# data[].attributes.headline
SUSTAINABLE FABRICS AND MATERIALS INNOVATION

# data[].attributes.subject
SUSTAINABLE FABRICS AND MATERIALS INNOVATION

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjqjPab7OaDAxVraUEAHaBkCs8QFnoECCUQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.voguebusiness.com%2Fconsumers%2Fcomfort-and-wellness-set-to-define-luxury-in-2021&usg=AOvVaw0S8Aqnwbv877ExS-u6TFYi&opi=89978449

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Image credit: Marina Tatarenko / Shutterstock.com

"Wellness is the new black," the fashion industry has proclaimed! No longer merely a lifestyle choice, wellness is now a significantly influential trend in global fashion. Activewear sales are booming, and active sports apparel is one of the fastest-growing categories in fashion today.

No surprise then that many high street and luxe brands are adding activewear components to their offering. Tory Burch is one of the latest to do so, along with more high street and affordable brands such as H&M.

Whilst the new clothing lines are designed for activities such as yoga, they're also intended to be worn outside the gym. Traditional sportswear retailers such as Nike are choosing to collaborate with luxury designers with the aim of offering fashion-forward performance wear that can be worn anytime.

It's an approach that's been so successful that some of these collaborations have turned into permanent lines, such as Adidas with Stella McCartney.

It's not just fashion retailers that are moving into activewear. Gyms and other exercise providers are also starting to develop their own activewear lines. SoulCycle, the incredibly hip chain of spin studios, is just one fitness brand to do so.

Perhaps the key to this clothing is that it's extremely wearable. Although there's certainly an interest and awareness in the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle, activewear pieces tend to be highly comfortable and practical for daily wear.

The growing informality of workplaces means it's much more acceptable for people to wear casual clothing to the office. The new prevailing style is active, functional, but still fashionable.

The activewear and athleisure trends have influenced luxury fashion too, with brands such as Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton offering their own take on trainers. Brands such as Chloé and Hermès decided that designing their own clothing for exclusive winter sports such as skiing was the best way to produce luxury athleticwear.

Other brands have used the casual sportswear trend to influence their streetwear designs, creating highly informal clothing influenced by sportswear styles.
RELATED: What's Next for Athleisure
Established luxury brands are wise to hop on the trend because there are new market entrants to contend with in this arena. Launched just 2 years ago, new market entrant Maia Active has been offering athletic clothing to Chinese women designed specifically for the local climate and with their body type in mind.

So far the brand has grown quickly in China's market. Other newcomers include fashion-conscious Koral, ballet-inspired StudiøGrand, or Lou & Grey Form, which focuses on offering super-soft fabrics.

Wellness Asia

Wellness isn't just an influential trend in the West. Consumers in China are also taking an increasing interest in lifestyle and health. Although food safety and environmental health remain key areas of concern, there's a developing interest in exercise and health.

According to a 2017 report by the Hurun Report and the Shenzhen Catic Wellness Group, Chinese families were spending up to a quarter of their income on healthcare and fitness, including things such as gym memberships and products from athletic equipment to functional clothing.

Time was, middle-class families in China insisted on their kids learning piano. Now, wealthier individuals are encouraging their children into high-end sports such as rowing and horse riding in the hope of giving them a social advantage.

Interest is shifting away from luxury towards more practical fashion. Wearing athleisure has become a sign of social advantage and sophistication.

It's a trend being encouraged by brands such as Lululemon, a Canadian athleisure brand with a heavy emphasis on yoga. Store placement (always a significant strategic concern in China's market) is key to this trend - expensive gyms and top-end athleisure brands such as Lululemon are opening in the more exclusive shopping areas and malls.

Meanwhile, China's top-end department store, Lane Crawford, is adding athleisure and sportswear brands to its roster. The store brand is actively courting Chinese apparel brands, encouraging young designers, as well as adding established Western ones such as Adidas and Stella McCartney to its lineup.

Social media and what celebrities are doing, wearing, and talking about, are every bit as influential in China as they are in the West. It's certainly helping to drive an interest in wellness as a lifestyle.

Consumer analysts seem to believe this interest is generally sincere. Although Chinese citizens have been conspicuous consumers of high-end brands in the past, interested in an item's status value rather than practicalities, contemporary Chinese consumers are taking a genuine interest in personal improvement and wellness.

That seems to be particularly true of younger consumers in China. Lane Crawford believes that this trend is being driven by social media and exposure to the health and wellness trend from international brands and celebrities.

As a result, the store's actively expanding its offering for brands that mix fashion with fitness to reflect a growing interest in the wellness lifestyle.

As trends go, wellness seems to be both profound and lasting. The most significant aspect of this trend is perhaps its reach: it's influencing markets right around the world, it's making its impact felt from low to high fashion and it seems to be here to stay.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How the Wellness Phenomenon is Influencing Fashion Globally

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Image credit: Marina Tatarenko / Shutterstock.com No surprise then that many high street and luxe brands are adding activewear components to their offering. Tory Burch is one of the latest to do so, along with more high street and affordable brands such as H&M.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/how-the-apparel-industry-can-adapt-to-inflation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Key takeaways

Apparel companies are getting squeezed between rising supply chain costs and falling consumer confidence.

To cope with inflationary pressures and protect their margins, brands and retailers may need an approach that includes action on pricing, merchandising, and supply chains.

The ADAPT model offers a five-component approach to reset margin structures with bold, deliberate actions that could yield competitive advantages in a persistently inflationary environment.

As we head into the second half of 2022, apparel firms are getting clobbered. Industry leaders see higher-than-expected operational costs impacting margins as inflation continues to escalate. Across the sector, what began with a difficult May earnings season has continued with the reality of persistent inflation, a more fragile consumer, and the prospect of more turbulent economic conditions as the Federal Reserve attempts to harness inflation. Prices are rising across the value chain, from commodities to transport to labor and more. In the United States, for example, inflation hit 9.1 percent in July, signaling the largest 12-month increase in more than 40 years.

Historically, price realization in the apparel industry has lagged well behind inflation rates and household income growth. From 2010-19, for instance, US apparel prices rose at a CAGR of just 0.4 percent, lagging both the total consumer price index (CPI; CAGR 1.8 percent) and median household income (CAGR 3.8 percent) (Exhibit 1). That gap has recently narrowed, but in the United States, price gains are still trailing CPI growth by about one percentage point (Exhibit 2).

