Fashionably green: Substantiating sustainability claims in online fashion

A prominent European online fashion platform introduced sustainability filters for customer searches, suggesting sustainability claims about the clothing on offer. But there was some uncertainty around the products’ true sustainability credentials.

The Dutch market authority, known for rigorously enforcing greenwashing legislation, asked national authorities abroad to look into the platform's sustainability claims. The platform risked incurring regulatory penalties and losing consumer trust because of the potentially unsubstantiated claims. So they turned to us for help.

Designing substantiated sustainability claims

We came up with some strategic solutions. We recommended changing the absolute sustainability claims to be more precise, substantiated and defensible. This involved making them accurate, providing robust evidence and proactively preparing for regulatory scrutiny with thorough documentation and internal audits.

More credible claims build trust

After implementing our recommendations, the platform enhanced transparency, credibility, and compliance with greenwashing legislation, mitigating regulatory risks and reinforcing consumer trust in its sustainability commitments.

More information about how we can help you transition to a more sustainable future can be found here.