When Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg made it to the cover of Vogue Scandinavia's launch issue in August 2021, she used the opportunity to call out the fashion industry’s environmentally harmful practices. In a related Instagram post she said: “Many are making it look as if the fashion industry are (sic) starting to take responsibility, by spending fantasy amounts on campaigns where they portray themselves as ‘sustainable’, ‘ethical’, ‘green’, ‘climate neutral’ and ‘fair’. But… this is almost never anything but pure greenwashing. You cannot mass produce fashion or consume ‘sustainably’ as the world is shaped today.”
And if, like us, you’ve been horrified by AFP photographer Martin Bernetti’s images of mountains of discarded clothing turning the Atacama Desert in Chile into a fast fashion dumping ground, you know the 18-year-old Swede is not far from the truth. According to the United Nations, the fashion industry accounts for nearly 8-10 per cent of global carbon emissions, is responsible for 20 per cent of total water waste world-wide, and releases half a million tons of synthetic microfibers into the ocean annually. And along with these pollutants and microfibers come macro marketing campaigns, cleverly disguised half-truths and blithe sales spiels that would have us believe that most clothing manufacturers care for the environment more than they care for your cash. Brands and designers painting their products with a “green sheen” may not be an entirely new phenomenon, but in recent years the greenwashing has taken on a deeply worrisome hue.