Sustainability Gang. A Positive Green Initiative or Greenwash?

Earlier today this image from Instagram was brought to my attention via a Facebook Group I am in (Eco-Influencers | Sustainable Living Tribe).  The account is that of an American singer who is launching a series of clothes (merch) under the banner Sustainability Gang.  Other phrases to be used include "Who tryn save da ocean" and "puck flastic" and it is stated in the limited information available that all profits made will be given to a charity fighting plastic pollution in the oceans.

Well known singer using her influence to spread the green message and raising funds to fight plastic pollution.  Sounds like a good move, right?  Hmm, I am really not so sure.

Image from Instagram

If you look at the sweatshirt you'll see the logo of the company making the clothes - Champion and if you do a little research on them you'll see their sustainability record is very poor with the organisation Rank a Brand giving them a ranking of "E - Don't buy".  How can a product purporting to support sustainability be made by an organisation with such a poor eco-record?

On the the singer's instagram page this image has hundreds of thousands of likes and many comments with people saying how great it is what the singer is doing and they absolutely must have the sweatshirt.  It is driving consumerism encouraging people to buy a product that before seeing this image they had no desire to buy.  That is not sustainable.

More worrying though is the number of people who claim to be eco-friendly (including one lady who calls herself a "Sustainability Consultant") also applauding this idea.  No mention of how much pollution will be created when these products are made and transported.  No mention of increasing consumerism. No mention of globalisation. No mention of the poor eco-record of the company making the clothes.

As yet there is no information as to what the clothes are to be made from but anything less than organic cotton or better still organic linen, hemp or even wool isn't going to get any approval from me and even then I don't agree with the product.  As it stands the clothes are giving off contradictory messages.

From the fans' point of view it may seem like a great idea and having bought a sweatshirt they will feel they have helped the environment.   They will believe they have bought into an ethical fashion brand but this is not true.  You could argue that it will help spread the message about sustainability but I believe there are far better ways the singer could have used her influence to achieve this.  I would be very interested to know exactly how much money they raise as I am not sure it will be a large enough amount to make any significant difference.  Could she not have been seen wearing clothes from a sustainable brand and encouraged her fans to search out similar brands?  Or if she really wanted to sell clothes, at least have them made by a sustainable company.

Celebrities have huge influence over their fans and I believe this was a well thought out exercise in raising the profile of the singer whilst Champion will be only too pleased to be able to jump on the eco-bandwagon to appear more sustainable than they are.  The profit being donated to the organisation fighting plastic pollution is simply done to add the thinnest of extra green layers to a not at all green initiative.

> The singer will gain - increased fan base and more record sales etc
> Champion will gain - a greener image (not merited)
> The sustainability message will be weakened.

This is a classic and very good example of Greenwashing.

What are your views on Sustainability Gang? Good idea or greenwash?