As Chinese fast fashion giant Shein continues to make sustainability-focused moves surrounding its potential listing in London, would-be investors should pay attention to what lawmakers are up to on the other side of the English channel.
In March, members of the French parliament unanimously agreed on a bill that would ban companies from advertising at all if they produced too much waste. At the same time, EU member states have been discussing proposals to restrict the exports of textile waste which have surged with the growing popularity of fast fashion brands.
Asos, Boohoo and George at Asda have already pledged to use ‘accurate and clear claims’ following action from the CMA – but all brands should ensure they are being transparent with comms and marketing around sustainability.
Conscious Advertising Network co-founder Harriet Kingaby asks what the marketing industry can take from this news, and how regulatory bodies can hold brands accountable for their sustainability messaging?
Shein was only founded fifteen years ago but its impact has been enormous.
Disappointingly for a business well-known to be both exploitative and carbon-intensive, its revenues amount to more than $30 billion – putting its sales in line with Zara and above those of H&M. Currently, Shein is the fastest-growing retailer in the world. But that comes with a forever cost.
The British Fashion Council says the world already has enough clothes to dress the next six generations. Yet Shien continues to expand this glut of garments, leaving about 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide a year in its trail.
Consumers want to make a positive impact with their purchases but Shein and other fast fashion giants like Temu clearly have a tight grip on them despite these values. Why?
A likely reason is that fast fashion offers cheap clothing in a cost-of-living crisis. Making sustainability affordable is essential, but just as important is how we market it.
Marketing sustainable brands (not Shein)
Brands, terrified of being accused of greenwashing, are diluting their messaging around sustainability in confusing language and terminology.
This makes it less effective and more confusing to consumers, and fails to reach the key group that ACT Climate Labs calls the ‘Persuadables’, the 69% of people in the UK who are neither sustainability champions nor critics.
With almost half of consumers saying they’re too confused about climate change to take action, clear, effective communication is vital for brands seeking capitalise on their sustainability efforts.
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We need to step back and look at what we’re saying and how we’re saying it. To combat the ‘Shein effect,’ brands and retailers need to agree on how to build consumer confidence and keep people engaged in sustainable spending.
Growing the market for sustainable products
The fines associated with new greenwashing legislation is reported to have left some brands in paralysis over making green claims. Half of UK marketers are wary of working on sustainability campaigns because they are concerned about getting it right.
However, with climate action and energy the focus of lots of growth and investment right now, and the net zero economy growing by 9% since 2021, it’s not the time to stand still.
Taking action means growing the market for sustainable products and services by making them appeal to the Persuadables. It calls for taking a ‘people first’ approach in communicating climate messages.
For example, moving away from exclusive terms like ‘vegan’ and adopting more inclusive language such as ‘plant-based.’ Emphasising the “feel-good factor” associated with sustainable practices can also further incentivise engagement.
We shouldn’t forget that sustainability is a commercial opportunity too. The market is potentially huge: according to Ipsos, 6 in 10 shoppers consider themselves to be an ethical or sustainable consumer. People do want change. But they need guidance. And brands have an important role to play here.
Whether it’s highlighting the environmental benefits of a product or showcasing the positive impact on communities, brands can tap into consumers’ desire to make a difference. Advertisers have to leverage their role as the architects of desire to aid decarbonisation and the uptake of products and services that align with our Net Zero transition timeline, particularly the huge opportunity offered by GB Energy and the businesses that will support its growth.
Change comes from the inside out
Making sustainability more appealing to consumers requires more than a strategic shift in messaging. People need to be able to trust that the brands who say they are sustainable, really are.
The framework for building this trust already exists. The CAN sustainability manifesto is a blueprint for any brand that wants to bring its advertising in line with its sustainability ambitions.
And change starts from the top down. Leaders should be accountable for sustainability throughout their businesses and consciously invest in reducing their carbon emissions. And we need to encourage cross-company collaboration towards positive change.
Look at the #ChangeTheBrief Alliance, a partnership between different agencies and their clients to promote sustainability messaging via every channel available. Alone, agencies can struggle to make a difference. But together, through a continuous learning programme, members can offer insights on how to adapt work to promote more sustainable behaviours.
Advertisers need to take note of initiatives like this and work together to ensure the content they make lines up with their messaging on sustainability and environmental efforts. Because if they get caught out, they’ll break consumer trust.
Disinvesting from disinformation
A big part of keeping that trust comes from ensuring that brands’ advertising efforts aren’t indirectly financing climate disinformation. Not asking the right questions about their media spend, can create cluttered digital supply chains contributing to widespread misconceptions about climate change online.
For example, Made For Advertising (MFAs) are an evolving topic of debate around the placement of advertising content, as these sites often contain climate misinformation and contribute to a degradation of news spaces online.
Add to this bad advertising technologies which will avoid placing advertising next to difficult ‘crunchy’ topics, or completely block out entire subjects, leaving advertisers inadvertently defunding important news.
The point is that it’s not just about what’s on the screen but the media ecosystems it appears in. Pollution can appear in an information environment just as much as a physical one.
Taking action together
Luckily, the world is starting to realise this and create safeguards against it. The UN has published a digital Global Principles for Information Integrity to provide a concerted global response to information threats, including climate disinformation.
CAN has worked to launch global initiatives which promote information integrity related to important issues such as climate change. And of course, in the industry, we work with advertisers to lay out roadmaps in terms of sustainable goals and help companies align their ad spend with our manifesto.
The impact of Shein, Temu and other fast fashion names is certainly alarming. But it gives retailers an opportunity to refocus their comms and make a genuine positive change. In this change lies opportunity for businesses – but words without action aren’t enough.
Making sustainability more appealing to consumers requires a genuine commitment to reducing emissions and waste, and clarity on how to communicate that.
Crucially, it’s about proving that there are better options than Shein.
