Clothing Brand Is "Awakening"

Young consumers are paying close attention to social and environmental issues, which are the key issue of many people in the current era.

They are increasingly inclined to pass.

Habits practice their beliefs and favor their values.

At the same time, say no to brands that are against their values.

In response, brands began to integrate social and environmental themes into their products and services.

The benefits of this strategy are obvious, but some brand supported social and environmental causes are controversial. Therefore, once errors occur, it will lead to risks and adverse consequences.

According to the world clothing shoes and hat network, ten of the ten generation consumers believe that enterprises have the responsibility to solve social and environmental problems.

This is different from the concept of millennial consumers, who mainly focus on environmental issues.

As a result of this change, social problems are becoming increasingly concerned. Social activities (such as #metoo, #blacklivesmatter, #timesup) emerge in endlessly, and have become mainstream in the past few years.

The concept of Z generation and millennial consumers is very important.

In the United States, these two generations represent a consumer power of about 350 billion dollars (Z generation is about 150 billion dollars, millennial generation is about 200 billion dollars). By 2020, the proportion of Z generation in global consumers will reach 40%.

But young consumers are not the only consumer groups concerned about social and environmental issues.

About 2/3 of global consumers said they would replace, abandon or boycott brands based on their own position on controversial issues.

Half of them believe that they are motivated by social passion, while the other half are more flexible. They will make decisions according to the situation.

The phenomenon behind these figures deserves our attention.

Over the past three years, 1/3 of global consumers began to take their own principles, positions and values into account when making purchase decisions.

A new global phenomenon is emerging. Hundreds of millions of people regard consumption as a means of expressing their beliefs.

In addition to consumer sentiment, this change is also reflected in other aspects.

Fashion enterprises are "awakening" (social media popular phrase "woke", meaning "pay attention to social injustice").

For example, after analyzing the data of more than 2000 fashion retailers, it found that the number of "feminist" (Feminist) appeared in the official website homepage and electronic communication increased by more than five times in 2016 and 2017.

Many brands show their positions on social issues.

Levi Strauss has joined the ranks recently. The former announced its support for Colin Kaepernick, the protagonist of NFL's "National Anthem protest" campaign, while the latter joined the anti gun violence camp.

Gucci, a member of the anti gun violence camp, has also provided support for a student procession that calls for tighter firearms control.

During the New York fashion week (New York Fashion Week), American designer Jeremy Scott wore a T-shirt printed with the words "Tell your Senator no on on" ("let your senators do not vote for you") on their fashion show, pointing to the Supreme Court justice of the United States, who was then scandalous, and the nominee appointed by the chief justice confirmed that the hearing was being held.

In Asia, Fast Retailing, the parent company of Japanese retail brand Uniqlo, is making efforts to hire refugees, and since 2016, it has contributed more than $5 million to support the Asian refugee program.

The British retail brand ASOS has different ways of supporting refugees. It has launched an underwear series with designers Katharine Hamnett and Help Refugees, and all of the profits are owned by the NGO.

Some fashion brands have launched specialized product lines for their support businesses. In order to support the LGBTQ+ community, H&M launched the Pride Series in 2018; Balenciaga, in collaboration with the World Food Programme (World Food Programme), printed the slogan "Saving Lives, Changing Lives" ("saving lives, changing lives"), while others displayed their beliefs in advertisements. (2018, a propaganda advertisement in Denmark only used colored models to promote racial diversity).

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Some enterprises have taken a bigger step, putting their social mission at the center of strategy and operation.

There are more and more enterprises that get B-Corporation certification, including Danone, Ben Jerry & S and Patagonia, which will take into consideration the impact on human, society and the earth when making decisions.

By the year April 2018, the number of fashion, clothing and cosmetics companies that had obtained B-Corporation certification increased to nearly 200, compared with seven in 2010.

Athleta promises to use recyclable and sustainable materials to produce 40% of its products, while Eileen Fisher and Allbirds have made similar commitments.

Allbirds also donated the recycled old shoes to charity organizations.

We wouldn't be surprised if at least a $five hundred million fashion company became a B-Corporation certification company in 2019.

It is worth noting that in the eyes of young people, enterprises concerned with social and environmental issues are more promising employers, and most of them will be more loyal to enterprises that meet their values.

Keeping LVMH's focus on organizational key performance indicators is crucial. This is achieved by the group, which aims to keep the proportion of male and female executives flat by 2020.

Practicing values at the group level will have an impact on the culture of the group's brand.

As Balenciaga chief executive C e dric Charbit said, "Balenciaga belongs to Kai Yun group (Kering), which practices values and sustainable development commitments at the group level. I think this has a great impact.

We work in the environment where sustainable development promises real and important status, and we are committed to fulfilling this commitment. "

But some fashion brand support businesses have not been universally recognized, so they may face major risks.

The brand will not only cause controversy on the issue of people's disagreement, but if the words and deeds are inconsistent, it may be labelled with hypocrisy.

In 2018, Primark launched the Pride series T-shirt, but it was criticized not only for its origin in Turkey but also for the bottom third of all European countries (LGBTQ+ parity), and it was also considered "immoral".

Discerning consumers can easily distinguish between gimmicks and actions taken by brands in order to practice their values. This is another reason why brands are likely to backfire on controversial issues.

Enterprises should recognize that consumers will carefully observe the activities carried out by enterprises, make strategic and operational decisions, and make consistent statements.

It is noteworthy that at present, concerns about social and environmental issues are more apparent in Western markets. In some areas, it is inappropriate for brands to voice on certain issues.

Although consumers in the western market are the dominant force in the social and environmental movement, this situation may change.

We expect that in other markets, more consumers will voice their social and environmental problems next year.

Darshan Mehta, founder and chief executive officer of Reliance Brands, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, a retail group in India, said: "there are not enough consumers at present, but not enough to make a significant impact, but this little wave will develop into a sea whistle in the next few years and sweep across India."

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