sustainability

This Is Greenwashing: Seeing clearly in a world of green fog

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

A guide to protecting yourself from false sustainability claims: Spot the lies, demand better


In a world of green fog, we’re surrounded by claims like “eco-friendly,” “carbon neutral,” and “sustainable.”
Sound familiar?

These buzzwords are everywhere, but how many of them are actually true?

Have you ever felt uneasy after buying a product labelled sustainable or eco? You’re not alone.
If you’ve ever felt misled by so-called green marketing, so have we. 
After years of watching brands twist language to appear greener than they are, we decided to write something clear, honest, and useful.

Seeing clearly in a world of green fog: Book cover of This is Greenwashing by Rosita and Cristina Cigliola. The design features bold, minimalist typography with green, pink, and white tones on a black background, highlighting themes of sustainability and deception. 'This is' appears in green; the words 'green', 'eco-friendly', 'conscious', and 'sustainable' are in pink but crossed out; and 'greenwashing' is in green. The subtitle and authors’ names are in white, standing out against the dark base.
This is Greenwashing: our e-book is out now!

Why this book exists


This Is Greenwashing isn’t a textbook.
It’s a guide born from frustration — and from a deep desire to empower.

“The most environmentally sustainable product is the one that never gets made.”

We’re Rosita and Cristina Cigliola, sisters with nearly 30 years in the fashion industry. We’ve seen greenwashing up close — how it misleads consumers and delays real change.

In recent years, especially after the pandemic, we’ve watched companies slap vague eco-labels on products while businesses carried on as usual. Greenwashing keeps consumers confused, compliant, and complicit in a broken system.

This e-book reveals the tactics behind the buzzwords. It helps you recognise what’s real and what’s not. You’ll learn how to decode vague claims, ask the right questions, and stop being manipulated by marketing.
Because when regulation fails, awareness becomes our strongest line of defence.

The bottom line: In a world of green fog, awareness is power


We wrote This Is Greenwashing to:

✔ Expose the tricks brands use to manipulate you
✔ Decode the jargon so you can spot lies at a glance
✔ Give you practical tools to make informed choices—no PhD required

In a world of green fog, knowledge is crucial. Awareness is power.
The more you know, the harder it is for companies to fool you.
And right now—with regulators stepping back and failing to protect us—we need that power more than ever.

📘 Get your e-book here — at your favourite digital store:  https://books2read.com/u/bpgxOX

📣 And if it helps, please leave a review — it truly means a lot.

“This is greenwashing’s greatest crime: distracting us with false solutions as the planet burns.”

Spot the lies. Demand better.

P.S. Share this with someone who’s ever asked: “But is this actually sustainable?”  🌍

🇮🇹 Versione italiana in arrivo — stay tuned!

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One piece, one story: The Clay Dye Shirt by GoodNeighbors Shirts

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Hand-dyed in Japan’s earth – Slow, genderless, & alive with imperfection


The Clay Dye Shirt isn’t just clothing—it’s a slow manifesto. Light as rice paper. Grounded like river clay. Woven from 100% cotton and treated by hand with iron-rich clay from Fujioka’s mineral earth, it carries the weight of tradition and the lightness of modern ease. Each piece bears the marks of its making: uneven, alive, like parchment left in the sun.
For those who dress in stories, not seasons—whose wardrobe is a curated archive of tactile memory.

It’s born from Fujioka’s mineral-rich Kanto Loam—a clay 1,200 years in the making. Dyed using ancestral methods—no chemicals, just earth and water that return to the soil. This shirt carries the weight of generations; wear it as a quiet revolt against the disposable.

A young man wearing the clay dye beige shirt by GoodNeighbors Shirt. Its earthy, hand-dyed texture visible—paired with tailored black trousers and a slim belt. Round John Lennon-style sunglasses add a retro touch as he leans against a weathered white and blue wooden window, natural light highlighting the shirt’s organic wrinkles and subtle mud-dyed variations.

The alchemy of mud: Warm, mottled, alive


True craftsmanship is never rushed. This shirt falls like a well-worn page: relaxed through the shoulders, flared like a painter’s smock—textured as wind over loam, fading with grace.

  • The clay-white hue: Not plain, but layered. Like sun-bleached pottery or the inside of an apricot pit.
  • The trapeze silhouette: Effortless volume, no stiffness. A shape that swings from studio floors to twilight terraces.
  • The Takase shell buttons: Repurposed from food waste, each one a tiny manifesto against excess.
  • The hand-dyed variations: No two alike. Mottled gradients of iron-rich clay, as if stained by monsoon rains.
  • The pocketable back band: Snap it on for structure. Remove it for airy drift. A shirt that adapts like daylight.

