Your favourite fast fashion brand that you spend all your money on… is lying to you

A lawsuit has been filed against H&M alleging that the brand uses misleading and false sustainability marketing. This came up after an investigation found that H&M ‘claimed that a dress was made with 20% less water on average’, but ‘was actually made with 20% more water’. The lawsuit has been filed by Chelsea Commodore.

Basically, H&M is in trouble again.

A growing number of consumers prefer to make choices that do not harm the environment. Indeed, research has found that products highlighted as “sustainable” sell faster, with consumers willing to pay more for sustainable products.

H&M presented information incorrectly, with “less water” written on labels instead of “more water”.

Many brands today are adopting labels like “green”, “sustainable”, “vegan”, etc, just for marketing. Without a transparent system, companies are ‘greenwashing’ their products. (You can read more on greenwashing here.)

This brings back the questions on the sustainability of the fast-fashion industry. Here is a look at how the fast-fashion industry impacts the environment:

The fall of the domestic Indian textile industry: With fast-fashion companies introducing new trends and producing cheap clothes en masse, the Indian textile industry is shrinking. One of India’s oldest and largest industries, the textile and apparel sector, produces a variety of goods. The price difference is one of the main reasons for this slump since most of these items are custom-made.

What can you do? The next time you have that indomitable urge to shop just because there is a mid-season or weekly or just-like-that sale at your favourite fast-fashion brand, wait. Maybe you can upcycle that dress sitting in your wardrobe for the past two years.