Sustainable Fashion - WordPress

Sustainable FashionHow important is sustainability to fashionconsumers?An overview of the audiences, brandsand individuals shaping thisconversation.

ContentsIntroduction3What is Sustainability?4Executive Summary5Audience Behaviours7Fashion Brands leading for Sustainability11Top Sustainable Fashion Celebrities182

IntroductionKEY DATAReducing the impact of climate change is one of the enduring problems of ourtimes. After decades of neglect, businesses have started to make sustainability apriority: in 2014, 49% of company CEOs ranked it as their most important or topthree priority*.Nowhere is this pressure more keenly felt than the fashion industry. Frequentlylambasted for the wasteful consumption habits promoted by ‘fast fashion’, theproduction of cheap, disposable clothing is only set to increase. Garmentproduction is predicted to grow 63% by 2030, with the textiles industry projectedto account for more than a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050**.These sped-up production cycles also have a human cost: over 50% of garmentworkers in countries like India and the Philippines (where the fashion industrymakes up more than a third of total manufacturing jobs) are not paid the minimumwage.Consumer awareness of these problems, however, is on the rise. Globally, dataindicates that 66% of fashion enthusiasts would pay more for sustainable or ecofriendly products, 13% more than the average consumer†. But this doesn’talways translate into action, particularly among 18-24 year olds whose appetitefor fast fashion remains as voracious as ever.As a result, it is up to brands to educate and empower young consumers on howto live their values, while satisfying the sustainability needs of more affluent andselective 25-44 year olds.*McKinsey’s Global Sustainability Survey (2014)**Global Fashion Agenda & Boston Consulting Group’s Pulse of the Fashion Industry (2017) report† Based on GlobalWebIndex data on consumers with an interest in fashion (Q4 2017)3A Closet Full of Clothes, but Nothing to WearThe average number of times a piece ofclothing is worn has fallen 36% since 2000Fast Fashion Waste25% of Millennials wear an item for less thansix months before disposing of itExcess Baggage60% of German and Chinese citizens saidthey own too many clothes

Defining SustainabilityWhat is sustainability anyway? The Ethical Fashion Forum, an organisation championing social and environmental standards in the fashionindustry, groups it into three main categories*:EnvironmentalSocialMinimising the environmental impactof business operations, throughoutthe supply chainIncreasing the capacity andwellbeing of the people &communities behind fashione.g. reducing toxic pesticide &chemical use, utilising eco-friendlyfabrics, minimising water usage,energy efficiency, protecting animalrights**e.g. promoting fair wages, workingconditions & workers’ rights*As outlined on the EFF’s website**Animal Rights is identified as a separate distinct category elsewhere in this report4CommercialProducing quality products orservices that meet market needsand demands, and are fairlymarketede.g. countering fast fashion, creatingsustainable supply chains, raisingawareness of sustainability practices

Executive SummaryKEY AUDIENCEOPPORTUNITIES Overall, fashion audiences are more comfortable with paying extra forsustainable products compared to the average consumer. Fashion lovers whopurchase from Luxury and Mid-Market brands over-index by the widestmargin for their willingness to invest in sustainability, but even their HighStreet fashion counterparts were 22 percentage points more likely to shop inthis way than average. However, there is a disconnect between Mid-Market consumers’ enthusiasmfor eco-friendly products, and engagement with this online. Mid-Marketconsumers made up just 14% of the brand segment share of voice, with fewretailers gaining a significant footprint across this group. Whether this is aresult of these brands not addressing sustainability adequately on a businesslevel, or simply low awareness of these initiatives among consumers, there isan opportunity to own the position of ethical brand leader in the mid-market. Asian consumers also represent a big opportunity for retailers looking toincrease their cachet abroad, particularly in the luxury market. Vietnam, Indiaand China were the top sustainable consumer countries. One factorcontributing to this could be closer geographical proximity to human rightsdisasters linked to the fashion industry, such as the Rana Plaza incident inBangladesh that claimed the lives of 1,134 garment workers. This isn’t tosuggest that Asian consumers will embrace sustainable fashion with openarms in a similar way to other products: for example, there is a stigma inChina around recycled and vintage clothes. As a result, highlighting textilesinnovation may be a better angle - such as the use of organic cotton andTencel, a material made from wood cellulose, in garments.5Male Luxury Brand Buyers43 percentage points more likely to buy ecofriendly products. This audience is aged 18-35,with many living in Asian countriesAsian FashionistasThe consumer region most willing to invest insustainable products. However, threads betterbe on-trend: this audience wants their favouritebrands to make them feel ‘cool or trendy’, overindexing 47 percentage points vs. the averageconsumer

