Since the history books began, humans have demonstrated an innate desire to look good and dress well - to express style, character, tastes, mood, individuality, belonging and beyond – through the things they wear and how they wear them. To fit in or stand out. To impress others or to feel good within themselves in the frivolous, the functional and the in-between. There’s no disputing the sheer joy that fashion brings to so many, nor how central it has become in our global cultures and everyday lives. However, for an industry based on beauty, design and the all important feel-good factor – there’s a darker side to fashion that’s becoming more and more visible and important to the consumer and having far more influence on their buying habits.
Customers and sustainability
Across the world, people are waking up to the realities of climate change and beginning to change the way they consume, live, and behave. Today, more and more consumers are actively seeking out brands with purposeful, honest, sustainable credentials – be that luxury fashion or high street. And the consumer is smart. With greater visibility into the inner workings and behaviours of companies – from their carbon footprint to their labour and inclusivity policies – it simply doesn’t cut it for a brand just to say they do good; they must do good. In an industry where brand trust is a key currency, greenwashing is now being seen for what it is – cashing in on the consumer’s desire to help the planet, while not doing nearly enough to truly reduce carbon footprint. What's more, a recent study by BCG (Boston Consulting Group) found that:
- 64% of of Gen Z and Millennials say they consider sustainability when purchasing luxury fashion
- 70% of consumers report a willingness to pay more for brands that invest in Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability
- 59% of luxury consumers’ purchasing behaviours are influenced by sustainability
- 13% of True-Luxury consumers’ shifted spending from traditional to niche luxury brands
At Remarkably we strongly believe that customers' relationship with fashion is about emotional attachment, and excitement first. Deep brand love and brand loyalty though, very much depends on both the excitement factor and doing good, with customers increasingly basing purchasing decisions on brands’ sustainability and impact credentials.
‘Pre-loved’ fashion is big business
In 2022, the resale marketplace is blossoming, with a huge part of its market growth attributed to younger generations actively seeking out second hand clothes for their cheap prices, style, and environmental impact. According to Statisca.com, the global market value of second-hand and resale apparel in 2020 was estimated to be worth 27 billion U.S. dollars, with that figure projected to double in size by 2023, before reaching a value of 77 billion dollars in 2025.
Online resale giant eBay experienced strong year-on-year growth in 2020 and 2021, reporting 2 billion transactions each year and around 160 million active buyers.
Depop meanwhile has gained significant traction over the past couple of years, particularly amongst its Gen Z consumers, with nearly 90% of its 30 million users aged 26 and under. In the luxury sector, online retailers NET-A-PORTER and MR PORTER have recently partnered with premium resale platform Reflaunt to claim a share in the secondary market while enabling their customers to buy and sell quality, pre-loved, luxury items.
So, how are we helping?
First, we’re a B-Corp certified marketing, creative and learning consultancy - with purpose at the heart of everything we do. Secondly we want to help bring brands and retailers' sustainability efforts to life. And we’re building services to do just that.
We’re excited to introduce a new service - Remarkably x RE/FASHION.
Uniting a team of sustainability experts, insight specialists, experts in the luxury and e-commerce sector, as well as creative design leaders, RE/FASHION is a new offering that helps brands and retailers create responsible, sustainable growth.
The service consists of a 5-phase programme and helps connect the dots between brand and sustainability; partnering with brands and retailers to design and deliver sustainability strategies and initiatives, all backed up by stand-out creative and storytelling, marketing, communications and transformation service.
Interested in finding out more about RE/FASHION?
