For clothing companies, it’s not always easy, or common, being green—which is why shoppers want to know which garments and goods really are being produced in sustainable ways. A new study from Fordham University’s Responsible Business Coalition indicates that about half of all consumers indicate their “substantial interest” in eco-labels. That is, they would like to encounter labels that indicate whether the garment is recyclable. Another 33 percent note that they want to receive information about chemical usage, animal welfare, and material usage on the labels.
Furthermore, 65 percent of the 500 consumers surveyed for this study indicated they wanted the eco-labels attached directly to the garments. When shopping online, 44 percent would appreciate a website filter, a sustainability icon, or both, presented visibly and obviously. About one-quarter of respondents asked for a special section of stores on shopping websites, devoted to sustainable brands and merchandise.
An age component informs these findings too. You likely will not be shocked to learn that younger, well-educated, and city-dwelling shoppers care more about eco-labeling than do those who are older, have received less education, and live outside urban centers.
But all consumers might encounter them soon. Some companies already have started developing eco-labeling rating systems. The consumer rating platform Good On You rates more than 3,500 brands, and those ratings are used by well-known companies such as Farfetch, Yoox, Net-a-porter, and Microsoft. In addition, Farfetch and Good On You launched a new transparency tool, called Good Measures, in June 2022.
Yet there also appears to be some reason for suspicion. The Competition and Markets Authority—a regulatory body in the United Kingdom—recently announced that it was launching an investigation into wide-scale greenwashing in the fashion industry, accusing companies of “duping” consumers into spending more money to purchase “sustainable” clothes that were not demonstrably better for the environment. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition, a fashion industry coalition, also announced it was “pausing” its use of a sustainability tool it developed, called the Higg Materials Sustainability Index, after a Norwegian watchdog organization that reviews advertising claims found that many environmental claims were either misleading or outright deceptions.
According to a professor from Fordham, such challenges are just normal bumps along the way toward progress though. Greenwashing is similar to exaggerated nutrition claims, and over time, new regulations get implemented and established to ensure some standards. That is not to say that false claims are acceptable, but rather that it will require a public policy and regulatory efforts to determine appropriate, reasonable criteria for firms to make sustainability claims.
We can only hope that today’s generations of young shoppers will not be too much older by the time that happens.
Discussion Questions:
- Why do young people in particular want eco-labeling on their clothes?
- Would you trust that eco-labels you see on clothing that you buy today are providing accurate information?
- How can the integrity and transparency of eco-labeling on clothes be improved? What criteria should be applied?
Source: Tom Ryan, “Does Fashion Need to Adopt Eco-Labels to Aid Consumer Purchasing Decisions?” Retail Wire, July 8, 2022; “New Study from Fordham University’s Responsible Business Coalition Highlights Potential for Eco-Labels in Fashion,” Global Newswire, June 28, 2022; Kaley Roshitsh, “Can Farfetch’s Eco-Label Answer Call for 65 Percent of Consumers Amid Industry Setbacks?” WWD, June 29, 2022; Sarah Kent, “Green or Greenwashing: Who Gets to Decide?” Business of Fashion, May 5, 2022; Helena Horton, “Greenwashing UK Fashion Firms to Be Named and Shamed by Watchdog,” The Guardian, March 11, 2022; Rachel Cernansky, “Customers Care More About Sustainability Post-Lockdowns. Now What?” Vogue Business, August 5, 2021