The Clay Dye Shirt: Wear it like a well-travelled sketchbook


For the soul who presses wild chamomile between receipts, who finds beauty in the warp of sun-warped wood.

  • For the flea market dawn: Paired with drawstring linen pants, a woven hat, the back band tucked away like a secret.
  • For the kiln-room hours: Smeared with clay fingerprints, sleeves pushed up, the back band a flash of persimmon against dust.
  • For the late train home: Loosely knotted over a swimsuit, salt-crusted and sun-drunk, the dye deepening like old parchment.

For the modern humans who curate, not consume—whose wardrobe is a library of dog-eared favourites, each piece a chapter in their story.

🌟 The Clay Dye Shirt
Limited edition. Like a diary page—meant to be lived in.

🖤 Reserve yours: DM @suite123 | WhatsApp | e.mail

Available by appointment for shopping in Milano or worldwide—from screen to doorstep. From our hands to your story.

P.S. Ask about the mud’s journey. (It ages like rain-soaked stone—softer, brighter, more itself with every wear.)

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One piece, one story: The Clay Dye Beige Pants by GoodNeighbors Shirts

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Reading Time: 3 minutes

Summer’s whisper: Earth-dyed, genderless ease—for the wanderer who finds beauty in sun-bleached stone and undone seams


The Clay Dye Beige Pants aren’t just fabric—they’re a canvas of slow living. Light as desert air, yet rooted like clay. They exist where simplicity meets soul—where every crease tells a story.  In a world of mass-produced fashion, their hand-dyed, mineral-rich hue feels like a page from a Wabi-Sabi manifesto—imperfect, organic, quietly profound. For those who collect moments, not trends—whose closet is a capsule of intentional pieces, each infused with memory.

A woman wearing the Clay Dye beige pants and matching shirt with rolled sleeves, unbuttoned over a gray tank top. She pairs the outfit with black leather loafers and square black sunglasses. Behind her, three small paintings hang at head height, with potted plants and flowers on a beige floor against a white wall.

The artistry of dye: Warm, uneven, alive


True ease is never accidental. These pants drape like well-loved parchment: relaxed through the thigh, tapered just so—textured as wind over dunes, fading with time.

• The clay-beige hue: Not flat, but layered. Like sand at dusk, or the inside of an old book’s spine.
• The wide-leg cut: Effortless movement, no bulk. A silhouette that swings from cobblestone streets to shoreline rocks.
• The elastic waist: Unfussy comfort. Like the drawstring of a painter’s smock, made for days that unravel slowly.
• The hand-dyed variations: Each pair unique. Faint tides of ochre and cream, as if touched by sun and soil.
• The cropped length: For bare ankles and saltwater cuffs. For summers spent chasing horizons.

A young man stands next to a white chair against a white wall with wooden floors. He wears beige clay-dyed pants and a short-sleeved matching shirt, round John Lennon-style sunglasses, brown leather shoes, and checkered socks.

The Clay Dye Beige Pants: Wear them like a well-travelled page


For the soul who underlines Rilke in park benches, a sprig of wild thyme pressed between the pages. For the quiet minimalist who finds infinity in grain and grain.

• For the coastal market: Paired with a ribbed tank, a woven bag slung crossbody, peach juice on your wrist.
• For hours in the studio: Headphones on, smock smudged with paint, these pants. Soft as a pencil sketch in the margins of an idea notebook.
• For the twilight terrace: Layered over a swimsuit, sweater knotted at your collarbones, firefly light.

For the modern humans who curate, not consume—whose wardrobe is a library of dog-eared favourites, each piece a chapter in their story.

☀️ The Clay Dye Beige Pants
Limited Edition. Like a fading Polaroid—meant to be held close.

🖤 Reserve yours: DM @suite123 | WhatsApp | e.mail

Available by appointment for shopping in Milano or worldwide—from screen to doorstep. From our hands to your story.

P.S. Ask about the dye’s journey. (They age like seashells—softer, brighter, more themselves with time.)

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As Europe retreats, we push forward: Our e-book This is Greenwashing is out now

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

With the EU abandoning its key anti-greenwashing law, the need for awareness is urgent


Just as the EU quietly pulls the plug on the Green Claims Directive, we release This Is Greenwashing.
Coincidence? Perhaps.
But the timing reveals something deeper: a deliberate effort to keep consumers confused, misled, and compliant with business-as-usual.

What the directive was


The Green Claims Directive was designed to combat vague and misleading environmental claims. It aimed to bring transparency, honesty, and accountability to sustainability marketing across the EU. It would have required companies to back up claims like “eco-friendly” or “carbon neutral” with solid, verifiable evidence.
But the EU has withdrawn the proposal.