In this environment, apparel retailers and brands are getting squeezed. Not only do they face rising costs on everything from manufacturing inputs and freight to fuel and wages, but they must also deal with a slowing growth environment and falling consumer confidence. Indeed, the percentage of consumers who reported feeling optimistic in our May Consumer Pulse survey fell to 38 percent, from 44 percent in October 2021. The drop in optimism was sharpest among high-income consumers; consumer confidence also fell sharply in the eurozone during the latter half of 2021 and the first months of 2022 as inflation heated up.

Now we see consumers starting to adopt more value-conscious shopping behaviors. The Consumer Pulse survey found that more US consumers reported switching brands and retailers in 2022 than at any time since the pandemic began, and most of them say they intend to keep switching, primarily to find lower prices. Among those who switched, slightly more than one-third opted to buy private-label products.

Some apparel companies could consider passing on their costs to consumers, either through higher ticket prices or fewer promotions. But given the discretionary nature of the apparel sector and the potential for long production cycles, others have tried to absorb higher costs while holding the line on prices and promotions to win or retain near-term market share.

Meanwhile, in the face of a global supply-chain shock, upstart brands have been disrupting the known paradigms of fast fashion and apparel retailing. Companies like Shein are rapidly growing to own the Gen Z and "masstige" (mass-produced goods marketed as luxe) consumer bases. Accordingly, established brands and retailers can balance the need to preserve margins and mitigate inflation without pricing out their growing core-consumer segments.

Apparel brands and retailers may be best served by a holistic approach that aims to both protect margins and drive value for consumers. In this article we detail how apparel retailers can use the v Five ways to ADAPT pricing to inflation to reduce the risks associated with inflation and best position themselves for long-term success.

ADAPTing to inflation in apparel

There are five components to the ADAPT model: Adjust, Develop, Accelerate, Plan, and Track.

1. Adjust discounting and promotions

Reticketing can be an operationally intensive process for apparel enterprises in an already tight labor environment. In the near term, retailers can escape margin pressures by pulling back on promotions. In recent months, companies such as Victoria's Secret, PVH, and American Eagle Outfitters have announced that they would cut back on promotional pricing.

Putting this into practice can take many forms. One might be a broad pullback on promotions across the product assortment. Faced with shrinking margins due to inflation, a North American retailer that has historically relied heavily on promotional pricing and deep discounts decided to discount half as often and reduce promotional depth. This approach helped the retailer preserve customer perceptions of value while sustaining its margins.

Since inventories and supply chains continue to be stretched, apparel companies can also protect margins by limiting the use of clearance pricing. By transitioning to leaner inventories, retailers can reduce the problem of seasonal inventory overhang, using fewer promotions and markdowns to clear space for incoming merchandise. The French luxury group Kering reallocated part of its inventory across regions, shipping from European stores to Asia, for example, and postponed deliveries of its spring/ summer collection to prolong the full-price selling period and avoid relying on promotions.

But retailers have ways to cope with inflationary pressures without increasing product prices. For instance, they could increase the minimum basket threshold for free shipping from $50 to $75 to maintain the margin for small baskets without raising product prices. Even more simply, retailers and brands could offer alternative omnichannel fulfillment options, such as buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), to reduce costs. Of course, they should test-market such actions in advance to see how consumers will respond.

2. Develop the art and science of price change

Instead of applying an average price increase across their entire product mix, apparel retailers can take a more granular approach to better match prices with consumers' value perceptions. This gives them an opportunity to reset the value mix across their product assortments.

To counter high costs and inflationary pressure, a granular pricing strategy should account for various customer and product sensitivities, exposures to inflation, and inventory positions. From a category perspective, it calls for segmenting based on price elasticity and margin dynamics.

Raising the price across the assortment while leaning on personalized promotions and loyalty tactics could be the best option, especially for products that are highly exposed to inflation and most important to customers. This approach can strengthen the relationship with high-value customers while alleviating some margin pressures by decreasing the frequency of mass promos.

Segmentation of the product assortment will have to be done repeatedly, since the response of customers and categories to inflation will change over time. Continuous monitoring can help retailers determine the categories and products that face the greatest margin pressures and which customers are likely to be sensitive to pricing changes. Customer research plays a key role in giving retailers the behavioral intelligence they need to understand how customers respond to various strategies. Brands and retailers could increase sell-through by researching what collaborations or new product releases would drive the most engagement, emphasizing scarcity and exclusivity in categories and products that are likely to generate the most excitement among consumers. Companies can also use such insights to refine their market segmentation strategies and personalize promotional pricing in ways that preserve brand value and retain loyalty.

By knowing which categories face the most inflationary pressures and are most important to customers, retailers can make informed decisions on where to hold prices to protect brand value and market share, and where to raise them to protect their aggregate margins. The data are already available. For example, as shown in Exhibit 2, men's suits currently have four times the price inflation of women's suits. Such insights are valuable for redefining short-term pricing strategy, which can buy time to test long-term margin-protection approaches.

3. Accelerate decision-making tenfold

This is an ideal time for apparel retailers to remove bottlenecks and streamline processes with vendors, supply teams, design, or store and e-commerce operations. Tactically, this could mean improving visibility into their cost structure, then strategically communicating this information across the organization, potentially even to vendors.

By accelerating decision making, apparel companies can focus their store labor on pricing activities that deliver the highest return on investment, especially when executing quick pricing actions in response to price changes made by competitors.

4. Plan options beyond pricing to reduce costs

Apparel retailers know that vendors face their own pricing pressures, including cost increases for labor, energy, and raw materials. Rather than squeezing suppliers, retailers can manage costs through design and category architecture.

Apparel retailers may also improve their margins by shifting away from brand-name products toward more private-label offerings. Either way, an agile approach to product design can be a winning strategy, although it can take time to benefit the bottom line.

