Greenwashing

In the last decade, sustainable fashion has taken relevance within the market, transitioning from a niche proposal to become more and more popular among the masses. 

However, it is important to be well informed when dealing with sustainability issues, so as not to fall into misleading advertising and actions, better known as Greenwashing. 

What is Greenwashing

This Anglo-Saxon term is translated into English as «greenwashing», alluding to the concept of «brainwashing». This term refers to a kind of brainwashing or deception related to environmental issues. 

The American environmentalist Jay Westervelt used it in 1986 to refer to the discovery of non-responsible practices of the hotel industry. The same industry that promoted the reuse of towels as an action to save the environment. 

Its characteristics

Greenwashing combines marketing and communication actions where there is a commercial objective to sell a product or service that claims to be environmentally responsible without being so. 

It can occur through strategies where there is a lack of transparency with information or even where data and practices are disguised to make them appear environmentally responsible, gaining market acceptance and consumer confidence. 

Some of the characteristics we can find are the exaggeration of ethical or sustainable characteristics, the use of media manipulation or misinterpretation through images and erroneous terminology. 

Their impact today

Today, under a context that invites us to act immediately for the reduction of impacts and the conservation of our planet, the use of greenwashing has greatly weakened the credibility of the subject. 

Greenwashing According to Nancy E. Furlow, in her essay «Greenwashing in the New Millenium», published by Marymount University, this type of practice «confuses consumers about which products are truly helping the environment».

This practice takes away space and visibility from brands and projects that are really trying to make a change. 

Brands today must be more careful than ever with the communication they carry to avoid this at all costs. 

The power that lies in informing us in the right way is the best way to ensure that we are communicating messages in an assertive and transparent way promoting market acceptance, a good experience and expectation from consumers that allows the development of more and better sustainable proposals.

If you are interested in sustainable fashion and are looking for new ways to join the change, we invite you to see our website where you can find much more information about this and many other relevant fabrics for today’s industry.

At Creamodite we are in a constant search to find solutions and proposals to counteract the impacts of the industry. 

For more info contact us at info@workef.com or at our website creamodite.org