EP.02/ Brand Impact & Responsibility In The Fashion Industry
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Today we're talking about brand impact and responsibility in the fashion industry and exploring how interconnected brands are with consumer purchasing decisions, how brands impact the supply chain and what can be done to improve the industry from a government/policy level, brand level and consumer level.
We examine the radical, immediate change we've seen happen in recent events and what it would mean for the future of fashion and our environment if the same immediate action is implemented in our industry.
Here's what we cover in this episode (TRANSCRIPT):
0:31
Today we are going to talk about how brands impact the supply chain, consumer influence and what we need to see happen on a policy global level, what brands can do to change the problem and what consumers can do.
0:49 - Supply Chain
So the supply chain as described in the name operates as a chain reaction to the design, brand positioning, advertising, corporate agendas, and much more. The supply chain must change. But as we've seen with recent events, the pandemic as an example, the supply chain shifts to supply the demand of the design the brand or governmental agenda.
1:15
I want to expand a little bit more on the pandemic and how that's transformed the fashion supply chain. We have heard about the impacts of COVID-19 in so many different industries, so I am not going to get into too much detail because it has become overwhelmingly repetitive. But I am going to briefly touch on it because there is a very valuable point to take from all of this.
We saw a shift in early 2020 when the pandemic first hit and the government started to require everyone to wear a mask. First, it was those disposable medical masks. And then we started using fabric masks. That's when the supply chain in the fashion industry really shifted from one second to the next. We went from just making fashion apparel to implementing masks in our lines and making sure that they adhere to certain certification standards. And, you know, it was an absolute gong show, to be honest, but what it does show is, the supply chain is a chain reaction to everything else.
2:30
So if we can tap into the brand, and how they interact with their consumers, how they interact with their government, how they interact with their supply chain, then we can change the fashion industry.
2:45
The core component here is the brand. Here's the thing, if suppliers want to invest in innovative technologies for their materials, they need brands to buy into that. Brands need to support their suppliers to invest in innovative materials and sustainability practices. Because if the brand is only focusing on increasing profit margins at the lowest cost of production possible, that's really unsustainable, both financially and in terms of environmentally and socially as well.
One thing that is brought up a lot in this particular conversation is the cost; the cost of investing in more sustainable materials. And brands may say "it's not financially viable for us, we're not actually making any money". And that's something I'll get into a little bit further down in this episode and also I'll be making a future episode specifically on how sustainable practices are more effective than what we're doing right, but for now, let's stay on course.
3:55 - Brands’ Impact on Consumer Influence
Now, another point I want to talk about that brands has a big responsibility in how they impact the fashion industry is consumer influence: the power of interpretation and trust-building with their consumers.
4:08
Brands have an extremely powerful voice from the stories they tell to the products they sell to the initiatives they support.
4:15
Brand positioning and strategic consumer targeting can seriously affect the way consumers buy, interact and share their products.
We talk about over-consumerism a lot in this industry and we say how customers are demanding more and more and more from fashion but they're also demanding better which leads to greenwashing and brands faking certain things to gain consumer buy-in.
And all that is very, very true. The culture of a "see now, have now, buy now, toss now." mentality is rampant right now in our everyday culture. And it is a really big problem. But we really need to think about where did it stem from? I don't feel like we just woke up one day and were like, "you know what we're just going to consume in magnitudes that we've never seen before, just because we want to".
These are behaviours that are taught, these are behaviours that are embedded into us. And although it's a current problem, I feel like we need to dissect it a little bit and really dive into the core of the problem. And the more research I do on this, and the more I try to understand over consumerism, it really all comes back to the brand.
It comes back to consumer influence, marketing, branding, power of interpretation, brand messaging, all this kind of stuff, and how brands impact their consumers' purchasing decisions. Because we do overconsume, but we need to think about, okay, what made this happen in the first place.
4:39
And to expand on this a little bit more, I want to use this example.
6:00
So consumer X is scrolling on Instagram and sees an ad about a hair straightener. They see it, shrug it off, and keep scrolling, as we all do. A couple of days later, they see the ad again and still keep scrolling. Now a week has passed. And one of the influencers they follow is using this hair straightener on their stories saying how great it is. Consumers X now thinks "Oh, that's a straightener I saw on the ad, oh well." and shrugs it off. Again, two days later, two to three more of the influencers that they follow, posting about it. One of them made a really well-shot sponsored post with awesome graphics and a really cool video. And the next day, consumer X's best friend who also follows these influencers bought it. Now consumer X feels a little left out and thinks "Oh my god, everyone is using this hair straightener, it must be amazing, I have to buy it." And there she goes to their site, checks out and boom, the sale is made. And not only is the sale made, but that brand just established a long-term relationship with that consumer. Because they saw their product way before they bought it, they know it's good, and whenever they think about if they need any hair products, that's probably the brand they're going to go to first before going on anywhere else.
7:31
This example isn't fictional. It happens every single day and not only on Instagram. So who do you think is responsible for that sale? Is it consumer X? Is it consumer X's best friend? Is it the influencer? No, it's the brand. The brand made those ads. The brand has strategic influencer marketing plans in place, and the brand paid the influencers to make very cool posts about straightener. And it's now trending and everyone needs one. Did you know that major brands actually spend more on influencer marketing and marketing campaigns in general, like photoshoots, stuff like that, than they do to pay the people who make their clothes? But the reason why they do that is that brands see the value in having that influence on the consumer. They see the value in making quality content that ignites an interest that makes consumers excited about their product because they know that if they invest 500K, 5K, 1 million dollars on their campaign, that's going to double or triple or quadruple or even more.
