It is an often-noted criticism that corporations love to capitalise on progressive campaigns. Need to sell more Skittles? Make them all white for LGBTQ+ Pride. Need to sell more trainers? Add #Blacklivesmatter to your social media posts. While there are some companies that may be making a genuine effort to become more environmentally sustainable, this year’s climate change conference, COP26, is likely to lead to even more “progressive” capitalism known as greenwashing.

Recyclable cups. Source: Brian Yurasits on Unsplash

Greenwashing is the idea that corporations, such as oil company BP, advertises its businesses as environmentally friendly, despite being a significant contributor to the climate crisis. Corporations pushing environmentally sustainable products such as reusable bags for life on consumers has been a great marketing tool aimed at shifting blame to the consumer.

In 2014, the Scottish Government introduced a 5p plastic bag charge in retailers and supermarkets aimed at reducing plastic waste. Since then, stores have seen a rise in the recycled bags for life and tote bags that are greenwashed as eco-friendly alternatives to the shameful single use plastic bag. But, in 2018 approximately 26% more bags for life were sold in supermarkets in comparison to 2017, bringing the annual total to 1.5bn bags according to Greenpeace data.

This figure wouldn’t be as bad if we could argue that it’s all being recycled, but less than 10% of everyday plastic is actually recycled in the UK - the rest is burned, dumped, or sat in landfills. It may be easy enough to believe that we should all be recycling and that would reduce the problem. However, the issue is that the sheer amount of plastic produced each year is too much to actually be recycled, no matter how much personal responsibility the average consumer takes. Corporations like Tesco and Marks & Spencer adding ‘recycled’ to their plastic bags does little more than greenwash their companies and mitigate their responsibility to reducing plastic.

Fast fashion has also come under fire in recent years for its impact on the climate crisis. Fast fashion companies like Misguided and H&M contribute to the UK’s fast-growing textile waste. According to a study done by sustainable fashion brand LABFRESH, the UK produces about 204.5 tonnes of waste each year, with the average Briton throwing away about 3.1kg. Out of that 3.1kg per person, only 0.3kg are actually recycled and 1.7kg is thrown to landfills.

In 2019, H&M began a new eco-conscious line where at least 50% of the product is made from sustainable materials, making it a perfect example of greenwashing. Despite slapping a green leaf and eco sticker on their clothing, which isn’t even fully recyclable, they’re still one of the largest suppliers of fast fashion. H&M produce approximately 3bn clothing items per year and, despite collecting 29,005 tonnes of textiles as part of their re-wear, reuse, recycle, campaign, they’re still one of the biggest influences of textile waste.

Multi-million-dollar companies known for causing huge environmental damage shouldn’t get kudos for acknowledging the climate crisis by shilling out eco-friendly products. The focus should be on ensuring these companies are actively switching to sustainable practices, reducing their use of plastic, and funding research into helping combat the climate crisis.

Sustainability is Becoming Another Corporate Gimmick