Greenwashing_in_Apparel_Industry

Green washing In Apparel & Home Textile Industry By: Piyush Jain Roll No 955 PGDM-RM 09-11 Definition: *(http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid11_gci1272594,00.html) Green washing is the practice of making an unsubstantiated or misleading claim about the environmental benefits of a product, service, and technology or company practice. The practice can make a company appear to be more environmentally friendly than it really is. It can also be used to differentiate a company's products or services from its competitors by promising more efficient use of power or by being more cost-effective over time. Why is Green washing a Problem' *(http://www.greenwashingindex.com/why.php) Seems like anything and everything has “gone green” these days. Airlines, car companies, retailers, restaurants — heck, even networks and stadiums. Thankfully, more often than not, that’s a good thing. It‘s only bad if it’s green washing — that’s bad for the environment, consumers and, ultimately, for the very businesses doing the green washing — whether they mean to or not. • Environment: At its very worst, green washing is bad for the environment because it can encourage consumers en masse to do the opposite of what’s good for the environment. At its most benign, green washing makes claims that are neither good nor bad for the environment — it’s just making green claims to sell more stuff. • Consumers: We’ve all heard of lemon laws and bait-and-switch. Nobody likes to be taken advantage of, especially when it comes to money. So, the next time you see an environmental claim, ask yourself about “The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing But The Truth” before you buy. The last thing you want to do is spend money on a product or service you believe is doing right by the environment, but in reality is not — or not as much as the ad might lead you to believe. • Businesses: Smart businesses are finding out that doing right by the environment actually does increase profitability in many cases. With so many easy ways for businesses to reduce their environmental impact or improve their products and processes, it’s just sad when they don’t. It’s even worse when they don’t make changes and claim to be a green company just to push their agenda. When properly trained, consumers see right through this “green screen.” Then green washing backfires, hurting the company’s reputation and, ultimately, their sales. The more consumers see through green washing, the more it will fail. And that’s better for the economy and the environment Some news items depicting the open use of Green washing in the apparel industry: *(http://www.asicentral.com/asp/open/content/content.aspx'id=3632&green) FTC Cracks Down On Greenwashing Claims August 13, 2009  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has charged four non-industry apparel manufacturers with deceptively marketing their products as eco-friendly when the companies' production processes were, in fact, harmful to the environment. "With the tremendous expansion of green claims in today's marketplace, it is particularly important for the FTC to address deceptive environmental claims," said David Vladeck, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. The accused companies, which use the business names of Jonäno, Mad Mod, Pure Bamboo and Bamboosa, have claimed some of their clothing products are made from bamboo fiber. Instead, the FTC says those clothes are actually made of rayon, a man-made fiber created from the cellulose found in plants and trees and processed with a harsh chemical. With its latest action, the FTC is pledging to more tightly scrutinize green washing, a term used to describe unsubstantiated environmental claims about products. "When companies sell products woven from man-made fibers, such as rayon," Vladeck says, "it is important that they accurately label and advertise those products." While Jonäno, Mad Mod and Pure Bamboo have agreed to settlements, the FTC is continuing litigation against Bamboosa, also known as The M Group. None of the accused companies have acknowledged wrongdoing, but the settling manufacturers have agreed to end their eco-friendly claims. To support fair advertising among manufacturers, the FTC has produced a new publication designed to help businesses properly sell clothing and textile products that are made from bam Greenwashing GM Clothing *(http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/1672-greenwashing-gm-clothing-1872006'format=pdf) EXCERPT: The Biotechnology Industry Organization used the fashion statement [staged by the group Earth Pledge]... to burnish its battered image as an environmental scourge. Biotech crop growers moving into clothing industry Paul Elias Associated Press, July 17 2006 http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp'id=6028 In a sneak peek of what could be fashion's future, leggy models draped in dresses by designers like Oscar de la Renta and Versace strut their stuff on the runway. But this is no Paris or New York fashion show. Rather, the scene is a Toronto biotechnology conference and the dresses are made from a new fiber called Ingeo, made largely from genetically engineered corn. The Biotechnology Industry Organization used the fashion statement earlier this month to burnish its battered image as an environmental scourge. Biotechnology is quietly playing a growing role in an apparel industry waking up to its customers' concerns about the environment and the country's reliance on the foreign oil used to make synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon. "We think there is a tremendous future for it, particularly because the consumer world is starting to wake up and recognize that it makes sense to employ some of these different materials as an alternative to both energy and fabric," said Martin Dudziak, research director for Linda Loudermilk Inc., a designer making Ingeo clothes. "It has all of the attributes of polyester," said Steve Davies of