Fast Fashion Myths

In retail, deciphering between greenwashing brands and authentic sustainable brands has become increasingly more complex due to the lack of laws and regulations about fact-checking brands. Even though there are laws to ensure that brands are honest and transparent, they often get around these laws using vague language and selective disclosure. Here are some fast fashion misconceptions to never fall for as a buyer: 

1. Fast fashion can be sustainable.

We see fast fashion brands like H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo starting to label their clothing as eco-friendly so that customers feel better about buying from them. The problem is that a $12 shirt can't be sustainable when 25% of that price is to pay for the factory alone. Customers don’t often realize that brands can label a product sustainable if one part of the process, from production to sale, is sustainable. The garment can be made with harmful materials, but if the thread used for the product is recycled, they can label the product sustainable. Fast fashion brands can not be sustainable if they produce billions of garments annually. 

2. The clothes you return are resold.

It is common for shoppers to assume that the products they return get resold, but this is not the case. Most of the time, large online retailers send those returned items to landfills or incinerators. Africa alone receives 70% of global secondhand clothes. It is cheaper for brands to throw away the product than to inspect and/ or repair it. 

3. Sustainable clothes are expensive.

Think about how often you go through your closet and get rid of clothes because they are damaged or falling apart. Sustainable clothes have long-term value due to better quality materials and manufacturing. Fast fashion is cheap because of the exploited workers and the lack of consideration for the environment. When shopping from sustainable brands, consider the cost per wear and buy clothes based on long-term trends instead of micro-trends that are only around for a couple of months to a year. 

4. Luxury brands are always sustainable.

Luxury brands are often labeled as high quality due to the expense of their clothing, but most luxury clothing is produced with fast fashion brands in the same factories. According to "Good For You", 75% of luxury brands, including brands like Louis Vuitton, rated low for sustainability. Only 10% of luxury brands were rated good/great for sustainability. Recently, luxury brands have been in the news for quality issues and sustainability as customers demand more information about the supply chain process. 

5. You can just recycle clothes (fast fashion recycling programs).

Brands like Mango, H&M, and American Eagle have similar programs where you can bring in your old clothes to be "recycled," and the customer then gets a discount on their purchase. These programs sound like a good idea, but the catch is that around 1% of recycled clothes are turned back into a new garment; most just end up in landfills. Big brands with thousands of stores and a substantial online presence, it's hard to know exactly what happens to your clothes, especially when brands are intentionally vague about their recycling process. 

How to spot greenwashing: 

• Use of vague terms and labels like "responsible", "eco-friendly", and "sustainable". 

• Irrelevant or fake certifications. 

• Misleading numbers and data on the website and/or packaging.

Your next steps: 

• Use resources like Good On You to check the sustainability of brands you shop from. 

• Look for certifications like Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Bluesign that focus on sustainable production practices and fabrics meeting environmental and social standards. 

• Shop from apps like Depop, Vinted, or companies with a clear cause. 

• Continue to educate yourself and stay up to date with sustainability in the fashion industry! XO