Musinsa, Topten, Spao, Zara, and other fashion brand operators have been sanctioned by the Fair Trade Commission for using terms such as 'eco leather' and 'eco-friendly' on polyurethane (PU) and other petroleum-based synthetic leather products.
The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 15th that it had issued warnings to four fashion SPA (manufacturing and distribution integrated brand) businesses for violating the Act on the Labeling and Advertising of Products. The businesses sanctioned by the Fair Trade Commission include Musinsa (Musinsa Standard), SHINSUNG TONGSANG (Topten), Eland World (Miso, Spao), and ITX Korea (Zara).
According to the Fair Trade Commission, Musinsa labeled its own brand products with the hashtag '#eco leather,' while Topten marked the product name with 'eco leather' and included 'eco-friendly value consumption' in the description. Spao used phrases like 'ECO LEATHER 100%' and 'eco-friendly material,' while Zara attached phrases related to 'eco' on products made of animal leather.
However, those products were found to use ordinary synthetic leather (PU, polyester, etc.) fabrics produced domestically and abroad, without receiving eco-friendly certification or undergoing separate processing. The Fair Trade Commission determined that such actions led to consumer misunderstandings due to the use of terms unrelated to the actual properties of the products.
The Fair Trade Commission particularly raised concerns over the repeated use of the terms 'eco' and 'eco-friendly' without objective evidence. It viewed polyurethane materials as being far from eco-friendly throughout their entire lifecycle due to the emission of harmful substances and microplastics during production and disposal.
This sanction marks the first large-scale inspection case in the fashion industry under the revised 'Environmental Labeling and Advertising Review Guidelines' enacted last August. The Fair Trade Commission stated it is working with the Korea Internet Advertising Foundation to monitor the state of 'greenwashing' in the fashion and consumer goods sectors.
However, all four businesses acknowledged the violations and completed voluntary corrections by removing problematic phrases or amending them to 'fake' or 'synthetic,' resulting in the sanctions being determined at the warning level.
A Fair Trade Commission official said, 'We plan to continuously monitor greenwashing and unfair advertising practices in the online platform market and respond severely if detected.'