I won’t sit here and pretend that I, myself, am perfect with upholding sustainable consumer fashion practices – because I’m not. But after writing 4 research papers on fast fashion/greenwashing, I wanted to share my surprising and upsetting findings on brands that fall into the realm of fast fashion.

This post is not to make you feel bad about supporting fast fashion brands, but rather to bring awareness to brands that may be fooling you into thinking that they are sustainable. I believe that knowing the truth of a business’s practices is the first (if not the most important) step of becoming a more sustainable and informed member of society.

Defining Fast Fashion

To start I want to define fast fashion. Fast fashion, according to Oxford* is “inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends“. It is also important to note that fast fashion companies tend do have a disregard for ethical working conditions, material sourcing, etc.

Defining Greenwashing

I also thought it was imperative to define the term “greenwashing”, as defined by Merriam Webster* is the “act or practice of making a product, policy, activity, etc. appear to be more environmentally friendly or less environmentally damaging than it really is”. Companies will greenwash consumers to create a “feel-good” factor; that is, to feel good as a consumer for purchasing a green product. This creates sympathy for the corporation as well as establishes a connection with an audience.

… And now let’s get into the companies who have successfully greenwashed consumers, possibly including you.

1. Aritzia

While not so inexpensive, Aritzia is still considered fast fashion. What made this find so upsetting to me is how absolutely greenwashed I had been by this brand. Upon clicking on the Aritzia website, you are able to find an entire page on sustainability. This page features articles on the company’s sustainable efforts, environmental commitments, recognitions, and reports. To the 99.99%, this page is enough to assume that Aritzia is green. However, the 0.001% did research and found that although these efforts and donations may be truthful, the recognitions and reports are baseless and outdated.

A huge part of sustainability is social responsibility and welfare. As I have learned in my research, when a company is proud of the treatment of their workers, they will usually have detailed reports and set-in-stone policies. In the case of Aritzia, there is no proof that their workers are making living wages, in safe labor conditions, and have worker rights. A higher price tag ≠ ethical labor.

On the bright side, Aritzia does implement some sustainable practices. The brand has switched to using organic cotton and recycled materials into 40% their products and have declared themselves as carbon neutral*.

2. Lululemon

Lululemon is again another example of how a higher price tag does not equate to sustainable practices. Lululemon is all about yoga, zen, and healthy lifestyles – so it is natural to assume that sustainability is intertwined … right? Nope. As previously mentioned, fast fashion aims to rapidly produce a large quantity of items in order to keep up with trends, producing endless amounts of waste in landfills. Lululemon puts out new products very quickly via sweatshops that do not use labor standards.

Lululemon does however use (somewhat) sustainable animal materials. They do not use fur, angora, leather, or exotic animal skin and uses feathers accredited by the Responsible Down Standard*.

3. Alo Yoga

Alo, which stands for “Air, Land, Ocean”, is another activewear brand, however, I fear this one is worse than Lululemon. Alo is a very trendy spot for active/yoga wear, and their pieces come with a hefty price tag (yet again, another example of higher prices ≠ sustainable practices).

Unlike Aritzia and Lululemon, Alo uses very little sustainable materials. Even worse, the brand has zero evidence of offsetting emissions or managing waste, let alone a commitment. All that Alo does in terms of “sustainability” is provide electric-car charging stations at their solar-powered office and produce organic pressed juices at their cafes* … yikes.

Alo has no standard for labor conditions, however, they do ensure that in the final stage of production, a minimum wage (not to be confused with a living wage), health, and safety provisions are ensured for their workers*.

4. Abercrombie & Fitch

While this may not have been surprising a few years ago, Abercrombie & Fitch recently had a whole rebrand to a “clean” and “classic” feel, accompanied with higher price tags. Like many of the other brands on this list, Abercrombie has a dedicated page to sustainability. However, after looking into the facts, it is clear that Abercrombie is just not doing enough.

Abercrombie & Fitch features trendy lines and frequent collection drops, alluding to fast production times and large numbers of clothes being produced at a time that end up in the landfill. In terms of transparency, Abercrombie lists their manufacturers, policies and goals, but not the outcomes/proof of these practices*.

Abercrombie has, however, taken steps towards sustainability. The brand sources all of their down from Responsible Down Standard certified sources, has reduced 30% of water in their denim, and their carbon emissions have decreased by about 40,000 metric tons of CO2*. The company also has a comprehensive list of promising goals and initiatives concerning sustainability and ethics.

While Abercrombie still uses a fast fashion model to keep up with trends and demand, they are certainly on the right track.

5. Free People

This one may be less of a shock than the rest, however, Free People is notorious for greenwashing consumers. Free People’s aesthetic can be defined as natural, indie, and boho – which can trick you into associating this with sustainability.

Free People uses a fast fashion model to produce items quickly and in large numbers. When a company uses this model, it is imperative that they minimize any waste, water consumption, and carbon emissions. There is no evidence that Free People manages their textile waste or actively works to reduce their water consumption and carbon emissions*.

Additionally, Free People’s labor practices are not certified by any labor standards to uphold fair practices – including living wages, worker health and safety. While Free People lists some commitments under their “CareFP” page, there is no evidence that their workers are ensured of their safety and rights*.

Conclusion

This serves as a short list of some companies that may surprise you with their practices, however, there are dozens more. It is so important to know of the dangers of greenwashing and how often it is used to trick your subconscious – because fast fashion is more than just H&M and Shein.

To continue to check how sustainably made your clothing is, I suggest downloading the app Good on You. I have been using this app for a couple of years now and it has completely transformed the way that I shop. I highly recommend this app to anyone looking to live more sustainably.

Click the icon above to download Good On You

1. Oxford English Dictionary, June 2021. ↩︎
2. “Greenwashing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/greenwashing. ↩︎
3. “Planet: Aritzia Us.” Planet | Aritzia US, http://www.aritzia.com/us/en/aritzia/corporate-hub/community/planet.html. ↩︎
4. “Product Sustainability.” Lululemon, shop.lululemon.com/story/product-sustainability. ↩︎
5. Wilson, Alyson. “Name Game: Alo Stands for Air, Land, Ocean.” Alo Yoga, 17 Aug. 2017, http://www.aloyoga.com/blogs/alo-blog/fun-fact-alo-stands-for-air-land-ocean. ↩︎
6. Wilson, Alyson. “We Are ALO: 100% Sweatshop Free, Eco-Aware & Certified Ethical.” Alo Yoga, 10 Aug. 2018, http://www.aloyoga.com/blogs/alo-blog/we-are-alo-100-sweatshop-free-eco-aware-certified-ethical. ↩︎
7. Simpliciano, Liv, et al. Fashion Transparency Index 2022. ↩︎
8. “Environmental, Social, Governance: Abercrombie & Fitch.” Abercrombie, 18 May 2023, corporate.abercrombie.com/sustainability/strategy-and-goals/. ↩︎
9. Simpliciano, Liv, et al. Fashion Transparency Index 2022. ↩︎
10. Simpliciano, Liv, et al. Fashion Transparency Index 2022. ↩︎