NatureWorks, "and is much more environmentally friendly. A comment made by a blogger on green washing: *(http://www.indigoclothing.com/blog/greenwashing/) joe Posted 11 May, 2007 at 3:55 pm | Permalink I think the problem we have got to is as follows: if you spend 50p extra on a jar of fairtrade coffee, you actually expect there to be some measurable difference in the person that grows the coffee. After all, that is the whole point of the concept. So when you read something like this it is tempting to go and shout at a wall. You start to wonder if it would be more efficient to go and give the farmer 50p yourself. As has been pointed out on this blog before, the challenge for ethical clothing brands are to provide a promotional product that is high quality, sensibly priced and easily available. As well as being more ethical, which is a tough cookie to crack. But I think it can be done – a certified and marked organic cotton product, with full transparency. This means that the consumer can go and find out exactly where the product she/he has in hand came from, when and where it was made, the conditions – maybe even how much people were paid. And at a price considerably more competitive than at present. This isn’t green washing or marketing, but a deliberate action to attempt to tell people about where their products came from. And I think they have a right to know that information in order to make an informed choice. Opposition to Green wash Best Practices, policies and standards are set out in the textile and apparel industry for sustainability. Companies should curtail excess manufacturing by maintaining a balance between demand and supply. They should eliminate the practice of 'greenwashing', by creating transparent and substantive social responsibility initiatives. Greenwashing is an unjustified misuse of environmental virtue by a company, to create a pro-environmental image, to sell a product or a policy, practice of organizations that attempt to show that they are adopting practices beneficial to the environment. Consumer awareness is getting boosted up frequently through institutions that promote awareness and other environmental and health related concerns. This initiates a high level of sensitivity in all dimensions of ethical manufacturing processes. Organisations and individuals are making attempts to reduce the impact of green washing by exposing it to the public. *(http://www.greenwashingindex.com/ad_single.php'id=3767) Some government bodies / institutions have made a conscious effort by promoting eco-friendly fibers [pic] *(http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/printarticle.asp'article_id=2049&page=2 The world is now witnessing a rapid transformation, the evolution of apparel and retail industry towards sustainability; which is a broader term than anyone can really contemplate.   Sustainable clothing is quite a vague term to explain. Lack of adequate standards, regulations, and proliferation of claims leaves less room for the interpretation of this term. Ethical manufacturing, using organic cotton for clothes, recycling old fabrics Sustainability is a broader fact encompassing all the things; and functioning with numerous complex mechanisms. To summarize all the virtues of sustainability, it can be defined as: • Purging off the waste existing in the supply chain. • Using organic natural fibres like cotton, wool, and linen, and renewable fibres like bamboo. • Maintaining a balance between demand and supply; thereby minimizing or all together avoiding excess product manufacturing. • Adopting the process of recycling, reusing, and renewing of old fabrics. • Design, develop, and implement a marketing strategy that would avoid green washing. • Minimizing the usage of energy throughout the product life cycle. • Elimination of labor exploitation, and minimizing or removing the existing practices of inequality of labor. • Design and colors should be created keeping in mind the longevity of the fabric.   Apparel industry is turning greener these days with sustainable trends evolving to be a major influence on the industry at a global level. There is a mounting pressure on the industry to reduce environmental impact in regards to growing, processing, dyeing, bleaching, and making of fabrics. Also there is an expectation to eliminate exploitation of labor, remove the existing labor inequalities, and have a fashion forward approach towards the manufacturing process. Retailers seek identification with sustainability-Green initiatives going mainstream: Manufacturers, and retailers of all kinds starting from a tiny boutique to big shopping malls, selling products from low end to high end pricing, and those selling various apparels from regular to fashionable designer wears, are seeking to identify themselves with the image of sustainable minded businessmen. Wal-Mart, the retail giant is emerging to be one of the largest consumers of certified organic cotton. Currently the green apparel market is estimated to be worth $3 billion; which is comparatively smaller than the overall $450 billion global apparel market. However, the market is expected to expand and grow further; positively. The growing interest among the manufacturers, and retailers and consumers concern towards sustainable clothing, and other social issues related to textile production will foster the growth of the industry.   Terms of sustainability and green supply chain will become more prevalent in the global market. Early adopters will reap more profits leaving the late comers a tough time to catch up with. Apparel manufacturers and retailers will give priority to sustainable business practices. Long term practices such as eco friendly product life cycle and minimizing the carbon foot print in manufacturing, transportation and stores will be a part of the management strategy.   Apparel industry is marching towards sustainability in full force. Manufacturers and retailers must react quickly and respond to the growing demand for a greener environment. [pic]