UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened an investigation to scrutinise the ‘green’ claims by fast fashion chains ASOS, Boohoo and George at Asda about their fashion products, including clothing, footwear, and accessories.
Greenwashing Allegations: The CMA said it is “concerned about the way the firms’ products are being marketed to customers as eco-friendly.” The CMA review will examine environmental claims across the fashion retail sector in the UK to determine whether or not businesses are complying with consumer protection law. “Where we identify businesses which we think are ‘greenwashing’ we will take appropriate action.”
The issues that will be examined, will 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 used by the business;
- 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 businesses’ wider practices.