The customer intelligence that allows apparel companies to personalize promotions can also help retailers to spend less on attributes or features of lower value to consumers. For example, an outdoor-apparel retailer might find its customers are more invested in eco-friendly attributes than in insulation performance. Using this information, the retailer could work with suppliers to switch from down insulation to less-expensive recycled polyester, enabling it to making customers happy while holding prices steady or even reducing them despite inflation.

The ways apparel retailers deal with vendor price increases are nuanced and vary by geographical region. In some areas, retailers are more likely to respond by raising their initial ticket prices. In others, they may drop SKUs and readjust their product mix. They can also try negotiating with vendors, especially to hold down the cost of items that are most important to their customers (basics, key value items). In these negotiations, next-generation sourcing tools, including digital should-cost models and advanced analytics, can help retailers engage with vendors in a consistent, fact-based, transparent manner.

5. Track execution relentlessly

The current inflationary environment evolves daily. Accordingly, apparel businesses need to define leading KPIs that can both track changing customer behaviors and measure the effectiveness of their own actions in the market. For instance, by carefully monitoring categories for declining volumes and basket size, they can spot early signs that customers may be shifting their behavior due to price sensitivity.

It is important to remember that behavioral shifts can sometimes occur in discretionary categories such as apparel, even when the category's prices have stayed relatively steady. Consumers squeezed by inflation in nondiscretionary categories such as food, housing, and energy may have to compensate by reducing purchases elsewhere.

Tracking execution also extends to tracking competitors' moves. Retailers need to keep an eye on how competitors are shifting prices, particularly when it comes to setting initial prices, while passing on higher costs at premium product tiers.

In especially competitive environments, retailers can benefit by setting guardrails around share-of-wallet KPIs, including consumer basket size, average unit retail, units per transaction, and customer transaction-frequency metrics. If those guardrails are breached, apparel retailers may need to adapt pricing and purchasing strategies.

Ideally, the team monitoring and guiding pricing actions will include cross-functional experts with skills that extend beyond merchandising to buying, operations, supply chain, strategy, and people functions. By acting quickly and decisively to manage price increases, these decision makers can guide the company's short-term strategy for countering the effects of inflation.

Inflation is a challenge for apparel players, but it also presents an opportunity for those that move nimbly to respond. Companies that recognize inflation is likely to persist, at least in the short and medium term, have a strong incentive to act quickly on pricing across the value chain. Since buying and merchandising cycles are often quite long, those that move now to address and reset their margin structures can establish durable advantages and lay the groundwork for additional advantageous pricing moves once inflation abates.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How the apparel industry can ADAPT to inflation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Apparel companies that use the ADAPT approach meet the worst challenges of inflation: cost control, margin protection, and keeping customers loyal.

# data[].attributes.headline
Current events / themes / trends impacting the fashion industry today and why 

# data[].attributes.subject
Current events / themes / trends impacting the fashion industry today and why 

# data[].attributes.body
GLOBAL ECONOMY

Economic uncertainty - impacting the consumer behavior and the way consumers shop (inflation and economic downturn)

Climate conditions - increase in floodings, hurricanes, earthquakes worldwide which will also affect suppliers, factories and development of creating product.

CONSUMER SHIFTS

Vacation mode

The new face of influences, more relatable influcencers

Outdoors invented - outdoor brands collaborating with luxury brands

FASHION SYSTEM

Gen Ai's creative crossroad

Fast Fashion power plays

All eyes on brand

Sustainability rules

Sustainability - increase in greenwashing, more sustainable fabric on the market, more certifications for brands to follow

Rise in technology - the takeover of AI , smarter technologies and ideas, increased used in AR by brands

Supply chain problems (conflicts over the world)

Upcycling materials / increase in pre-loved and second hand fashion

# data[].attributes.body
Economic uncertainty - impacting the consumer behavior and the way consumers shop (inflation and economic downturn)

Climate conditions - increase in floodings, hurricanes, earthquakes worldwide which will also affect suppliers, factories and development of creating product.

uncertainty for businesses in consumer spending power

# data[].attributes.body
Doctor-backed skincare brands were already a big business before the pandemic, with names like Barbara Sturm, Dr. Dennis Gross and Dr. Yannis Alexandrides' 111SKIN seeing shoppers fork out hundreds of dollars for sheet masks and serums. But in a pandemic, uncertainty around the virus — what it does, how you catch it — has fuelled a heightened desire for products and services that tout scientific claims or expert advice.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Beauty Brands Are Making Health Products Trendy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Thanks to the pandemic, the convergence of beauty, health and wellness is set to accelerate even faster.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.businessoffashion.com/news/sustainability/eu-bans-misleading-environmental-claims-that-rely-on-offsetting/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Terms such as "climate neutral" or "climate positive" that rely on offsetting will be banned from the EU by 2026 as part of a crackdown on misleading environmental claims.

On Wednesday, members of the European parliament [MEPs] voted to outlaw the use of terms such as "environmentally friendly", "natural", "biodegradable", "climate neutral" or "eco" without evidence, while introducing a total ban on using carbon offsetting schemes to substantiate the claims.

Under the new directive, only sustainability labels using approved certification schemes will be allowed by the bloc. It comes amid widespread concern about the environmental impact of carbon offsetting schemes, which have often been used to justify labelling products "carbon neutral", or imply that consumers can fly, buy new clothes or eat certain foods without making the climate crisis worse.

"This new legislation puts an end to misleading advertising for supposedly environmentally friendly products and thus enables consumers to make sustainable choices," said Anna Cavazzini, the Green MEP and chair of the Committee of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection.

"I am particularly pleased that claims such as "climate-neutral" or "climate-positive", which are based on CO2 offsetting, have been completely banned from the internal market. Investments by companies in climate protection projects are welcome and of course they can still be communicated," she said. "However, it should no longer appear that planting trees in the rainforest makes the industrial production of a car, the organisation of a soccer World Cup or the production of cosmetics climate neutral. This deception is now a thing of the past. This is a great success for the environment, the climate and consumers."

The directive comes after months of negotiations over how environmental claims will be regulated in the EU, with a deal reached in September that was approved by law makers on Wednesday. Member states now have two years to introduce the new rules.

In January, the Guardian published a joint investigation into forest carbon offsets approved by the world's leading certifier that big corporations used for their sustainability commitments, finding more than 90 percent of offsets from a large sample of projects to be worthless.

