by hotels. Greenwashing has been persistent since then and continues to affect our lives drastically as social media becomes more prevalent, making misleading ESG marketing campaigns easier to conduct.
H&M is one of the worst greenwashing fast-fashion companies in 2022. Its textile waste has been detrimentally killing the environment for more than 20 years. What is more alarming is that H&M has cunningly launched a recycling campaign to encourage sustainability through recycling clothes but ended up harming the environment even more. This campaign allows customers to throw their old clothes in recycling bins at stores to get a discount on their future purchases. However, according to environmentalists: Collect, the company that collects the clothing, less than 35% of these clothes get recycled. Not surprisingly, this incentive does not change consumers’ behaviours, and 100% of the program participants buy new clothes using the discount.
H&M and other big brands are taking advantage of customers willing to pay more for sustainable initiatives or alternatives, but they only use it as a profit scheme. As individuals, we should hold these brands accountable, and governments should enforce stricter environmental transparency from businesses worldwide.
Sources:
https://recyclecoach.com/blog/top-5-greenwashing-examples-from-major-brands/