Greenwashing: Is sustainable fashion a myth?

If you've been shopping in a mall
or online for clothing recently,

you may have noticed a trend.

An increase in fashion
promising is more sustainable.

Even the printed design
is plant based.

Environmentally friendly.

That's why 79% of our garments

already have sustainable properties.

More shoppers want fashion
that is less impactful on the planet

and companies are responding.

It's a very very big trend right now.

So there's a huge increase in the market
of stuff leading us to be sustainable.

While some companies
are doing the right thing,

many consumers we spoke with
are skeptical.

They're using all the right words

but I don't see it actually
being put into practice.

If I'm going to by something
that claims to be "eco",

Am I asking the cashier
like if they know?

Honestly, no.

Putting big terms like:

natural, organic,
sustainable, vegan.

Those kinds of terms
are being used.

Kelly Drennan is the
founding executive director of

Fashion Takes Action (FTA)

For more than 16 years,
her non-profit has been working

to advance sustainability
in Canadian fashion.

And so what we're doing is,
is there actually misleading the consumer

into thinking that those products
are made sustainably

by using those kind of words.

And making the assumption that
the consumer does not know any better,

and doesn't have the time to actually
do the research.

And so, they end up buying the product
because they think they're doing something

better for the planet.

She says she's seen it all
including companies green-washing their way

into Canadian closets.

It's the wild west, really, in terms of
what claims to be in made and

what companies are getting away with.

Is it frustrating for you some times
to you see these wild claims being made?

It's a 100% frustrating,
because they are some brands

that legitimately are doing
great things.

The ones who are doing it properly,
have the certifications to backup those claims,

or they're being transparent.

They allow you sort of behind the scene,
so you can actually get in there

and see if what they're saying is legitimate.

And then you got the brands that
are jumping on the bandwagon

and taking advantage of the consumer.

While deceptive marketing, in general,
is illegal in Canada,

Kelly wants the government to step up.

There are some countries where
there are more laws in place now,

antique washing laws, transparency laws,
which really protect the consumer at the end of the day.

But like in anything, there's good actors,
and there's bad actors.

Our over consumption of fast fashion,
makes the industry one of the most

polluting a problematic for the planet.

In Canada, textiles in our landfill
is actually higher than electronics.

So you've got the synthetics, the polyester nylon,
acrylic spandex...

That's plastic, so when it is in the landfill
it's never gonna biodegrade.

We really need to slow down our consumption,
we buy too much stuff.

We buy 60% more clothes today than
we did 20 years ago,

and keep our clothes for half its long.

Some consumers are paying attention.

A fashion technology company
analyses shoppers behavior.

It found searches for sustainable fashion in Canada
rose by 37% in 2020.

It means companies truly dedicated
to sustainable practices have to figure out

how to set themselves apart.

This is the photo shoot for
Kristi Soomer's latest collection.

She's the founder and CEO of
Canadian-made clothing brand Encircled.

- That looks great. Ok, now we're gonna reverse it...
- Good

She started the company in 2012,
in about 4 years in wanted to set apart

from others making sustainability claims.

She applied for B Corp status,
a private certification that investigates

social, environmental and business practices.

All at her own expenses.

Having that third party added was really
important to show that we were actually doing

what we were saying were doing and
I think that time I started to see

a lot more green-washing start to happen.
A few fast fashion brands had launch,

you know, conscious collections and
I was starting to feel a lot more pressure around that

and I could see that sustainability was becoming
a challenge for us to separate ourselves

from those that'd work green-washing.

Part of the issue was sustainability,
it's the complex labyrinth of the fashion supply chain.

The brand is growing localy,

Encircle designs in-house makes
half of its fabrics in Toronto.

And everything is so within
a 60km radius of its studio.

So this is your everyday dress
that we're doing.

Jack's cutting your purchase order now.

Wow

All these considerations
come with a higher price.

A lot of people would look at
sustainable fashion and say:

It's more expensive to buy that shirt.

And it absolutely is, because our supply chain,
because of our labor practices,

and because of the time it takes to design it
and the skill that we have as a brand.

This idea that you buy like,
20 dresses for $10 that you wear once

and you toss it, well it's not sustainable
for us as a planet.

Education is a key component of Kelly's work.

Thousands of companies have enlisted her help.

So much variety now since you first launched.

Today she's visiting Wuxly in Toronto,
checking out its new fabrics.

The dies, the fabrics, all of that
get tested rigorously.

It's a Canadian outerwear company,
also with B Corp certification.

One of a small number of
Canadian apparel to have the designation.

We don't work with just the industry.

So the people who make
themselves clothes,

we also work with the people who
buy it, wear it, care for it and

eventually dispose of it and
if we're talking about changing a system

you have to work with any single stakeholder
who is a part of that system.

And that also means brands and non-profits
are doing most of the educating.

Is really the industry responsability,
brand should be raising awareness within,

you know, within their customer's base.
About what positive impacts that they're having.

At the same time, you know, governments
really need to be stepping up this while,

having access to education and
knowing how our products are being made,

and what impact they have on people on plantet,

is something that the government
should take care more about.

Bob Kirke is the executive director of the
Canadian Apparel Federation.

Representing a wide range of clothing
and manufacturing companies in Canada.

Whose responsibility is it ultimately?
I think companies need to explain themselves,

rather than just having a tagline,
a simple statement 'We're green'.

What is it? What does it mean for you?

Bob says companies are now green-hushing,

choosing not to publicize
sustainability efforts or claims.

To make those kind of claims is easy.

So that's why I think a lot of people are
pulling back in large companies in particular,

'cause they're worried about enforcement.

And they realize how complicated
the supply chain is.

Is all over the world, multiple factories,
multiple suppliers.

So essentially it's being called
green-hushing and it is caution.

They're still doing all the things
that they're doing and again

we recommend to our members and
to their all companies

to be very guarded in what they say.

To tackle green claims overall,
the EU recently proposed

a new law to hold companies accountable.
Including in fashion.

The UK is also cracking down
on fashion green-washing.

For now Canada, is not making
any changes.

We don't need to change our laws.
We just need to find a way

that works for the competition bureau
and for industry and ultimately for consumers,

but, the one thing I would say is that:
the competition bureau is being reluctant

to take that up, they have
others priorities and that's fine,

but I would say it's going to be helpful.

So we've reach out to
the competition bureau.

To see if it plans to increase enforcement
of green-washing and fashion.

The bureau declined an on-camera interview,

and did not respond the questions
by our production deadline.

Kelly, continues her mission.

Fashion is something that
we all can relate to.

We don't all drive cars or
own homes.

But we all wear clothes.
You get up everyday and put on clothes.

We really want to see
a conscious fashion system.

And at the same time, we recognize
that perfection doesn't exists in this space.

If the industry does it collectively,
then we can actually, you know,

make some changes and
advance sustainability.