The biggest fast fashion brands, H&M and Zara in the lead, are well exercised in the act of greenwashing. But I’ll spill the beans on why H&M and Zara are NOT sustainable brands, and never can be! Not the way they are going. And this applies to every single fast fashion brand out there.
For example, H&M is well know by now for their “Conscious Collection”. This is the most visible and the most obvious form of greenwashing, and we need to be aware of it! What H&M promised with this campaign was all lies.
There never was anything ‘conscious’ about that collection, unless we talk about consciously misleading the customer.
And this is how it’s been for a long time already. But consumers are becoming more conscious now. The younger generations are very aware that their future on this planet is on the balance here. The fashion industry being the 2nd biggest polluter, thanks to their links to the oil industry, a lot needs to change. Quickly!
More on this: Why Cheap Clothes Are NOT Your Privilege!
Let’s take a look at the sustainability actions that have been made and why, despite their futile efforts, H&M and Zara are NOT sustainable brands.
Why H&M And Zara Are NOT Sustainable Brands – And Never Will Be
Before we can understand how exactly these major fast fashion players have failed in the big scheme of things we need to first understand what sustainability actually means. There are plenty of interpretations of this complex concept. Many of them categorizing ‘sustainability’ as being the same as being ‘eco-friendly’.
Sorry to burst your bubble but no, sustainability is actually a lot more. And eco-friendly fabrics are nowhere near enough to deserve the word. Which is why H&M and Zara utilising recycled fabrics in less than 1% of their collections doesn’t cut it.
What is Sustainability in Fashion?
Sustainability consists of 3 main principles that have to be met if a brand wishes to call itself sustainable. Those principles are People, Planet & Profit. I’ll explain each principle shortly.
- People: paying employees at least a livable wage and ensuring that working conditions are safe. Factory buildings must be safe and every employee should have access to equipment and tools that guarantee their safety and health.
- Planet: all operations from production to logistics to disposing of garments must be done ecologically. Intensive harvesting, deforestation, and using harmful chemicals in production goes against this. Also any disregard given to producing waste (overproduction) excludes a brand from sustainability.
- Profit: capitalism only recognizes financial profit. But in the process of creating bigger and bigger turnovers huge companies created the climate crisis that we now suffer from. Greed is the cancer of our generations. We need to decentre profit and instead set actual value as the core, and do it in terms of the planet and the people.
The only profit we should care about is eradicating hunger and poverty while reaching equality in every sense. When we all have equal opportunities in life, the planet and the people will thrive. And businesses with them!
But what about H&M and Zara? How come they fail at sustainability despite all of their “efforts”. Let’s dig in!
H&M and Sustainability
Promises
The whole premise of H&M and Zara scamming their customers with their “eco-collections” is to sell the exact same bad quality clothes for a bigger margin. Aka, you pay more for the piece when the label is green.
Let’s look into what H&M has promised their customers in terms of sustainability and then see if they have delivered in any sense.
In the past 10 years H&M has promised to
- reduce their greenhouse emissions overall by 2030
- use 100% recycled or sustainable materials in their production by 2030
- pay a living wage to their garment workers by 2018
- put in action a policy to prevent deforestation of endangered forests.
Noble promises! Now, let’s take a look at exactly how much actual action H&M has taken to bring these promises to reality.
Actions
I don’t think anyone will be surprised when I reveal that H&M has taken very little action indeed. My question to the brand is why waste time in promising such things when there’s zero intention to keep those promises? Because instead of filling the aforementioned promises H&M
- still doesn’t pay their supply chain workers a living wage. They promised to do so by 2018… we’re now way into the 2020’s and nothing has changed!
- has provided no proof that their greenhouse emissions are being lowered.
- offers a recycling program where you can take old garments to their stores’ recycling bins. The reality is, though, that only 1% of clothes sent to recycling is actually recycled. H&M’s recycling program is just greenwashing.