Environmental NGOs have raised concerns about claims based on offsets, including the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which was advertised as a "carbon neutral" event.

"This agreement is a big step towards more honest commercial practices and more informed European consumers. The European Union is taking leadership in combating greenwashing," said Lindsay Otis, a policy expert on global carbon markets at CMW. "Carbon neutrality claims have been shown to be unintelligible to consumers, and they must stop. Today marks the end of outlandish and baseless advertisements that tell European consumers that they can take carbon-neutral flights, wear carbon-neutral clothes, and eat carbon-neutral food."
By Patrick Greenfield Learn more: 'Carbon Neutral' Claims That Rely on Offsets Face UK Ban Advertising watchdog to begin stricter enforcement on use of terms such as 'carbon neutral' amid concerns over offsets.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
EU Bans 'Misleading' Environmental Claims That Rely on Offsetting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On Wednesday, members of the European parliament [MEPs] voted to outlaw the use of terms such as "environmentally friendly", "natural", "biodegradable", "climate neutral" or "eco" without evidence, while introducing a total ban on using carbon offsetting schemes to substantiate the claims.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What's Blocking the Rise of More Sustainable Materials?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Weaker-than-expected demand for Swedish textile recycler Renewcell's first commercial volumes of recycled cellulose pulp has sent the company's stock price plummeting and highlighted broader hurdles challenging efforts to lessen fashion's environmental footprint.

# data[].attributes.body
Global travel is projected to exceed pre-pandemic flows for the first time in 2024, reaching up to 110% of 2019 levels.

Remote and hybrid working - In the US, only 39% of companies now require staff to work from their offices full time, down from 49% at the start of 2023, and predicted to to fall to 15 percent in the coming years (Scoop’s Flex Index)

# data[].attributes.headline
67% of cotton exports are highly affected by climate related disasters 

# data[].attributes.subject
67% of cotton exports are highly affected by climate related disasters 

# data[].attributes.headline
By 2030, extreme weather events could jeopardise $65 billion worth of apparel exports and

# data[].attributes.subject
By 2030, extreme weather events could jeopardise $65 billion worth of apparel exports and

# data[].attributes.body
eliminate nearly one million jobs in four economies that are among the most central to the global fashion industry — in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Vietnam.

# data[].attributes.body
Production of raw materials supplying manufacturers.

Cotton is sensitive to both droughts and flooding.

In India, the world’s second-largest cotton exporter, extensive rainfall and pest invasions have reduced its supply to the extent that the country began importing it.

Pakistan has been hit by extreme monsoons, while in contrast, drought has hit Texas’ cotton producers, leading to abandoned crops and steep production declines.

# data[].attributes.body
For manufacturers, flooding is also a growing risk, forcing temporary or permanent factory closures.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 55% of apparel and footwear manufacturing sites could be exposed to rising sea levels and flooding by 2030.

# data[].attributes.body
With fashion still responsible for between 3% and 8% of total greenhouse gas emissions, fashion companies should invest in innovation across the value chain aimed at helping to reduce fashion’s impact on the planet.

This will touch on all areas of the value chain:

New material innovations such as lab-grown fibres

More efficient and ethical product reuse and recycling

Shift from encouraging make-take-waste consumption culture

# data[].attributes.body
more people looking after themselves, working from home and travelling wider

# data[].attributes.body
will prioritise experiences & prefer to wear the brands athleisure to attend these experiences

cafes

beach clubs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
From fashion flagships to luxury hotels accommodations, to enjoying exceptional dining spaces or being amazed by monumental art and installations; those are some of the many experiences today brands offer to their clientele. Is "the ultimate experience" the new luxury?

Branded experiential spaces are lifestyle extensions of some fashion and luxury brands. These spaces seek to capture the customer's attention to engage them in a rewarding, different, and undoubtedly, memorable experience.

Brand spaces can have different formats, either as spaces intended for mere enjoyment and relaxation, a flagship store where the commercial activity takes place or at its opposite pole, non-commercial spaces intended to connect with historical, narrative, artistic elements, or any other discipline close to the core values and the brand purpose.

The positioning of a brand is measured largely by the perception that users have of it. What are the elements inside the brand that they value the most? What do they think of it? And what are the main attributes related to the brand? The creation of brand experiences allows the target audience to interact directly and tangibly within the brand's world.

This contact instigates us to enter deeply and experientially into everything that the brand has communicated previously in its advertising campaigns, its product offerings, and its ultimate idea of personality and storytelling.
Fashion Venturing Into Hospitality: The Brand Extension Strategy
According to marketing authors Aaker and Kelly, the brand extensions are fundamentally lucrative for any fashion brand, even more so for luxury brands. It is a strategic move "because they provide a way to take advantage of brand name recognition and image to enter new markets".

This business operation could also be described as diversification of the brand, by joint venture or by a license agreement. Two different, but still complementary, paths for a brand extension strategy include vertical integration, and moving into an unrelated diversification.With vertical integration, brands launch new lines of products inside the company. With unrelated diversification, a fashion brand moves into a completely unrelated area of the business. Fashion and luxury hospitality seek to achieve the same goals, as both industries aim to fulfill extraordinary experiences, create top customer satisfaction, and have one-of-a-kind destinations.Their partnership is a logical move inside the lifestyle business as their spaces provide a sophisticated immersion that clothes cannot have on their own.

We can find several examples of fashion-luxury joint ventures offering dreamy accommodations and a total experience. Palazzo Versace in Dubai and in the Gold Coast of Australia is a privileged destination to live the Versace lifestyle: spectacular architecture and opulence décor.

Armani Hotel Milano promises a "home-away-from-home" experience, delivering luxurious comfort and the lifestyle philosophy of Giorgio Armani's design. This is the second hotel launched within the Armani Hotels & Resorts project, marking the continued collaboration with Emaar Properties PJSC, one of the world's most valuable real estate development companies, with experience in shopping malls and leisure.

Round Hill Hotel and Villas, in Jamaica, is the favorite destination for Fashion Designer Ralph Lauren, as he owns a private villa on the Round Hill State. The Ralph Lauren style has been influential in the classic aesthetics across the one-of-a-kind Jamaican property. Located in the Pineapple House, there are 36 Ralph Lauren-designed oceanfront rooms that evoke a classic quintessential Caribbean style. Whitestone floors, signature mahogany beds, and luxurious furniture from Ralph Lauren's Home Collection make the stay a cinematic experience.