8:51 - Policy Changes & Guidelines
So the changes that we need to see from a government or policy level are guidelines and requirements for businesses to operate sustainably. What I mean by that is brands should be required to disclose information on suppliers, workers' conditions, they shouldn't just be recommended to do so because it's the right thing to do. They should be required to do so. They should also not be allowed to claim to be a certain way unless they can back it up with certifications and business practice demonstrations.
9:29
For example, if it's a mass-produced fashion line, having organic cotton in their line is not enough. Garments must be produced and sold only as needed. Made to order in small batches to avoid waste and deadstock. These should be rules on a policy and global level.
And yeah, it is a big ask. To change the way that we operate in the fashion industry, to have sustainable business operation requirements. But I need to go back to the very first thing I mentioned in this episode, which was my example about COVID. When COVID hit, this was something that was an immediate threat to our health. On a government level, it was an immediate threat, something that we needed to address quickly. And within weeks, changes were made. You are required to wear a mask.
10:26
Those are the types of changes that we need to see. And we need our governments and our local officials to see climate change, and to see environmental change, and to see the importance of every industry operating sustainably, as important as the virus. This was obviously an immediate health concern, and it obviously should be taken seriously. But what I don't see is how the climate crisis isn't taken as the same concern - we are being wiped out by the climate crisis. If we don't address these things, and make requirements and change our policies and the way that we operate in our countries, then we will not be able to be here for 10, 15, 20 years.
Our environment is collapsing, and that is something that needs to be taken just as seriously as a global health risk. People are dying from floods, fires, from health issues that have been caused by the climate crisis and by the fashion industry. We are just as big of contributors to the problem, and we are just as connected.
11:37
So I feel like it is a big ask, but it is something that can be done. When it's taken seriously, we can change the industry, we can change the way that we operate. if we recognize not only how good it is for our planet, but we also need to recognize the financial benefits of it.
A major key that is being left out here is how profitable it is to be sustainable. Not listening to those financial predictions is where the real problem is here. Because a lot of people, a lot of organizations, a lot of countries don't want to shift their practices because they don't think that they could be financially profitable if they shift. And that's just untrue.
There are proven studies that have shown that it is more profitable to be sustainable than it is not. One particular study conducted by the Harvard Harvard Business Review found that a company that shifted to sustainable business practices saw a 14% annual increase in sales for over five years. This study was done between 2006 and 2011, to be specific.
This is something that I feel a lot of environmentalists don't talk about. We talk about the importance of sustainability on the planet, we talk about how important it is so that people stop dying, so the world can operate and all that stuff. But we don't talk about what the government and what brands and policymakers actually care about. And that's money. The focus on why they do what they do is always to increase profits. No one with extreme power, really cares about the people in Bangladesh, being pummeled and smashed by the Rana Plaza collapse, no one in true power is making measurable changes, because of the environmental crises that are happening in the world.
14:04
A significant thing that we need to focus on as environmentalist is the financial gain that comes from being sustainable.
14:33
As you can clearly see, I want to talk about that a little bit more in a different episode solely dedicated to finance. But that's not what this one's about. So going back on track on what can be done.
So we've talked about what we can see from a policy level - we need to see requirements for claims and sustainable operational requirements.
14:57 - Brand Change & Responsibility
So what do we need to see brands doing? For brands, we need to reimagine the way that we operate and recognize that true sustainability is not only the right thing to do, but it's also profitable as well. And we need to recognize that we can still have long-term customer relationships and really flourishing businesses when we put sustainability first.
If anything, we can actually have even more profits from being sustainable than just going with what everyone else is doing. We also need to recognize on a brand level that it's not easy. You can't just like snap a finger, and then oh, my God, I'm fully sustainable. No, that's greenwashing. But it is possible. It might not be easy, but it really is possible. And the return on that investment is tenfold. Consumers want it, the world needs it, but it's also the right thing to do for the future of the business.
16:09 - Consumer Responsibility To Change
And the final point that I want to bring up is what can be done on a consumer level. I'm not going to get into too much detail here, because it can be a whole episode on its own. But from a consumer level, what we can do is demand brands to be transparent.
Brands don't listen to what the supply chain wants, but they do listen to what consumers want.
So think about what you want, and communicate that with your brands.
Another thing you can do as a consumer is act with your values, not with impulse. It's really important that as consumers we choose to buy with our values. We need to support brands that care about their supply chain, that care about the people who are making their clothes and brands who are showing measurable ways to get to that level.
16:59 - Summary + Ending Notes
So just to summarize what we talked about: we talked about how brands’ responsibility impacts the supply chain as a whole.
We talked about consumer influence, the power of interpretation and trust-building.
We talked about policies and global standards that need to be implemented and government regulations that need to be in effect for brands to be more sustainable.
Then we dove into what brands can do right now to change the way that we operate.
And then discussed what you can do as a consumer to make sure that brands’ are operating responsibly and ethically and being aware of their impact on the industry.
17:42
So that's all that I have for you guys today. I really hope you enjoyed this episode and gained something useful. If you have more questions or want more resources, I will try to add as many resources as I can in the show notes here on the podcast. But feel free to email me with any of your questions at cris@naturspired.com.
[End of Transcript]