- publishes a detailed list of producers at the final stages of the production chain… What they leave out is most of the production and supply chain, which is the part that’s outside of the EU. Which covers 90% of their supply chain. Clever, eh?
- still participate in deforestation because their policy “cleverly” only covers endangered forests. They did ban the use of angora, fur and exotic animal skins, though.
I mean… It makes my blood boil how shit this brand actually is. HOW can you fail so badly at EVERYTHING?
Going forward
The reason why H&M and Zara are NOT sustainable brands, and never can be, lies in their business model. It’s called fast fashion for a reason, and that is the reason why H&M cannot call even it’s “Conscious Collection” sustainable.
We have to give H&M some credit, though. The promises they have made are good, and completely achievable! The only minus side is that they seem to focus on environmental issues alone. No fucks are given to actual garment workers, cotton farmers, the PEOPLE. And also, no action is being taken even on the environmental side of things…
There has been serious concern especially for female workers in H&M’s factories. Over 80% of garment workers are women, and brands are aware of the abuse that these women go through in their factories. They choose to ignore it all.
The last point is something I probably don’t even need to mention: Despite projects to improve salaries, there is no proof of any action having been taken. And none of H&M’s supply chain is certified by labour standards. NEVER make the mistake of calling H&M sustainable!
Good alternatives to shop instead of H&M
Ninety Percent | People Tree | Nooworks
Zara and Sustainability
Promises
Zara is the brand that established the fast fashion business model in the early 1990’s. But how do H&M and Zara compare on sustainability? Where H&M at least promises things, Zara isn’t wasting time or energy even on that. Here’s what Zara has promised in terms of sustainability:
- a repair and reuse program, similar to the one that H&M offers in their stores
- ban on fur, angora and products tested on animals.
Yep, that’s it. That’s all Zara is prepared to do to secure you and your children’s generation a future on this planet. How valued do you feel as customer?
Actions
So, they’re not promising much, and at this point it’s bordering ridiculous how they fail even with so little. In terms of actions taken towards sustainability Zara has
- started using recycled packaging
- published reports about labour conditions in the final stage of the supply chain and some information on their supplier audits. So again, wiping all the dirt under the carpet
- despite banning use of some animal products and testing on animals, Zara does not trace these aspects of their manufacturing at all. So, if you’re not a fan of animal testing, you might as well ditch Zara for good because the odds for them still using animals are high.
Going forward
Now, as the biggest fast fashion brand, Zara is in the best position to lead the way. They’ve got more than enough financial resources to make the much needed changes in their supply chain. Even establish completely new systems, strategies and concepts that could spread through the industry.
But they are putting zero effort into even trying. Even their greenwashing is half-heartedly done. Because why bother? As the original fast fashion brand, I guess their “pride” is unyielding even in front of the global climate crisis. Which does affect them as well! Eventually.
Oh yeah, this wasn’t mentioned but Zara has never even promised to pay their supply chain workers a living wage. So obviously they don’t, and most probably, never will.
I’m sure I don’t need to say this, because Zara themselves aren’t even trying, but please, never ever refer to them as sustainable on any level! Conclusion: H&M and Zara are NOT sustainable brands.
Good alternatives to shop instead of Zara
Thought Clothing | Boden | Lucy & Yak
Final thoughts on H&M and Zara NOT being sustainable brands
Soo, what did we learn today? I hope your take-away from this is to never again fall for the greenwashing that so many high street brands are engaging in. You know better now!
H&M and Zara are NOT sustainable brands and they never will be. A simple reason for this is the fact that their business model (fast fashion) does not allow it. They would have to flip their entire ethos of existing completely around to qualify anywhere near a sustainable fashion brand.
While there was a time when fast fashion could still mean quality clothes (I have an H&M winter jacket that’s 15 years old!) But these days fast fashion quality is plummeting faster than ever. So, do not go wasting your money on such shit, but instead try to shift your value mindset towards a more sustainable approach.
When we look at shopping as an investment, everyone benefits: us and the Planet. Wouldn’t you like that? ♥
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