The Bvlgari Hotels and Resorts are selected properties in major cosmopolitan cities such as London, Bali, Dubai, Shanghai, Roma, Miami, and more. The Bvlgari brand aims to be "the leading luxury hospitality collection in the world" with its timeless glamour and honoring the heritage of Greek founder and Jeweler, Sotirio Bulgari. The joint venture is managed by hospitality experts Marriott International and Ritz-Carlton. The Italian architectural firm, Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel is in charge of all hotel properties and restorations.

Many other ventures are worth knowing, such as La Maison Champs Elysees Hotel, under the artistic direction of the Maison Martin Margiela. The Hotel Missoni in Kuwait and Edinburgh, or Casa Camper in Barcelona and Berlin.

In a world where the experience of everyday life has suffered limitations, the luxury hospitality and the tourism sector want to reconnect with those luxury travelers, avid for sensations and unique perspectives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fashion & Hospitality: Why Do Brands Have Experiential Spaces?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
From fashion flagships to luxury hotels accommodations, to enjoying exceptional dining spaces or being amazed by monumental art and installations; those are some of the many experiences today brands offer to their clientele. Is "the ultimate experience" the new luxury? Branded experiential spaces are lifestyle extensions of some fashion and luxury brands.

# data[].attributes.body
increase in luxury and experiences

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As this season's fashion weeks wrap up in London, Milan, New York, and Paris, brands are working to produce and sell the designs they've just showcased on runways-and they're starting next season's collections. In the future, it's entirely possible that those designs will blend the prowess of a creative director with the power of generative artificial intelligence (AI), helping to bring clothes and accessories to market faster, selling them more efficiently, and improving the customer experience.

By now, you've likely heard of OpenAI's ChatGPT, the AI chatbot that became an overnight sensation and sparked a digital race to build and release competitors. ChatGPT is only one consumer-friendly example of generative AI, a technology comprising algorithms that can be used to create new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, and videos. Rather than simply identifying and classifying information, generative AI creates new information by leveraging foundation models, which are deep learning models that can handle multiple complex tasks at the same time. Examples include GPT-3.5 and DALL-E. (For more on generative AI and machine learning, see " What is generative AI?" and " Generative AI is here: How tools like ChatGPT could change your business.")

While the fashion industry has experimented with basic AI and other frontier technologies-the metaverse, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), digital IDs, and augmented or virtual reality come to mind-it has so far had little experience with generative AI. True, this nascent technology became broadly available only recently and is still rife with worrisome kinks and bugs, but all indications are that it could improve at lightning speed and become a game changer in many aspects of business. In the next three to five years, generative AI could add $150 billion, conservatively, and up to $275 billion to the apparel, fashion, and luxury sectors' operating profits, according to McKinsey analysis. From codesigning to speeding content development processes, generative AI creates new space for creativity. It can input all forms of "unstructured" data-raw text, images, and video-and output new forms of media, ranging from fully-written scripts to 3-D designs and realistic virtual models for video campaigns.

These are still early days, but some clear use cases for generative AI in fashion have already emerged. (Many of these use cases also apply to the adjacent beauty and luxury sectors.) Within product innovation, marketing, and sales and customer experience in particular, the technology can have significant outcomes and may be more feasible to implement in the short term compared with other areas in the fashion value chain. In this article, we outline some of the most promising use cases and offer steps executives can take to get started, as well as risks to keep in mind when doing so.

In our view, generative AI is not just automation-it's about augmentation and acceleration. That means giving fashion professionals and creatives the technological tools to do certain tasks dramatically faster, freeing them up to spend more of their time doing things that only humans can do. It also means creating systems to serve customers better. Here's where to begin.

Understanding the use cases

Generative AI has the potential to affect the entire fashion ecosystem. Fashion companies can use the technology to help create better-selling designs, reduce marketing costs, hyperpersonalize customer communications, and speed up processes. It may also reshape supply chain and logistics, store operations, and organization and support functions (see sidebar, "Generative AI use cases in fashion").

Product development and innovation

Instead of relying on trend reports and market analysis alone to inform designs for next season's collection, both mass-market fashion retailers and luxury brands' creative directors can use generative AI to analyze in real time various types of unstructured data. Generative AI can, for example, quickly aggregate and perform sentiment analysis from videos on social media or model trends from multiple sources of consumer data.

Creative directors and their teams could input sketches and desired details-such as fabrics, color palettes, and patterns-into a platform powered by generative AI that automatically creates an array of designs, thus allowing designers to play with an enormous variety of styles and looks. A team might then design new items based on these outputs, putting a fashion house's signature touch on each of the looks. This opens the door to creating innovative, limited-edition product drops that may also be collaborations between two brands. Products such as eyeglasses could be designed for individuals by using facial-recognition technology powered by generative AI to scan facial topography and adjust for a customer's size and style preferences.

This scenario became reality in December 2022, when a group of Hong Kong-based fashion designers from the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab) held a fashion show featuring generative-AI-supported designs. Using tools from tech companies such as Cala, Designovel, and Fashable, fashion designers are already tapping into the power of generative AI to spark new ideas, try myriad design variations without having to produce expensive samples, and vastly accelerate their processes. (For beauty businesses, generative AI also provides an opportunity for brands to identify new product formulations, potentially helping to reduce lab testing costs.)

Marketing

Marketing executives and agencies can use generative AI to brainstorm campaign strategies, product campaign content, and even virtual avatars for every marketing channel-and do it fast.

Striking marketing gold can often be a numbers game. Consider TikTok: there's no single winning formula for going viral on the platform. Instead, the more you produce, the higher your chances are of becoming a trending topic and boosting brand awareness and sales. Prompting a generative-AI-powered video platform to create short-form videos for TikTok or other social-media platforms can help save time and costs associated with pumping out social-media content. Generative AI can recognize patterns and trends in viral content and create new content that also follows specifications from the marketer.

