Expert calls out 'overrated' brand for apparently problematic sales tactic: 'They’re shamelessly luxewashing'

One ethical fashion advocate is on a mission to "de-influence" consumers from shopping at the clothing retailer And Other Stories, also known as &OS.

Beatrice Turner (@thefairedit) posted a video explaining her reasoning, calling the &OS marketing strategy "greenwashing at its finest."

@thefairedit talk about greenwashing at its finest. It's just one more reason to ditch fast fashion for good 🌿✨ #FashionRevolution #sustainableliving #greenwashing #sustainablefashion #thriftedstyle ♬ original sound - Beatrice Turner ⚡️

In the video, she enters an &OS store, where she compares the wording on the larger display materials to the reality of what's actually printed on the garment tags.

"They think they can convince us they are not fast fashion," she says, highlighting the cheap materials and the high price tags on the racks. "... Everything has clear signs of being mass produced and low quality."

In one example, she examines a wool sweater with a hanging label that boasts about the company's use of "ethical wool."

"But what they fail to mention," Turner points out, zooming in on the smaller garment tag, "is 33% of it is plastic."

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Commenters were similarly disgusted by the misleading marketing.

"Knitwear of just plastic for over £100 is really disappointing," one person said. Another agreed, calling the brand both "overrated" and "overpriced," echoing Turner's description of it as "literally H&M for double the price." And, in fact, &OS is owned by H&M.

Some had been loyal to &OS, only to watch the quality go downhill as the prices continued to soar. "They used to have a lot of wool and cotton too!" one person lamented. "Now it's nothing but plastic."

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One person said they were once a big fan of &OS but that "the quality was so much better 10 years ago," calling the brand "the loss of my life to the capitalistic greed."

One commenter also criticized the brand for "shamelessly luxewashing," which is similar to greenwashing. Luxewashing is a term popularized by fashion analyst Judith (@judithlola). In her video explaining the term, she says, "Luxewashing is when fast fashion brands adopt the aesthetic of luxury without delivering on the quality or the integrity."

Brands like &OS are essentially "selling the illusion of luxury," making mass-produced clothing with a deceptively high price tag that would lead consumers to believe they were buying high-quality products.

And in the case of &OS, Turner would strongly agree. "Explain to me how this is not illegal," she says. "If this is not a breach of consumer rights I don't know what is."

&OS, for its part, says "& Other Stories approaches every part of the brand with a sustainable mindset" and that the company's "ambition is to create lovable circular fashion of premium quality that lasts beyond the season." &OS also says that "one of our most important goals is to aim at 100% more sustainably sourced or recycled materials by end of 2030," noting it has already achieved 90%. Those are admirable goals that suggest the company understands its customers care about sustainability, though Turner's TikTok essentially questions whether the brand is truly following through on or substantiating its definitions of "sustainably sourced."

The site Good On You, which rates companies on sustainability, gave &OS a rating of "not good enough." And while it goes on to list many reasons, after Turner's explanation of her concerns, that is probably itself "good enough" to summarize the brand's overall results in this department so far.