Greenwashing Concept D.I.E. Analysis
Introduction
Greenwashing is the practice by companies, and government institutions try to cover up their poor environmental records with ambitious public schemes towards environmental concern (Acaroglu, 2019). For instance, there is prevalence in brands using the words such as sustainability, vegan, green, or even eco-friendly as a marketing strategy without accountability for their actions or deep understanding of the meaning of the words. It has led to inflated prices on the product despite less involvement in plastic packaging, making the environmental lifestyle highly costly and inaccessible.
H & M is a fast-fashion brand dealing with clothing retail. It is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and is operating in over seventy-four countries. The accusations on the company are greenwashing by claiming its conscious collection label to be sustainable (Petter, 2020). According to the Norwegian Consumer Authority, “Consumers are being given the impression that these products are more ‘sustainable’ than they are.” Markedly, H&M has not furnished precise information on why the clothing line is labeled conscious and is more sustainable than other products they are selling, thus just creating an impression.
Greenwashing Concept D.I.E. Analysis
Despite fast fashion being rendered a hazard to the environment, H &M launched plans to make clothes from Circulose, a sustainable fabric made up of recycled clothing and fashion waste (Hitti, 2019). However, the move was another attempt at greenwashing. The fast-fashion business model has proven to be unsustainable despite all the modifications the business aims at achieving. The move aims at covering up all the claims laid on the company’s greenwashing efforts.
Some attempts at greenwashing may fail, while other schemes are challenging to identify on the greenwashing scale. Advertising regulators do not have a universally accepted definition of terms used in the description, such as sustainability. H & M is exploiting the vagueness of green terminology to create an image of an environmentally conscious brand hence sell more clothing (Petter, 2020). For instance, the information on the collection was general. It did not specify the actual environmental benefit of each garment, such as the amount of recycled material on each garment, with fast fashion being under immense scrutiny due to the amount of clothing pollution ending up on landfills.
Greenwashing Concept D.I.E. Analysis
H & M has shown a lack of transparency. The company claims to be the most transparent brand raising many questions on the well-being of its employees over the wealth of its shareholders (Hitti, 2019). Additionally, engagement of ethics across the supply chain, products, and employment practices. The company should be more transparent on its journey to sustainability and not just proclaiming sustainability without evidence.
Sustainable fashion should be widely accessible, but the fast-fashion model will never achieve the aim of eliminating pollution. Notably, greenwashing is facing severe criticism, and even in some circumstances, companies are facing litigation. According to Acaroglu (2019), it is good to appraise green products manufactured by pollution agents, baffling terms such as sustainable and eco-friendly to avoid being a culprit of the vice.
Similarly, fake third party endorsement that seems genuine and lack of scientific evidence to back up company claims (Gatti, Seele & Rademacher, 2019). Other ways in which one can quickly determine greenwashing are via suggestive pictures, irrelevant packages, and deceptive packaging such as the use of green-colored boxes for harmful products. Online tools such as Project Cece, Ethical Made Easy, and STAIY check the sustainability, eco-friendly and green credentials.
Greenwashing Concept D.I.E. Analysis
Conclusion
Greenwashing, as shown by corporations investing heavily in advertisements claiming the company’s products are green rather than implementing sustainable business practices (Ferrer, 2020). Companies should be held accountable for their transparency on their journey towards sustainability. The business should instead engage in green marketing, which selling based on legitimate environmental concerns.
References
Acaroglu, L. (2019). What is Greenwashing? How to Spot It and Stop it. Medium. Retrieved 24 September 2020, from https://medium.com/disruptive-design/what-is-greenwashing-how-to-spot-it-and-stop-it
- Posting of the information took place in 2019; as such, it is current for research purposes, and the link is fully functional.
- The information relates to greenwashing as a concept as well as how to spot and eradicate. The audience is multidimensional and mainly used for informative purposes. The data is of intermediate level as such, ideal for the paper. I am comfortable using this information on a research paper.
- The author is Leyla Acaroglu. The website shows her credentials in the field of environment. She is a UNEP champion of the earth as well as a sustainability provocateur. Notably, the source offers her LinkedIn profile.
- The information comes from the Medium.com website. Not sure if the review of the article has occurred. The paper does not have grammatical errors and free from bias. Similarly, the information is easily verifiable in another source.
- The sole purpose of the information is to inform and educate. It can be proven by how factual the data is and impartial.
