asos Y Boohooare being investigated in the UK, while H&M is investigated in the United States. Three companies running various sustainability campaigns will now be judged by greenwashing.
Asos and Boohoo investigated by the UK Competition and Markets Authority
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have launched an investigation into possible misleading use of advertising by Asos and Booho. The companies would have reported carrying out environmental actions, but they would not have communicated it correctly.
From the CMA they have been forceful: «If we find that these companies are using misleading sustainability claims, we will not hesitate to take action through the courts if necessary.”said Sarah Cardell, executive director of the CMA, in a release.
Specifically, they are being investigated for:
- statements and language used by companies are too broad and vague, and can give the impression that clothing collections such as ASOS ‘responsible editing’, Boohoo’s current ‘Ready for the Future’ range and ‘George for Good’: they are more environmentally sustainable than they really are
- the criteria used by some of these companies to decide which products to include in these collections may be lower than what customers could reasonably expect from their descriptions and general presentation; for example, some products may contain as little as 20% recycled fabric
- some elements have been included in these collections when they do not meet the criteria
- lack of information to customers about the products included in some of the companies’ ecological ranges, such as lack of information about the composition of the fabric
- any statements made by companies about fabric accreditation schemes and standards are potentially misleading, such as a lack of clarity as to whether accreditation applies to particular products or to the company’s broader practices
asos if you wanted pronounce in this regard and has argued that «will cooperate with the investigation” Y “is committed to playing its part in making fashion more sustainable”, will also report in the form “clear and precise about its products”.
The CMA has said that it will maintain its focus on companies in the fashion sector, since it is one of the industries that earns the most money.
H&M is accused by the federal court of New York
The Swedish giant is also coming under scrutiny from regulators for falsifying sustainability information. misleading advertising. In this case, H&M received a class action lawsuit from the New York federal court.
The plaintiff is Chelsea Commodore and claims that the company tries to convince consumers that they are committed to sustainability by issuing misleading messages. In addition, these products are often sold at a higher price. The accusation is because the company incorporated in its clothing cards to rate its sustainability.
One of the cases given as an example is the one shared by the media Quartz in which an H&M dress bearing a label saying it was made with 20% less water was revealed to be fake, as an independent study concluded it was made with 20% more water.
H&M is one of the fashion firms that is carrying out the most campaigns on sustainability, therefore, this complaint is a serious blow.