These exercises can help in-house marketing teams manage their workloads while reducing their reliance on outsourcing work to creative agencies. Marketers will want to be careful with this approach, however: trying to reach consumers by replicating what other brands have done can counteract the unique identity and value proposition that a brand spends years building.

Generative AI could also be applied to personalized customer communications. Companies that excel at personalization increase revenues by 40 percent compared with companies that don't leverage personalization, according to McKinsey research.

Several start-ups-CopyAI, Jasper AI, and Writesonic, to name just a few-are helping pioneer personalized marketing at scale through generative AI. Using these tools, a marketer's daily tasks might start to look like this: they could choose the type of content they want to create, whether it's an email, a long-form blog post, or something else; add a prompt describing what they are looking for; and include the targeted audience and other parameters, such as tone, that help create marketing communications that are in line with the brand. The AI tool then offers several options from which the marketer can choose.

These tools are most helpful when applied to lower-funnel marketing channels (those that are mostly used to encourage sales conversions) as opposed to more prestigious brand-building communications. Marketers are still required to prompt and edit the work.

Sales and consumer experience

Today's generative-AI-powered chats, which use stronger natural-language processing to better understand and interact with humans, are already a measurable improvement over existing AI chats. That said, there isn't (yet) a foolproof generative-AI chatbot for businesses-current chatbots and other text-generating tools still occasionally make errors that could cause serious customer service disasters. Eventually, though, this technology could help customer support agents outsource complex inquiries-for example, using chatbots to help provide personalized responses in numerous languages.

Today, there are services that assign a generative AI "representative" to a brand to handle customer service queries across email, chat, text, and a brand's own platforms. These services help to reduce customer service wait times and improve response times.

Generative-AI agents can also serve luxury brands, particularly when it comes to "clienteling," a retail strategy whereby sales associates develop long-term relationships with a brand's highest-spending customers to encourage purchases and improve brand loyalty. (High-end brands can hit a sales conversion rate of 60 to 70 percent in luxury boutiques, through appointment-only shopping, for example.) That process has remained somewhat analog and manual, relying on brands' sales associates to reach out to customers through a variety of messaging platforms or texts, and is limited to only when those associates are working. Generative-AI-powered tools can keep the conversation going or make styling recommendations after a shopper leaves the store, coach sales associates on how to engage with customers, personalize communications for specific customers, and analyze consumer profiles and online real-time interaction.

In July 2022, apparel retailer Stitch Fix said it was experimenting with GPT-3 and DALL-E 2, the text-to-image AI generator, to boost sales and improve customer satisfaction with better styling services. These generative models are being tested to help stylists quickly and accurately interpret reams of customer feedback and curate products that customers would be likelier to purchase. For example, the AI tool could analyze all of a customer's feedback, which could include hundreds of text comments, email requests, product ratings, and online posts. If a customer regularly comments on, say, the "great fit" and "fun color" of a certain style of pants, DALL-E could generate images of similar pants that the customer would likely want to purchase. The stylist could then find similar items in Stitch Fix's inventory and recommend them to that customer.

Virtual try-ons are yet another example of how generative AI can improve sales and consumer experience. Paris-based Veesual enables virtual try-on integration for e-commerce fashion brands, meaning customers can choose their model and pick clothes to try on.

How to get started

As exciting as generative-AI technology might be, companies will still want to tread cautiously before entrusting any of their core tasks entirely to generative AI. But neglecting to explore the possibilities that this technology offers could be just as risky, given the pace at which it is evolving and the explosive growth of the user base. Executives can start thinking now about how their businesses could use generative AI. There are a few steps leaders can take to begin.

Make value your North Star

Fashion leaders should outline where generative AI can offer the greatest value to their business. Start by noting which areas-creative design, merchandising, runway campaigns, or clienteling-could benefit the most from generative AI. Leaders can then prioritize the generative AI use cases they should pursue based on the level of impact the use cases may have on their business. Some measures of impact include improving customer satisfaction scores and reducing customer service wait times.

Once the value is identified, use cases should also be prioritized according to how feasible they are to implement; determining how seamlessly generative AI can be used will depend on things like a team's technical skills. Afterward, teams should build a short-term road map to test and validate these use cases. At the same time, they can also consider what long-term goals might include, such as how to build a generative-design platform that can be updated and used by designers for every season.

It may be tempting to have a bit of fun with generative AI, but harnessing its power will take extra diligence. Fashion executives must be intentional in building tools that can deliver value rather than experiment with existing tools indiscriminately.

Know risks and plan to mitigate them

In a previous article, we listed some of the risks of using generative AI. One is that the legal parameters around generative AI's use are still being ironed out. Designers are sometimes criticized for creating derivative works and copycat designs. Determining who owns the intellectual property and creative rights to AI-generated works, which could be based on multimodal data sources such as other designers' past collections, will be decided on a case-by-case basis until there is a strong legal precedent. (Although it doesn't involve generative AI, the high-profile battle between Hermès and artist Mason Rothschild surrounding MetaBirkin NFTs, in which a judge ruled that the NFTs infringed on Hermès's trademark, shows how fashion brands can become embroiled in legal conundrums when new technologies emerge.)

Another risk is bias and fairness in generative-AI systems, particularly around biased data sets, which may present reputational challenges for brands that rely on the technology. For example, if an image-generating tool produces an advertising campaign with inappropriate or offensive images that are then shared globally, a brand's reputation could be hurt. And pointing fingers at the company AI in an attempt at damage control may do little to calm consumer ire.

There is also the risk that employees who use generative AI are not fully aware of its shortcomings and may fail to check for errors introduced by the technology. In this case, businesses must regularly train employees and provide them with the resources they need to understand how to use the technology.

While risks are unavoidable, executives can mitigate their potential impact by establishing a process to address risk, ethics, and quality assurance.

Upskill your current workforce

Generative-AI tools could add value to a host of different areas of a business, so it will be important to educate and train employees-including designers, marketers, sales associates, and customer service representatives-on the use of the technology.