Score: 08/10
Greenwashing Concept D.I.E. Analysis
Ferrer, M. (2020). What is greenwashing, and why is it a problem? | Living. Retrieved 24 September 2020, from https://www.euronews.com/living/2020/09/09/what-is-greenwashing-and-why-is-it-a-problem.
- Posting of the information took place in 2020; it is current for research purposes, and the link is fully functional.
- The information relates to greenwashing as a concept and how it is a problem in society. The audience is multidimensional and mainly used for informative purposes. The data is of intermediate level as such, ideal for the paper. I am comfortable using this information on a research paper.
- The author is Marthe de Ferrer. Her credentials are in the field of the environment. She is a Euro news producer and a journalist at BBC. Notably, the source shares her social media handles.
- The information comes from the euronews.com website. The article was reviewed and updated on 09 September 2020. The paper does not have grammatical errors and free from bias. Similarly, the information is easily verifiable in another source.
- The sole purpose of the information is to inform and educate. It can be proven by how factual the data is and impartial.
Score: 07/10
Greenwashing Concept D.I.E. Analysis
Gatti, L., Seele, P., & Rademacher, L. (2019). Grey zone in – greenwash out. A review of greenwashing research and implications for the voluntary-mandatory transition of CSR. International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40991-019-0044-9
- Posting of the information took place in 2019. As such, it is current for research purposes, and the link is fully functional.
- The information relates to greenwashing research and its role in corporate social responsibility. The audience is mainly scholars, as the information is for educational purposes. The data is of intermediate level to advanced level; thus, it is ideal for the paper. I am comfortable using this information on a research paper as it is a peer-reviewed article.
- The corresponding author is Lucia Gatti, assisted by Peter Seele, who works at the Ethics and Communication Law Centre at the Universita Della Svizzera Italiana Lugano, Switzerland. Similarly, Lars Rademacher works at the University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt under communication and media.
- The information comes from an International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility. The review of the article has occurred since it is a scholarly article. The paper does not have grammatical errors and free from bias. Similarly, the information is easily verifiable in another source.
- The sole purpose of the information is to inform and educate. It can be proven by how factual the data is and impartial.
Greenwashing Concept D.I.E. Analysis
Score: 10/10
Hitti, N. (2019). H&M called out for “greenwashing” in its Conscious fashion collection. Dezeen. Retrieved 24 September 2020, from https://www.dezeen.com/2019/08/02/hm-norway-greenwashing-conscious-fashion-collection-news/.
- Posting of the information took place in 2019; as such, it is current for research purposes, and the link is fully functional.
- The information relates to greenwashing as a concept regarding the H&M Retail Company. The audience is the general public and is mainly for informative purposes. The data is of intermediate level as such ideal for the paper. I am comfortable using this information on a research paper.
- The author is Natashah Hitti. The website shows her credentials as a design and technology reporter at the Dezeen since 2019. She was previously an editorial assistant. Her email, as well as other social media handles, are inclusive of personal information.
- The information comes from Dezeen.com website. The article has been reviewed by the editorial group as is fact-checking protocol. The paper does not have grammatical errors and free from bias. Similarly, the information is easily verifiable in another source.
- The information aims to inform. The author makes her intentions clear and from an objective point of view.
Score: 08/10
Greenwashing Concept D.I.E. Analysis
Petter, O. (2020). H&M is accused of ‘greenwashing’ over plans to make clothes from sustainable fabric. Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2020, from https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/hm-greenwashing-sustainable-circulose-venetia-falconer-manna-a9312566.html.
- Posting of the information took place in 2020. As such, it is current for research purposes, and the link is fully functional.
- The information relates to greenwashing as a concept as well as H&M Retail Company. The audience is the general public and is mainly for informative purposes. The data is of intermediate level as such ideal for the paper. I am comfortable using this information on a research paper.
- The author is Olivia Petter. The website shows her credentials as a journalist for the Independent newspaper on matters fashion and lifestyle. Her email, as well as other social media handles, are inclusive of personal information.
- The information comes from the Independent.co.uk website. The article has been reviewed by the editorial group as is fact-checking protocol. The paper does not have grammatical errors and free from bias. Similarly, the information is easily verifiable in another source.
- The information aims to inform. The author makes her intentions clear and from an objective point of view.
Score: 09/10
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