You know what rhymes with greenwashing? Brainwashing. And that is exactly what some companies have been doing on the pretext of being environmentally-conscious. The latest culprit is popular Swedish clothing brand H&M.
The H&M greenwashing lawsuit sheds light on how the brand has misled the public with false sustainability marketing. The class-action greenwashing lawsuit relies on the investigation carried out by Quartz, regarding its sustainable practices.
H&M Greenwashing
The investigation by Quartz revealed that while the company claimed most of its clothing was better for the environment, thanks to its sustainable practices, the declarations were anything but true. When compared with similar garments made by the company and its competitors, reporters discovered that H&M is guilty of greenwashing its stakeholders.
The world’s second largest clothing company by sales volume, it produces around five billion garments every year. According to the fashion label, its products are made with 50% or more sustainable materials.
The Swedish company is known for providing environmental scorecards for its products called Sustainability Profiles. This is included in the labeling, packaging, and marketing materials. The tags are even displayed in stores to draw eco-conscious customers.
The greenwashing lawsuit cites examples of H&M duping customers with false advertising. One Sustainability Profile that was marketed by H&M, for example, “claimed that a dress was made with 20% less water on average,” when an independent investigation by news outlet Quartz revealed that the dress “was actually made with 20% more water.” The plaintiff mentioned that is incensed by the fact that the Swedish company not only failed to comply with environmental standards, rather its products have been found to be more environmentally damaging than others.
H&M’s Greenwashing Lawsuit
Chelsea Commodore filed the greenwashing lawsuit against H&M on July 27 at a New York federal court. She mentioned that she purchased clothes under its Conscious Choice label, believing the company’s claims about environment-friendly products.
The greenwashing lawsuit alleges that the fast-fashion label exploited the sentiment of environmentally conscious customers who were willing to pay more for sustainable products. Commodore accuses the label of carrying out fraudulent activities. She alleged that H&M. “misrepresented the nature of its products, at the expense of consumers who pay a price premium in the belief that they are buying truly sustainable and environmentally friendly clothing.”
The H&M lawsuit also reveals that the company blatantly lied about its Conscious Choice label, which is said to contain “at least 50% sustainable materials, such as organic cotton and recycled polyester,” when in reality, the products “are comprised of indisputably unsustainable materials, like polyester,” which are “not sustainable, as polyester does not biodegrade, sheds toxic microfibers, and is not recyclable.”
In June, Quartz revealed that the environmental scorecards which gave information on water usage and fossil fuel-usage in the manufacture of clothes contained false data. In light of the H&M greenwashing lawsuit, the scorecards have been removed from all its websites.
A company representative later admitted that it is thoroughly studying the allegations but refused to comment further. H&M also stated that the discrepancy arose due to technical issues. However, its Conscious Choice label has been temporarily taken down from the site. The lawsuit also stresses that H&M’s practices put it in violation of New York General Business Law, as its greenwashing campaign fooled customers into expecting most, if not all, of its products to be sustainable.
The lawsuit calls out H&M’s greenwashing tactics for taking advantage of customers making mindful choices with regard to climate change. Commodore is being represented by Bursor & Fisher.
In the last few years, many popular brands have come under fire for greenwashing. Kohl’s and Walmart were accused of falsely advertising rayon textile products as bamboo-based and for marketing them as the product of eco-friendly processes while converting bamboo to rayon requires multiple chemicals and results in hazardous pollutants. The Coca-Cola Company was subject to lawsuit in June 2021 for claiming to be sustainable and environmentally friendly while it continued to generate more pollution than any other company in the world.
Environmental activists urge customers to understand the basic concepts of recyclable, compostable, and products made with recycled materials to make better, conscious choices.
