Our brand experts highlight the strategies some of the brands are pursuing: bringing the store experience into consumers’ homes and utilizing stores as fulfillment and delivery hubs improving stock utilization are some examples.
Too often, the argument that companies must do what’s right for the environment has been juxtaposed with the claim that it’s bad for business. As consumers become less willing to accept that tradeoff from brands (see the number of Super Bowl ads for electric vehicles), disruptive brands are driving meaningful change that helps to address a major environmental issue, broaden their brand positioning and, in turn, attract new consumers and business.
In the United States, 26 billion pounds (12B Kg) of clothing are thrown away annually, taking up 5% of the total landfill space. US consumers own an average of 93 pieces of clothing, 70% of which are never or rarely worn. Despite the fact that 90% of textiles could be recycled or reused, only 15% of clothing is actually donated.
Fueled by the rise of fast fashion, mass merchants and e-commerce, the consumer is trained to expect the latest trends at a very low price, to be thrown away in 1 or 2 seasons. The 2019 State of Fashion report by McKinsey states, “in the UK, a survey found that one in seven consider it a fashion faux-pas to be photographed in the same outfit twice. Simply put, young people crave newness.” Whereas Americans used to buy fewer, more expensive pieces of clothing, today they are buying many more units at lower prices. The reality is that brands need to sell more units to drive growth, which fuels a large and growing used clothing problem.
Traditionally, the used clothing market has largely been an afterthought, relegated to vintage clothing shops or community-oriented outlets like Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul. However, a growing number of US consumers, especially Millennials, are now buying used clothing for both economic and environmental reasons. The clothing resale and rental market is one of the fastest growing segments and is expected to reach over 13% (US$ 50 billion) of the total US apparel market by 2027, larger than department stores and fast fashion.
A few major apparel brands, such as Patagonia and Eileen Fisher, are making circularity a key business strategy, not only for the benefit of the environment but also for their business. Patagonia’s Worn Wear initiative recycles, resells and repairs used clothing, extending its life and keeping it out of landfills. The Worn Wear repair truck travels across the US, Europe and Japan, fixing tears and holes in used gear while also strengthening the community of loyal, like-minded consumers.
Patagonia famously stated in their Black Friday ad in 2011, “Don’t Buy This Jacket.” They have been on the forefront of urging consumers to “…keep our gear in use longer and cut down on consumption.” A privately held company, with an extremely strong environmental and socially conscious brand position, Patagonia has been able to take non-traditional marketing approaches with little negative impact to their business. At an estimated US$ 1 billion in revenue, one might argue that consumers aren’t heeding their advice to cut down on buying Patagonia gear.
The typical choice for consumers for used clothing have been small vintage stores or second hand warehouse outlets, like a Goodwill store, that are stuffed with racks and racks of merchandising. Neither offer a scalable, nor that friendly of a, shopping experience.
A few brands are starting to actively open their own resale stores to sell used clothing such as Eileen Fisher’s Renew, which has a brick & mortar and online presence. And Nordstrom, a premium department store, just announced last week that they will be opening their own resale store called See You Tomorrow, a sign that ‘traditional’ retailers are seeing the potential of the resale segment.
Another sign that resale is moving into the mainstream, E-Commerce retailer ThredUp, which calls itself the “largest fashion resale marketplace,” has raised over US$ 300 million in funding. The company recently announced partnerships with Macy’s and JC Penny to sell secondhand clothing in a select number of doors.
Closed loop apparel recycling, i.e. ensuring that used clothing is reborn as a new piece of clothing, is an extremely complex and costly process for manufacturers. There are some interesting smaller brands such as Reformation, who create about 15% of their clothes out of dead stock, the excess material from the mainstream manufacturing process. Or Cardato in Italy, who recycle wool sweaters into new yarn.
Yet, 60% of all clothing contains polyester, such as the spandex that give your jeans some stretch. Despite the efforts of many firms, clothes with even a modest amount of polyester cannot be recycled into yarn, limiting the potential impact of truly creating a closed loop apparel industry.
