Source: Unsplash

Sustainability claims of major brands set to be investigated

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has announced that it is set to investigate retail giants Boohoo and Asos, as well as supermarket ASDA over sustainability claims made by the brands. The investigation centres around claims relating to their clothing, accessories and footwear. The investigated ranges reportedly include the Responsible Edit from ASOS, Boohoo's Ready For The Future range and Asda's George For Good[i].

The study forms part of a wider and ongoing investigation by the CMA initially launched in 2020, which seeks to look at how products and services claiming to be 'eco-friendly' are being marketed and whether consumers may be being misled. As part of this campaign, the CMA launched the ‘Green Claims Code' in 2021[ii], outlining the six criteria companies need to fulfil to be considered "genuinely green"[iii]. This year has seen the CMA very much set its sights on the £54 billion fashion sector, with concerns regarding businesses that are giving “the impression that their products are ‘sustainable’ or better for the environment by making broad claims about the use of recycled materials in new clothing with little to no information about the basis for those claims.”[iv]

CMA to crack down on misleading claims amidst cries of ‘Greenwashing’

The crack-down on fashion providers comes at a time when so-called ‘greenwashing’ is the action of a company or business to portray themselves or their products as being ‘green’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ when in fact, this is not necessarily the case, and such information is potentially misleading. We define the term in our earlier blog here.

To greenwash, a company may claim its products are from recycled materials or have energy-saving benefits. While this may be true in part, those greenwashing typically exaggerate claims to mislead consumers. It may also be that a company replaces an older product perceived as environmentally damaging with a newer design that, on the surface, seems eco-friendly, yet the production or lifecycle of that new product may be more harmful in the long term.

The concerns of the CMA range from worryingly low criteria used to make claims of sustainability to fears around the lack of clarity and information given to consumers.

The CMA’s areas for investigation, as stated on the Government website, include whether:

• “The statements and language used by the businesses are too broad and vague and may create the impression that clothing collections – such as the ‘Responsible edit’ from ASOS, Boohoo’s current ‘Ready for the Future’ range, and ‘George for Good’ – are more environmentally sustainable than they actually are.
• The criteria used by some of these businesses to decide which products to include in these collections may be lower than customers might reasonably expect from their descriptions and overall presentation – for example, some products may contain as little as 20% recycled fabric.
• Some items have been included in these collections when they do not meet the criteria.
• There is a lack of information provided to customers about products included in any of the companies’ eco ranges, such as missing information about what the fabric is made from.
• Any statements made by the companies about fabric accreditation schemes and standards are potentially misleading, such as a lack of clarity as to whether the accreditation applies to particular products or to the firm’s wider practices.”[v]

Sarah Cardell, interim Chief Executive of the CMA, said:

“People who want to ‘buy green’ should be able to do so confident that they aren’t being misled. Eco-friendly and sustainable products can play a role in tackling climate change, but only if they are genuine. We’ll be scrutinising green claims from ASOS, Boohoo and George at Asda to see if they stack up. Should we find these companies are using misleading eco claims, we won’t hesitate to take enforcement action – through the courts if necessary. This is just the start of our work in this sector, and all fashion companies should take note: look at your own practices and make sure they are in line with the law.”[vi]

Fast fashion is a growing area of concern

Investigation into these three notable UK retailers aligns with worries around the ecological damage caused by so-called ‘Fast Fashion’, a design, manufacturing, and marketing method focused on rapidly producing large volumes of affordable clothing, which has seen a monumental rise over the last few years. The production of such goods generally utilises low-quality materials, alongside the replication of high-end brands or popular style trends, to bring inexpensive fashion to the masses. Whilst this makes clothing far more accessible to individuals on smaller budgets, it has also helped fuel a throwaway culture. Fast Company forecasted that apparel companies will introduce 160 million tonnes of clothing into the world per annum by 2050. This is up from 53 million per year in 2016^[vii]. Yet much of this will ultimately end up in landfill- in the US alone, 11 million tonnes of clothing waste are thrown out per annum^[viii]. This raises the potential of the circular economy aspect for fashion & textiles, an area we will discuss in more depth within future blogs.

The CMA’s findings are expected to be made available later this year, and all three brands have agreed to cooperate fully with the investigation. Boohoo has since told Investment Week that it had been working closely with the CMA: “to understand their expectations and support them with their investigation. We have clear guidelines and a compliance process for our Ready for the Future ranges to help us communicate these complex issues. Our intention is to support our customers in making choices that are right for them, and to do this; we recognise that we need to provide them with straightforward and no-nonsense information. We hope that the outcome of the CMA's sector investigations provides all retailers with clear guidelines on what can and should be communicated. We are proud of the progress we have made and are, of course, happy to continue to work collaboratively with the CMA to understand how we can further improve."[ix]

References

[i] ASOS, Boohoo and Asda investigated over fashion ‘green’ claims - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[ii] Green Claims Code – Check your environmental claims are genuine

[iii] ASOS and Boohoo among firms investigated over greenwashing claims (investmentweek.co.uk)

[iv] Green claims made by ASOS, Boohoo and Asda to be investigated | Retail Bulletin (theretailbulletin.com)

[v] ASOS, Boohoo and Asda investigated over fashion ‘green’ claims - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[vi] Ibid

[vii] We have to fix fashion if we want to survive climate change (fastcompany.com)

[viii] Environmental Impact | (truecostmovie.com)

[ix] ASOS and Boohoo among firms investigated over greenwashing claims (investmentweek.co.uk)

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