What is corporate greenwashing?

This is when a company spends more time and money on their image of environmental or social sustainability than on actually being sustainable.

All the corporate giants engage in this at various levels but let's focus on one instance - Gildan.

Late last year, Gildan, one of the biggest T-shirt producers in the world, was listed on the 2020 Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the 8th consecutive year, and was named by the Wall Street Journal as...

one of the "𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬" in a new Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ranking.

Gildan said their it was down to their "hard work and dedication" to their "vision as a leader in ethical and sustainable apparel manufacturing."

Then, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 of this announcement came the news of a different kind from the garment industry.

The news broke of garment workers making clothes for Gildan and other brands going hungry due to the pandemic - workers that were still working making clothes for Gildan but are not earning enough to live on!

A recent report by @4WorkerRights that investigated the condition of hundreds of garment factories, including those producing for Gildan, shows how "garment workers’ food security has deteriorated amidst the pandemic."

One of the "worlds most sustainably managed companies" is reported to be letting it's workers go hungry rather than pay them a living wage.

This is a clear case of corporate greenwashing.

A company invests in it's own "sustainable" image and is rewarded by the establishment with accolades hailing it as the best in the world, while the reality for workers in the ground is very different.

So don't believe the hype. It's time reject the corporations self-styled image of sustainability for the greenwashing it is.

Only strong unions and true worker-driven social responsibility can change the situation for workers in the garment industry.

Sources:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gildan-listed-2020-dow-jones-133000626.html
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/10/14/2108599/0/en/Gildan-Named-One-of-the-World-s-Most-Sustainably-Managed-Companies.html
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-05/8-in-10-garment-workers-going-hungry-due-to-covid,-survey-finds/12954152
https://www.workersrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Hunger-in-the-Apparel-Supply-Chain.pdf
Alan Levine