Consumer demand
for sustainability: who cares?
Is there profitability in transparency?
The Council of Fashion Designers of America, CFDA, boldly labels sustainability as a business opportunity. According to the 2016 Label Insight Transparency ROI Study, 73% of consumers would be willing to pay more for a product that offers complete transparency and 94% were more likely to become brand loyal. More than one-third of those surveyed stated they would switch to a new brand if offered full product transparency. As global green and ethical initiatives expose manufacturers in the retail industry, consumers are no longer shopping only the product but a company’s entire supply chain from seed to sew to sold. The NYU Center for Sustainable Business found that across all categories sustainably-marketed products grew 5.6x faster than conventionally marketed products and grossed $113.9B in sales in 2018 with sales projected to grow to $140.5B by 2023.
May 2020
Katelynn Young
Executive Account Manager
The NYU Center for Sustainable Business found that across all categories sustainably-marketed products grew 5.6x faster than conventionally marketed products and grossed $113.9B in sales in 2018 with sales projected to grow to $140.5B by 2023. The financial benefit from these socially conscious customers is clear, consumers are willing to put their money where their mouth is.
“73% of consumers would be willing to pay more
for a product that offers complete transparency…”
Who to Market to & How?
A recent survey of 2,000+ consumers worldwide found that 98% of respondents believe brands have a responsibility to contribute positive change in the world. According to eMarketer, young consumers are attracted to brands that “focus on supply chain sustainability—by showcasing factory conditions, production processes, and waste solutions”. Futerra, an international sustainability and change agency, credits millennials as the driving force behind brands on a mission for purpose, and Gen Z as the ones to be “demanding truth”. In the US alone, Millennials and Gen Zers have a combined spending power of roughly $350B.7 Brands and marketers alike must strategically work together to blueprint their course of action to drive honest products and practices in favor of these consumers.
“In the US alone, Millennials and Gen Zers
have a combined spending power of roughly $350B”
Remake, a non-profit with a mission to make “fashion a force of good”, designed a Product Sustainability Tool to evaluate brands based on 6 variables of criteria – Transparency, Traceability, Maker Well-Being, Environmental Sustainability, Sustainable Raw Materials and Leadership. Brands looking to ositively improve their sustainable practices can start by grading each stage within their supply chain process and use those results to practice new conscious methods.
Reccomendations for brands working toward transparency:
- Create a culture of honesty with employees & customers
- Avoid false sustainability claims
- Greenwashing – “fluffy language” such as eco-buzz words and “irrelevant
claims” emphasizing the minute green attributes of un-green products.
- Greenwashing – “fluffy language” such as eco-buzz words and “irrelevant
- Avoid false sustainability claims
- Make information easily accessible
- Identify & detail your supply chain
- Fashion Revolution commissioned a survey of 5,000 people ages 16-75 in Europe’s 5 largest spending markets, they found 77% of shoppers said it’s important for brands to be transparent where they source their raw materials, components or ingredients from, and who manufactured the products.
- Identify & detail your supply chain
- Be active on social media & respond to customers
- Use your journey towards sustainable practices to encourage conversation and education throughout the omnichannel
- In a 2018 survey of US and UK consumers, Futerra found that 88% of respondents
said they wanted brands to help them make a difference.
- In a 2018 survey of US and UK consumers, Futerra found that 88% of respondents
- Use your journey towards sustainable practices to encourage conversation and education throughout the omnichannel
With the surge of education on ethical and green practices on a variety of social platforms Millennial and Gen Z consumers will continue to demand transparency from popular brands otherwise, they will take their purchasing dollars elsewhere. Based on the information discussed, brands are encouraged to evaluate their supply chain practices and formulate a marketing plan designed to target conscious consumers with honest information.
About
A powerful consumer engagement platform designed to manage and distribute digital marketing content, engage customers, authenticate products, and enable digital warranties in a targeted, conscious, and dynamic way. JULIA CONNECT functions as a multifaceted dashboard constructed to strengthen consumer behavior knowledge with detailed statistical data such as real-time geolocation and advanced custom data fetching, while also serving as a competitive innovation tool for brands on a mission to drive accountability and integrity within their industry.
Key Advantages:
- Product authentication & certification
- Verify the product meets sustainability standards
- Product detail page
- Make information easily accessible
- Define and showcase methods at each stage of the entire supply chain
- Product origin
- Raw materials & sourcing
- Factory manufacturing & production cycle
- Fair labor initiatives
- Define and showcase methods at each stage of the entire supply chain
- D2C Marketing
- Julia Eco RFID tag
- 100% plastic-free RFID technology
- FSC certification
- REACH and RoHS Compliant
- Consumer interaction platform
- Educate consumers
- Share ad campaigns and highlight brand successes & initiatives towards environmental & social responsibilities
- Promotions, rewards, and product reccomendations
- Julia Eco RFID tag