While the apparel industry is working to identify new solutions and more brands are taking an active role in creating a closed loop system, consumers can have the most meaningful impact today: buy less stuff from brands that support circularity, choose natural fibers wherever possible, and donate or resell the clothes you’re done with. This will not only be good for the environment but also for your wallet.
About the Author:
With 25+ years in the sports and fashion industry across the United States, Europe and Asia, John Ensminger, has worked with leading brands including Nike, The North Face, K2 Sports and Carhartt to develop breakthrough, actionable strategies that strengthen their brand position and drive growth and profitability. Read his posts here or connect with him on LinkedIn.
We have 2020, pre COVID 19, online and multichannel have long become your daily bread and butter, and building sustainable fashion brands is the next big brand strategy priority. (more…)
We all know what service means, right? We all buy things, and we’re all familiar with the customer experience of being handed our purchase in a carrier bag to take home. That’s an example of a basic consumer expectation. (more…)
How does product shape brand experience? How can a brand’s product experience create a meaningful connection to its customers?
Depending on who you ask, you will get very different answers. If you ask your brand and marketing management, they will vote for as much standardisation as possible. If you ask your sales force, the answer will be quite the opposite.
If someone had told you in 1993 that someone would manage to turn truck tarps into it bags in Seoul by 2019, and create a best practice brand development story in the process, you may have questioned their judgement.
Once upon a time there was a tiny fruit booth near the Trans-Canada Highway that served Vancouverites en route to their weekend and summer houses as well as tourists exploring an island full of natural beauty. That was back in the 70ies when Kristian and Solveig Graaten, who had migrated from Norway 20 years earlier, decided to start a small retail business on Vancouver Island.
In the meantime, this little fruit stall has become the queen of retail locations and one of the most frequented tourist attractions on Vancouver Island: The Coombs Old Country Market.
This post shows how KPIs in new markets can differ enormously from your home market. When starting international expansion, reporting often needs to be reviewed to make sure that you get the full picture and give a new market its fair chance. This is part 6 of my series on international expansion, catch up with my previous pieces here.
Topshop and Topman have permanently closed shop in New Zealand, is the country still a viable option for brand expansion?
It turns out that the video is actually meant to market the job of a Diesel testimonial (‘Chair Executive Officer’). The successful candidate will be hired for a week and must first and foremost demonstrate excellence in creative sitting.
I don’t want to jump the gun and spoil Renzo’s recruiting interviews, but I have some hot candidates in my recruiting file that I’m happy to share:
Sitting Bull: A candidate with strong similarities to Diesel’s logo.
Vin Diesel: A rough man with enough tattoos to compete with Renzo. But will Renzo be happy when people believe Vin to be the founder of Diesel?
Or an Italian at Oktoberfest: experienced in sitting pretty much anywhere, even after a very long night. Or is he exercising his bow because he missed the sales again?
Wolfgang Schäuble: A man in transition, the iron fist for saving costs, someone to clean up Diesel’s finances.
Or more creative option, Choupette: Karl’s cat, an advertising professional, experienced in promoting Japanese cosmetics as well German cars (Opel). Choupette will also bring 100.000+ Instagram followers, 50.000 Twitter followers and 40.000+ Facebook fans.
Buddha: Someone who has experienced sitting for centuries and is well positioned for reaching Asian growth markets.
Frank Zappa: Nobody will sit on a throne more casually.
It’s unknown whether excellent chair executives also have a chance to apply for the chief executive post, but after the early departure of Alessandro Bogliolo the new candidate needs standing power to work alongside Renzo.
Six years after launching the brand in Australia, UK fast fashion retailer Topshop Australia is forced into administration.
Reading the press, there isn’t a day without various brands and retailers unveiling and opening new stores in diverse locations all over the world.
According to the 7th edition of CBRE’s annual report “How active are retailers globally?”, retail expansion is continuing by brands to expand their physical store networks, despite several challenges. (more…)
