Dusseldorf The damage is great for the backpack brand Got Bag: After they made false statements about the percentage of recycled plastic in their bags and backpacks, they not only lost credibility. Numerous shops have even removed the products from their range.
But the impact goes far beyond the company. The greenwashing allegation against Got Bag and the scandal surrounding influencer Fynn Kliemann, who allegedly had fair masks made in Bangladesh and not Portugal, mean that the entire sustainable fashion industry is in need of explanation. Mimi Sewalski, Managing Director of the sustainable online marketplace Avocado Store, says: “The trust in the target group was gone immediately.”
In the case of sustainable companies in particular, more checks are carried out to ensure that the promises made by the company are actually being kept. According to Sewalski, this is due to the great emotionality of the topic. The call for even more transparency has now become louder.
Got-Bag founder Benjamin Mandos cannot understand the allegations properly, even four weeks after the publication of the research by the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”. He says: “It was difficult for us to understand why the criticism was so sharp.” Although he is aware that the project alone “does not save the world and the sea”, it still has an effect.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
The Mainz-based company Got Bag has made a name for itself with backpacks and bags made from plastic – removed from the oceans. According to Forbes, the company should have made a double-digit million turnover per year.
Sustainability: a key factor in purchasing decisions
Got Bag advertises on the website: “How we make a treasure out of garbage – more than just a backpack.” But the company is said not to have been too precise with the information on the recycled plastic used in the backpack.
In an influencer briefing and Instagram post, Got Bag advertised that the backpacks were made of “100 percent recycled ocean plastic”. But this is not the case. The Got-Bag founder also knows this: “We already changed the communication in 2019 and since then we have not advertised with 100 percent.” Only occasionally was it forgotten to change the information.
The allegations hit Got Bag hard. Cooperation partners such as influencer Louisa Dellert ended the cooperation immediately and numerous shops took the backpacks out of their range.
Mimi Sewalski has also removed the Got Bag products from the range. However, she plans to reintroduce selected items to the Avocado Store’s range once the allegations are cleared up. She is in direct contact with Mandos. “These are still sustainable products and a more sustainable alternative to the conventional offers on the market,” says Sewalski.
>>Read here: Tree fiber instead of cotton: Green textiles in the fight against climate change
Now Got Bag wants to bring new trust with improved communication, more transparency and stronger verification of the materials. Mandos is in contact with Louisa Dellert, a joint trip to Indonesia is to be planned. There, fishermen collect the plastic for the production of the backpacks as bycatch.
The business is no longer about a niche. In Germany, the textile and fashion industry has a turnover of around 28 billion euros per year. A survey by management consultants McKinsey shows that for more than 60 percent of consumers, a brand’s sustainability record is an important factor in their purchasing decision.
It is not possible to break down exactly how much sales the fair fashion industry is already making, but for a good fifth of the companies surveyed the share of sales with sustainable products is already over 50 percent.
The risk of a permanent loss of trust
Moritz Marker from the sustainable online shop Loveco takes a critical view of the current processes: “Such scandals pose the risk of a general loss of trust in the industry.” Above all, the allegations against Got Bag have led to critical inquiries from customers.
When purchasing products for its own store, Marker now wants to pay more attention to how the brands present themselves in terms of communication. Loveco himself took the allegations as an opportunity to professionalize his own communication.
Even before that, shops like Loveco and the Avocado Store not only paid attention to the product information and sustainability seals when checking their suppliers and communication partners, but also to the holistic appearance of the company. For example, Marker checks whether the companies use green electricity or whether they are with a sustainable bank. This can often be “an indication of how serious the company is”.
The expert from the Loveco online shop warns that scandals can lead to a widespread loss of trust in the industry.
Mimi Sewalksi emphasizes that, in the long term, more than transparency is needed on the part of the company in order to stabilize trust in the fair fashion industry. Precisely because greenwashing allegations keep making headlines. She also demands personal responsibility from the customers: “I know I’m a bit naive, but I would like us all to learn to question better and really take a closer look.”
With certificates and databases against greenwashing
The Dutch start-up Impactbyte could solve the problem that the sustainability of products is difficult to check due to the complex supply and production chains. Co-founder Noor Veenhoven wants to collect the product details for shops and online marketplaces in her database together with her business partners. According to the company, the intelligent data platform provides easy access to the sustainability certificates for tens of thousands of products.
Founder Noor Veenhoven says: “It is a great relief for customers if the data is publicly accessible. That takes away the uncertainty when making a purchase decision.” Impactbyte wants to contribute to this and simplify comparability.
>> Read here: “Crisis can also be cool” – Youtuber Kliemann criticized after Böhmermann’s revelation
The start-up is currently working with 200 sustainability-focused online shops and marketplaces. Impactbyte collects all company data on their products, freely accessible notes and information on the materials used, certifications and information on resource consumption.
The information is checked by product samples in the company’s own store and by photo credits of production and materials. The company is currently looking for investors for the first round of financing in order to create a network of information that excludes errors.
Even if start-ups like Impactbyte make a contribution to transparency and comparability, the German industry would like a legally protected uniform certification of sustainable fashion. Moritz Marker says: “That would create the most trust and reduce greenwashing.”
Basically, however, every greenwashing case that becomes known is good. This is how “black sheep” are screened out. “Right now, there’s a hodgepodge of players,” Marker says, “trying to take advantage of the trend.”
More: EU Commission wants sustainability rules for all products on the market