Goodwill Hunting #12: fashion greenwashing as a form of PsyOps
PSA: vegan leather is just plastic
Welcome to Goodwill Hunting, a newsletter curating the best of pre-loved fashion finds, insights, and jobs from across the web. Written by Danielle L. Vermeer, a tech product manager and avid thrifter obsessed with fashion, curation, and circularity.
TL;DR
In this edition of Goodwill Hunting: Greenwashing is a form of PsyOps. Vegan leather is just plastic. Pragmatism in sustainable fashion will get us further than puritanism.
Psychological operations (PsyOps or PSYOP) is a military term for attempting to influence specific audiences by carefully disseminating specific information. Utilized by the CIA, Army, and other military and intelligence agencies, the ultimate goal of PsyOps is to influence the emotions, motives, and reasoning of governments, organizations, and influential individuals to induce or reinforce actions that are favorable to the one’s objectives.
In other words, PsyOps is an intentional effort to influence others to do or believe what you want them to.
Greenwashing is a form of PsyOps and disinformation because it deliberately attempts to mislead consumers and obfuscate responsibility. These tactics often overlap with disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation (source).
Greenwashing is a form of advertising or marketing that is used to deceptively persuade the public that an organization's products, aims, and/or policies are environmentally friendly.1
Greenwashing is rampant in fashion.
Consumers don’t know who or what to trust: 37% say that many of the claims made about sustainable fashion “feel like greenwashing” (source). Yet, 2 in 3 consumers who shop fast fashion want to shop more sustainably.
Greenwashing is SHEIN “reducing supply chain waste” to “limit excess inventory” while pumping out 314,000+ styles in the first four months of 2022—10x more than the next 3 largest fast fashion brands combined.2 PsyOps is SHEIN "donating [unsold or returned] inventory to populations in need" while paying garment workers 3p (<$0.04) per item for 18+ hour days.3
Greenwashing is Kourtney Kardashian Barker becoming Boohoo’s “Sustainability Ambassador.” Brett Staniland is a model, PhD student, and former UK Love Island contestant who successfully advocated for the popular show to sever ties with fast fashion brand sponsors and partner instead with Ebay for pre-loved fashion.4 Brett responded to the news with:
I’ve been reflecting on recent news within sustainable fashion space & there’s a narrative which is gaining traction that I think is extremely damaging, but by no means an accident, and it is that, “Sustainable fashion is SO confusing and conflicting and hard to understand.” Most recently Kourtney Kardashian [Barker] eluded to this with her Boohoo ambassadorship posting.
Naming Kourtney as Boohoo’s “Sustainability Ambassador” is a prime example of greenwashing. It’s an intentional method of confusing consumers who are already overwhelmed and therefore easily confused (or manipulated).
The notion that “it’s so super confusing with all these new terms, and not knowing what is good or bad and what to buy” etc (& feigning ignorance) is really destructive to the wider issues. Whilst there are genuinely intricate and complex issues within fashion, the main stream messaging from large brands towards the general public, for now, could be very simple. These are very clever marketing and greenwashing tactics. And they’re using experts to help them do it. (source)
Greenwashing is calling plastic “vegan leather.”
The average consumer may not know that vegan leather is just plastic. In the 80s and 90s, we called it “pleather”, a portmanteau of “plastic” and “leather.” Textile innovations like mushroom, pineapple, cactus, or other plant-based “leathers” are promising alternatives, but these are exceptions to the rule. The vast, vast majority of faux leather is plastic—polyurethane, to be exact.
The “vegan leather” jacket I got on Poshmark started peeling apart after 2 years meanwhile my genuine leather vintage jacket that’s over 40-years-old is in pristine condition. Despite the eco-friendly sounding “vegan” term, it’s not necessarily more environmental friendly than buying a secondhand leather jacket. A real leather jacket isn’t even more expensive than the SHEIN faux leather ones. You can find hundreds of high-quality, real leather jackets for <$50 via GEM—the “Google search of vintage online.”
A genuine vintage leather jacket will last generations; a faux leather one will last a couple seasons.
The good news is that fast fashion brands are increasingly being held accountable for greenwashing claims. Highsnobiety called it the “great greenwashing crackdown” (source). H&M is being sued for false claims about their Conscious Collection (source). ASOS and Boohoo are also under investigation for false environmental claims (source).
It’s tempting to feel like there are no good options, so what’s the point in even trying. But I’m convinced that there’s another way.
The future of fashion is more circular, social, and fun.
I believe that pragmatism in sustainable fashion will get us further than puritanism in the long-run. While puritanical views about the evils of fast fashion may grant a moral high ground, it doesn’t change hearts and minds. Consumers don’t want to feel “addicted” to fast fashion or “guilty” about their fashion consumption. But they’re being bombarded with greenwashing that confuses and complicates their shopping decisions.
It’s up to those of us who know better, to do better—and to lead the way in pragmatically offering fashion consumers a better choice.
Curation-as-a-service—but make it (resale) fashion
♻️ pre-loved fashion under $250
Vintage Taupe Leather Hooded Jacket, size S/M from ShopGoodwill ($10)
90s Betsey Johnson teal tiered strapless dress, size XS from ShopGoodwill ($20)
Vintage black leather jacket, size S/M from Vestiaire Collective ($45)
Prada square sunglasses, OS from GoodwillFinds ($100)
Markese Black Leather Satchel Purse, OS from GoodwillFinds ($105)
Jean Paul Gaultier black leather midi dress, size S from Vestiaire Collective ($150)
Emilio Pucci black lace and leather dress, size UK 10 from Vestiaire collective ($241)
📕 must-reads in fashion, tech & circularity
Poshmark acquired by Naver for $1.2 billion (TechCrunch). South Korean tech company Naver Group is acquiring Poshmark for $17.90 per share, a significant discount since Poshmark went public in January 2021 at $42 per share.
Goodwill launches GoodwillFinds online store for thrifters (BoF). Goodwill, a nonprofit organization with 100+ stores across the U.S., launched a curated online store called Goodwill Finds. If you know me, you know that Goodwill’s other auction-based site ShopGoodwill is a near-daily habit.
RADAR “A Future in Sync” Report. RADAR is a futures agency slash tech incubator. This DAO-driven report covers the why of why we’re all feeling so out of sync, and the what’s next for creating a future where humanity is more in sync.
🚀 jobs in circular fashion
NEW: Goodwill Hunting now has a Pallet jobs board! Join now.
Join for free to access hand-picked jobs in resale, circular, and web3 fashion: open the Goodwill Hunting Pallet.
💡inspiring finds
Hans Zimmer’s Time techno mash-up with Adele’s Hello is on repeat while writing this week.
Barbie Fashion Designer game. Fun fact: this was one of my favorite computer games in the 90s. It apparently sold more copies than Doom.5
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Disclaimer: My posts are my own and do not reflect the opinions of my current, past, or future employers. Goodwill Hunting is not affiliated with Goodwill Industries or the film Good Will Hunting.
Business of Fashion, “Why Shein Might Be Worth $100 Billion, in Four Charts.” Numbers are YTD April 2022.
Brett’s advocacy led to the much-heralded Love Island x Ebay Pre-Loved partnership, which resulted in +7,000% increase in searches on Ebay for pre-loved fashion.
Barbie Fashion Designer game outsold Doom. You can buy the original CD-ROM on Ebay for less than $10.