Italy, backed by other opposing Member States and mounting pressure from right-wing forces, blocked the directive. The final trilogue negotiations were cancelled. A step forward became a step back.
And so, without legal safeguards, we’re left with a regulatory vacuum—one that favours those who profit from ambiguity. Greenwashing wins a round.
But this is where we come in.

Book cover of This is Greenwashing by Rosita and Cristina Cigliola. The design features bold, minimalist typography with green, pink, and white tones on a black background, highlighting themes of sustainability and deception. 'This is' appears in green; the words 'green', 'eco-friendly', 'conscious', and 'sustainable' are in pink but crossed out; and 'greenwashing' is in green. The subtitle and authors’ names are in white, standing out against the dark base.

Why we wrote This Is Greenwashing


In a world flooded with eco-labels and sustainability buzzwords, it’s harder than ever to know what’s real.
In This Is Greenwashing, we—sisters Rosita and Cristina Cigliola, with nearly three decades of fashion industry experience—expose the tactics brands use to manipulate perception. We offer a clear, honest guide to understanding what greenwashing is, how it works, and how to see through it.

This isn’t an academic manual. It’s a practical tool to help you protect yourself from false claims and make truly informed choices. Because when regulation fails, awareness becomes our first line of defence.

📘 Our e-book is available now in digital stores.


If you’re tired of being misled by vague “eco-friendly” claims, This is Greenwashing is your guide to seeing clearly through the green fog.
Let’s not retreat.
Let’s read, question, and resist.

🌍 Get your copy here and leave a review:  https://books2read.com/u/bpgxOX

P.S.: 📖 Versione italiana presto disponibile.

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Italy blocks EU’s Green Claims Directive, stalling anti-greenwashing regulation

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Reading Time: 3 minutes

The demise of the directive and what it means for Europe’s fight against greenwashing


The regulatory landscape is growing increasingly opaque as European policymakers retreat from anti-greenwashing regulation. Most notably, they have blocked the proposed Green Claims Directive—a central piece of legislation aimed at tackling greenwashing.

The European Commission recently announced its intention to withdraw the proposal, citing opposition from several Member States and mounting pressure from right-wing groups in the European Parliament. Italy played a decisive role in this setback by pulling its support, effectively torpedoing the final trilogue negotiations—an essential step in EU lawmaking. The move has drawn criticism from environmental organisations and consumer advocacy groups alike.

Anti-greenwashing regulation: What the directive aimed to do


At its core, the Green Claims Directive aimed to curb misleading environmental claims made by companies. The goal was to bring greater honesty and clarity to sustainability communications and product labelling across the EU. Key measures included:

  • Transparency and verifiability: Authorities would require companies to provide concrete, verifiable evidence to back up environmental claims.
  • Ban on vague language: Terms such as “eco-friendly”, “sustainable”, or “carbon neutral” would no longer be permitted unless backed by robust data.
  • Clearer labelling: Environmental labels would need to be comprehensible, standardised, and meaningful to consumers.
  • Stronger consumer protection: The directive aimed to shield consumers from unfair and deceptive marketing practices related to sustainability.

Italy’s role and the reasons behind the withdrawal


The Italian government, under Giorgia Meloni, openly opposed the directive. The stated rationale was to reduce bureaucratic burdens and additional costs for businesses—especially small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for a significant share of the EU economy.
However, critics argue this reflects a broader political alignment with efforts to dilute environmental regulations. Some even suggest that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen coordinated the decision, raising further doubts about the EU’s commitment to its own Green Deal ambitions.

The fallout: Consequences and concerns


The withdrawal of the directive has far-reaching implications:

  • Cancellation of the trilogue: The final negotiation round between EU institutions was scrapped.
  • Public backlash: Environmental groups and consumer associations expressed deep disappointment, calling it a significant regression.
  • Regulatory vacuum: Without a clear legal framework, companies may continue to engage in greenwashing with minimal accountability.

Anti-greenwashing regulation – Final thoughts


In essence, rejecting the Green Claims Directive marks a troubling pause in Europe’s push for transparent and honest environmental communication. In fact, it casts doubt on the political will to challenge deceptive sustainability claims and to protect consumers from being misled.

For a continent that once positioned itself as a global leader in green policy, the retreat of anti-greenwashing regulation sends a worrying message.

What do you think? Is this a political misstep or a deeper shift away from sustainability commitments?
Leave a comment below (you’ll need to register first). Or DM @suite123 | WhatsApp | e.mail

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