Executive SummaryKEY AUDIENCEOPPORTUNITIES One of the biggest threats to continued progress in making clothes moresustainable is apathy among North American fashion consumers. Whilewillingness to pay more for eco-friendly products dipped slightly across mostregional brand segments in Q4 2017 (vs. Q1), it was down by 11 percentagepoints in North America. In the US, just 50% of fashion enthusiasts said theywould pay more for ethically made clothing. Interestingly, the cost of sustainable fashion may not be the main barrier toentry for North American consumers. Fashion audiences in Europe and Asiawhose income fell into the bottom 25% of earners were, on average, sevenpercentage points less likely to buy sustainably, ostensibly due to havingsmaller budgets. However in North America, low earners were equally likely topurchase these products, perhaps due to high awareness among studentsand younger entry-level workers of fashion’s impact on the environment.Instead, the largest disparity came from those with earnings in the Mid-50%:just over half of this audience were not willing to pay more for sustainablysourced products, while 44% said they would. This was the reverse of thetrend across other regions. European High Street consumers were the only segment whose desire tospend more on sustainable products increased over 2017. A positive move,initiatives by retailers like H&M and widely publicised criticism of poor labourpractices (e.g. reports that garment workers had allegedly sewn notes aboutnot being paid into clothing by Spanish retailer Zara) may have contributed.6European High Street Brand FansThe only brand segment to see a positiveevolution in their desire to shop sustainablyduring 2017

Audience BehavioursWhat kind of fashion consumers are most likely to shop sustainably? Do fastfashion buyers care about how their clothes are made?We examined four different brand and product segments, based on individuals whohave purchased items from corresponding retailers within the previous 1-2 yearsand rank fashion among their personal interests.7

Audience BehavioursFashion audiences are more ethicallyconscious than the average consumer Individuals who purchased products from amid-market fashion brand (e.g. RalphLauren & Tommy Hilfiger) were most willingto invest in sustainable products, indexing at39 percentage points more vs. the averageconsumer.Notably,TommyHilfigercustomers were 80 percentage points morelikely to pay extra for ethical productscompared to the average.Intent to pay more for Sustainable products by segment (vs. All Consumer Average)*IndexMid-MarketLuxury This contrasts with the findings of a 2017Global Fashion Agenda/Boston ConsultingGroup report, which identified mid-sizedfashion brands as having some of the lowestscores for their sustainability efforts.** Ourdata underlines that mid-market consumers’do have an appetite for ethical goods.Shoes & AccessoriesHigh Street020406080100120140160*Base: “I would pay more for sustainable/eco-friendly products” (All affirmative responses)**Global Fashion Agenda & Boston Consulting Group’s Pulse of the Fashion Industry (2017) report, based on its proprietary market segment pulse scores8 Reflecting their fast fashion grounding, thosewho bought items from high street brandswere least willing to pay more for ecofriendly products. However, they still indexed22 percentage points higher than theconsumer average.

Audience BehavioursAsian countries have the greatest appetite for sustainable fashionLuxury audiences in North America wereseven percentage points more likely to buysustainably than High Street buyers. Only halfof consumers in the US agreed that theywould spend more if goods were ethical.Brand segments in Asia Pacificoutperformed those in otherregions. Mid-Market audiences(83%) and Luxury (79%) had themost positive responses.61%79%EuropeAPAC58%NorthAmericaEuropean audiences were consistentacross segments. 63% of Luxuryconsumers were willing to invest insustainable goods, which may havecontributed to Italy ranking top (56%) inthe region. The UK ranked lowest at 46%.KEY61%APACProportion of audience who would pay more forsustainable or eco-friendly products, based onthe average % of all brand segments per region9

Audience BehavioursWhile enthusiasm for sustainability wanesamong North American consumers 2017 saw a negative trend in the proportion offashion audiences willing to pay more for ecofriendly products. This was particularlypronounced in North America, where intentdeclined by an audience average of 11percentage points between Q1 and Q4 of2017.Change in % of audience willing to pay more for sustainable products(Q1 vs. Q4 2017)*5.6642Asia**North 0-10.5-12-12.3-14LuxuryMid-MarketHigh Street-12.8Shoes & Accessories*Base: “I would pay more for sustainable/eco-friendly products” (All affirmative responses). **No Q1 data available for the High Street segment in Asia10 The greatest downtick in intent to buysustainably occurred among high street brandconsumers from this region, down 13percentage points from the beginning of theyear. While the reasons for this are unclear, itcould be down to the perception of ethicalproducts as being more expensive; comparedto Q1, fewer people planned to invest in majorpurchaseslikejewellery(downfivepercentage points), but intent to buy clothingwas up 11 percentage points. This couldsuggest some financial belt-tightening. By contrast, European consumers of highstreet brands were more willing to purchasesustainable products at the end of 2017.

Audience BehavioursMale luxury consumers prove receptive tosustainable products85%80% Overall, attitudes towards paying more forsustainable products did not vary by gender.Intent to pay more for Sustainable products by id-marketMaleHigh StreetShoes & AccessoriesFemale*Base: “I would pay more for sustainable/eco-friendly products” (All affirmative responses)11 However, when brand segments became afactor, male luxury fashion purchasersemerged as an audience particularlyinvested in sustainability: 80% said theywould pay more for sustainable clothes,43% more than the average consumer. Thiswas also five percentage points more thanfemale luxury consumers. Some of the top things this audience wantedbrands to provide included innovative newproducts (36% - 19 percentage points morethan the average fashion enthusiast), as wellas help improving their image or reputation(over-indexing by 16 percentage points). Asa result, this audience may be receptive tonew ethical fabrics and productiontechniques that boost their credibility.