Some businesses have already introduced AI-focused training. Levi Strauss, for one, launched a machine learning boot camp in 2021 to train nontech employees on how to use machine learning in the company's design process. Employees who complete the program create new AI tools that are relevant to their work. One of Levi's goals with the program is to increase the diversity of employees who have tech knowledge so that the company can uncover problems that employees who come from traditional technology backgrounds might otherwise miss. The program also helps teams with different specializations-such as design teams and engineering teams-communicate better and find common ground. Furthermore, Levi's has found that the program helps improves employee retention.

With an AI-savvy workforce, collaboration will take on a new meaning. Leaders should consider: How do we define responsibilities and operate collectively between technical and nontechnical roles? Design and software engineering teams can set up weekly leadership meetings to strategize quarterly road maps and working sessions among teams. Design leads can share their needs for certain insights and tools (a tool that generates design variations from a sketch, perhaps), while engineering teams deliver those tools.

Partner with the right tech support

Fashion businesses will no doubt have to invest in their workforce when it comes to leveraging generative AI, but they won't have to build out applications or foundation models themselves. Instead, fashion leaders can partner with generative-AI businesses and experts to move quickly. A fashion executive might partner with a business (such as Microsoft or OpenAI) that provides new technology or a partner that provides support capabilities (such as cloud computing or APIs).

While the potential use cases for generative AI are coming to light quickly, the future of this technology in the apparel and luxury industries is still being stitched together. But experimenting with new tools today means opening infinite possibilities tomorrow.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Generative AI: Unlocking the future of fashion

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
While still nascent, generative AI has the potential to help fashion businesses become more productive, get to market faster, and serve customers better.

# data[].attributes.body
While still nascent, generative AI has the potential to help fashion businesses become more productive, get to market faster, and serve customers better. The time to explore the technology is now.

# data[].attributes.headline
One lasting impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been soaring consumer interest in healthier lifestyles and nature-focused activities.

# data[].attributes.subject
One lasting impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been soaring consumer interest in healthier lifestyles and nature-focused activities.

# data[].attributes.body
US: 82% of people said they had participated in such outdoor activities, compared to 60% in 2020

UK: Nearly half of survey respondents report spending more time outdoors than prior to the pandemic

China: By the end of 2021, more than 400 million people were taking part in outdoor sports and between 2021 and 2023, the search volume in for “outdoor” on Tmall surged more than 600%

# data[].attributes.body
Executive summary

Millennials' health needs are changing as they enter their 30s and 40s, with attention shifting to longevity, preventative care, chronic conditions and family planning.

Opportunity

The global wellness industry is estimated to be worth $5.3bn, and Millennials are leading wellness purchases as they approach midlife and confront the changes that come with it. In the US, Millennials are morewilling than other generations to prioritise wellness spending in coming years, and in China, urban 18- to 35-year-olds (younger Millennials and older Gen Z) are reported to make up 83.7% of the country’s wellness market.

Need to know:

Fewer than half of Hong Kong Millennials are satisfied with their health and wellbeing. In the US, chronic illnesses such as depression, diabetes and hypertension are climbing among Millennials

Amid the cost-of living crisis, Millennials commonly link their wellbeing back to stress, with 74% in the US saying financial anxiety has left them burnt out. Brands must cater their strategies across the spectrum of Millennials’ health concerns to make ongoing care less of a burden

Key markets: Western companies are leading the Millennial wellness market, given growing blindspots and consumer distrust, particularly in the US healthcare system.

Profiles

Long-Gamers: they are focused on preventive care and see midlife as a springboard to longevity. Help them achieve their goals with tech-enabled approaches to anti-ageing.

Care Hackers: convenience is key for these frequent healthcare users. Explore new methods of delivery, whether it be retail clinics, pills and supplements, or private gyms for rent.

Bio-Harmonisers: these consumers want to get in tune with their bodies rather than tune them up. Help them sync with their natural cycles and processes for harmonious wellness, especially for women and people of colour who have traditionally been under-represented in healthcare.

Blue-Zoners: they are on a mission to create their own ‘blue zones’ (locations where people live longer than normal) by optimising their homes, offices and travel for peak health and wellbeing.

Kin Finders: whether they’re starting their own family or finding their chosen one, these consumers are looking for community-focused support structures.

# data[].attributes.headline
THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE FASHION SUPPLY CHAINS 

# data[].attributes.subject
THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE FASHION SUPPLY CHAINS 

# data[].attributes.body
1) circular economy

2) local production and near shoring

3) technological advancements

4) sustainable materials

5) policy changes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Login to LinkedIn to keep in touch with people you know, share ideas, and build your career.

# data[].attributes.headline
scholar article on sustainable materials 

# data[].attributes.subject
scholar article on sustainable materials 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Call to Action for Luxury Brands: Seize the Secondhand Opportunity

The luxury industry has long been synonymous with grandeur, craftsmanship, and exclusivity, exhibiting an aspirational quality that has enthralled consumers worldwide. However, in recent years, an innovative sector has emerged, subtly disrupting this established order-the secondhand luxury market. This burgeoning marketplace, driven by a potent blend of environmental consciousness, changing consumer behavior, and the pursuit of value, has transformed from a fringe sector to a global force shaking the luxury world's very foundations.

Recent studies forecast that the secondhand luxury market will reach a phenomenal $77 billion by 2025, underscoring the rapid pace of its expansion[1]. However, it's crucial to discern that the rise of secondhand luxury is not solely attributable to affordability. Instead, a confluence of factors-sustainability, individualism, a penchant for vintage, and a growing appreciation of heritage and history-are fueling its ascendancy.

Today's consumers, particularly millennials and Gen Z, are displaying an acute environmental consciousness, actively seeking brands that espouse sustainable practices. The secondhand luxury market aligns perfectly with this ethos, allowing consumers to indulge their penchant for luxury without exacerbating the environmental impact. This sector's rise resonates with a broader societal shift toward the 'circular economy,' emphasizing the value of reducing, recycling, and reusing, even in the realm of luxury.

Moreover, the secondhand market offers a rich repository of vintage and limited-edition pieces, providing a distinct appeal to consumers seeking individuality. Secondhand luxury is not about merely owning used goods. It is about owning pieces with history, pieces with a story to tell-an element of exclusivity even the freshest-off-the-runway product cannot match.

