“Korean antitrust body warns four fashion brands over misleading green advertising”, 15 May 2025

On 15 May 2025, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) issued warnings to four major SPA (Specialty retailer of Private label Apparel) fashion brands—Musinsa Co., Singsung Tongshang, E-Land World Co., and ITX Korea—for breaching the Act on Fair Labelling and Advertising by falsely marketing leather and faux leather goods as environmentally friendly. These companies operate leading brands in the domestic SPA market, including Musinsa Standard, TopTen, MIXXO and SPAO, and ZARA.

Following a full revision of its environmental advertising review guidelines in August 2023, the KFTC, with assistance from the Korea Internet Advertising Foundation, conducted a sector-wide inspection of fashion products—particularly targeting “vegan leather” and similar materials marketed to young, environmentally conscious consumers. The Commission identified cases of misleading environmental claims, known as “greenwashing”.

The companies had broadly used terms such as “eco” and “environmentally conscious” without providing sufficient substantiation. Their materials were primarily sourced from abroad, including China, and no additional eco-friendly processing steps were demonstrated.

The KFTC concluded that these acts constituted false or exaggerated advertising under the Fair Labelling and Advertising Act.

This marks the first regulatory action taken in the fashion industry concerning greenwashing, and the Commission expressed hope that it would curb deceptive practices and encourage informed consumer choices while promoting genuine environmental product consumption.