For many years, fast fashion brands across the world have been involved in malpractices such as sweatshops and polluting production cycles. It is no news that many of them try to cover their actions with what they claim to be a sustainable fashion lines. 

But what if they lied? What if that 30 GBP smocked jumpsuit is not really ‘conscious’ or that 40 GBP mom-fit jeans art not really ‘join’-ing you to ‘life’? A report by the Changing Markets Foundation found that some of these major brands hanging in our wardrobes are putting out false information about their sustainable practices. 

ASOS for instance was discussed in the report stating that a pair of trousers listed as made from ‘mono-material’ were not eco-friendly at all. This was a code for nothing but 54% nylon and 46% polyester which is clearly an unrecyclable blend today.

Many such claims of UK fast fashion brands are misleading and untrue. ASOS topped the list of most egregious offenders of the sustainable practices guidelines of the country with a harsh 89% of false claims. Boohoo, one of Gen-Z’s favorites in the UK, was noted to be using a lot of fossil fuel-based fibres in their clothing. 

The co-founder and creative director of Eco-Age stated in the report that global brands are addicted to plastics and that there is an emptiness to their sustainability claims. Unfortunately today synthetic fibres make up over two thirds of all material used in textiles. With multiple brands claiming to become sustainable in one way or another in the next decade, the usage of synthetic fibres will grow by up to three quarters by then. Cheap synthetic fibres are evidently not the escape from this cycle as they quickly end up in landfill.

The weight of making sustainable choices is still put onto the shoulders of the consumers, while industry giants freely continue to ignore the alarming effect of their actions on climate.