Green is Turning Pink: Gender and Responsibility in Sustainable Fashion
- QFSF
- 24 hours ago
- 2 min read
Pro environmental behaviours are disproportionately shouldered by women; this is known as the feminization of environmental responsibility. However, this does not mean that men are ignoring sustainability but rather that sustainability is rooted in systems that target women such as greenwashing, marketing, and domestic responsibility. Research by Rachel Howell found that men and women do not exhibit innate differences when it comes to caring for the environment, but greenness and femininity appear to be cognitively linked to establishing gender roles and norms. Many mainstream fast-fashion brands such as H&M are guilty of marketing their green lines towards feminine identities further emphasizing the environmental divide. Sustainability marketing and fashion consumption systematically target women in carrying environmental responsibility.
Sustainable fashion marketing directed at women primarily leverages the powerful purchasing power held by women as consumers. This approach is widely used in the fashion and beauty industry, where the greenwashing of feminine products, accessories, and clothing is quite common. This effect has extended to general household products by exploiting a common division of labour, in which women are held responsible for the majority of domestic chores. These products are subsequently marketed towards women, with a national statistical study finding that women perform about 60% more unpaid labour than men in the home and care industries. This same logic underlies sustainable fashion advertisements where sustainable clothing lines are directed towards female consumers.
Moreover, since women have a tendency to engage in more eco-conscious behaviours, the products they use are then perceived as more sustainable. It has been determined that women generally show more positive attitudes towards sustainability, produce less carbon, and make more sustainable purchasing decisions. Product marketing takes advantage of the sustainable behaviours exhibited by women, knowing that they will gravitate more towards a product with eco-friendly branding, effectively conflating environmentalism with feminine identity.
These gendered discrepancies in consumerism and environmental responsibility represent the consequences of assigning gendered responsibility to issues of universal consequence. Research has found that the feminization of eco-consumerism may act as a deterrent for men who prefer to engage in behaviours that align with their gender identity or those who fear being perceived as overly effeminate.
The gender gap in sustainable fashion extends beyond marketing strategies. It reflects assumptions about who should be responsible for environmental change. To build a truly inclusive sustainability movement, addressing this imbalance is essential. Higher levels of awareness and open conversations provide reason for optimism; however, concerns must be directed at the brands and institutions that have profited from placing the environmental burden on women’s shoulders.
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