It's also worth noting the demographics driving this market shift. Millennials and Gen Z, who account for 62% of luxury secondhand buyers, are key players shaping this industry[2]. Their digital fluency, sustainability-driven purchase decisions, and openness to the pre-owned luxury concept are steering the industry into an unprecedented era of 'recommerce.'

This transformation in the luxury marketplace, characterized by sustainability concerns, shifting consumer attitudes, and the rise of 'recommerce,' necessitates luxury brands to rethink their strategies.

As the secondhand luxury market continues its ascension, it inevitably creates significant ripple effects throughout the broader luxury industry. Once viewed with skepticism by luxury purveyors, the secondhand market is now recognized as a formidable entity, influencing the traditional principles that once governed the sector.

The arrival of this emergent marketplace initially sparked fears of brand dilution amongst luxury brands. The association with pre-owned items was seen as potentially tarnishing the polished image of luxury houses, potentially reducing the perceived value of their goods. However, as the secondhand sector has grown and evolved, these fears have largely been assuaged.

Beyond providing a pathway for new customer acquisition, the secondhand luxury market plays a significant role in promoting sustainability in the industry. By facilitating the reselling and recycling of luxury items, the secondhand market helps extend the lifecycle of these products, thereby reducing waste and environmental impact. As a result, luxury brands can improve their environmental footprint-a factor that's increasingly significant in today's market, where consumers prioritize brands that align with their ethical and ecological values.

In addition, by embracing the secondhand market, luxury brands can gain a strategic advantage. They can better understand and respond to changing consumer behaviors, capitalize on emerging trends, and maintain a stronger brand connection with consumers even after the initial sale.

The rise of the secondhand luxury market represents an exciting shift within the industry. It challenges long-held traditions and offers opportunities for brands to adapt and innovate. Understanding and engaging with this dynamic market is no longer optional for luxury brands-it's imperative.

Understanding the rise of the secondhand luxury market necessitates a deep dive into the evolving consumer behaviors underpinning this seismic shift. This growth is not merely a market trend; it is a reflection of changing consumer values and attitudes towards consumption, luxury, and sustainability.

A key demographic propelling the secondhand luxury market's surge comprises millennials and Gen Z consumers. Their purchasing behavior, influenced by digital fluency, sustainability concerns, and a different perception of luxury, is at the core of the industry's transformation.

One notable shift is the growing consciousness towards sustainability. The global climate crisis has fostered a sense of responsibility among consumers, compelling them to prioritize brands and practices that reduce environmental harm. With the fashion industry recognized as one of the largest global polluters[4], the secondhand luxury market's appeal is amplified. It provides a platform for sustainable luxury consumption, aligning with younger consumers' ethical values and eco-conscious lifestyle.

The secondhand luxury market also meets the desire for individuality and exclusivity among consumers. This market's unique product offering, featuring rare vintage pieces and limited-edition items, caters to the demand for differentiation and personal expression. Owning a preloved luxury item, imbued with a distinct narrative and history, offers an exclusive experience that's increasingly valued over new but widely available products.

Moreover, the secondhand luxury market democratizes access to luxury goods. For younger consumers with aspirational tastes but constrained by budget, secondhand luxury offers an opportunity to experience high-end brands. Once introduced to the world of luxury through this gateway, these consumers are often more likely to purchase new luxury items in the future[5].

The combination of sustainability, individualism, and affordability embodied by the secondhand luxury market aligns with the current consumer zeitgeist. The transformative impact these shifts are having on the luxury industry cannot be overstated. As the market continues to grow and evolve, it is increasingly clear that engaging with the secondhand luxury market is not just an option for luxury brands-it's a strategic imperative to remain relevant and responsive to consumers' changing behaviors and demands.

As the luxury market adapts to cater to the secondhand sector's rise, understanding the expectations of Gen Z luxury consumers is paramount. This demographic, digitally savvy and socially conscious, is shaping the industry's future, bringing sustainability and transmission to the forefront of their expectations from luxury brands.

Gen Z's deep-rooted concern for sustainability permeates their purchasing decisions, extending to their interaction with luxury brands. Unlike previous generations, the allure of a luxury brand name is not enough for Gen Z consumers. They demand accountability and transparency, seeking brands that take tangible steps towards reducing their environmental footprint. This is where the secondhand luxury market holds immense appeal, as it inherently supports the circular economy and encourages the reuse of luxury goods.

Interestingly, the secondhand luxury market offers a unique blend of sustainability and luxury, two seemingly contrasting concepts. By buying pre-owned items, Gen Z consumers can engage with luxury brands while still upholding their commitment to sustainability. This market fulfills their desire for quality and exclusivity without compromising their environmental values.

Additionally, the narrative behind preloved items resonates with Gen Z's preference for authenticity and storytelling. The idea of transmission-passing down a piece with a story to tell-holds immense appeal. They see value in owning items with history, often viewing them as conversation starters. This narrative-driven consumption adds a new dimension to luxury, making the purchase about more than just the item-it's about the story, the heritage, and the connection to the past.

Moreover, the secondhand luxury market is seen as a form of activism against fast fashion, known for its significant environmental impact[6]. By choosing preloved items, Gen Z consumers actively contribute to reducing waste and extending the lifecycle of luxury goods. It aligns with their larger objective of championing change and driving sustainability in all aspects of their lives.

The expectations and values of Gen Z are redefining the future of luxury. As a result, luxury brands must adapt their strategies to integrate the secondhand market and align with Gen Z's sustainability-focused, narrative-driven consumption patterns. By doing so, they ensure their relevance in the ever-evolving luxury landscape, catering to the needs of this influential consumer demographic, and capitalizing on the immense growth potential of the secondhand luxury market.

Recognizing the burgeoning potential of the secondhand luxury market, several pioneering luxury brands have taken the initiative to embrace this sector and have begun to incorporate it into their business models. These brands understand that the rise of secondhand luxury is not a fleeting trend-it's a paradigm shift reflecting the evolving consumer values and behaviors.

's innovative partnership with The RealReal is a case in point. This collaboration enables Gucci to tap into the resale market's potential while maintaining control over its brand image[7]. The partnership involves a dedicated Gucci shop on The RealReal's platform, where consumers can buy authenticated, pre-loved Gucci products. This move not only allows Gucci to connect with environmentally conscious consumers but also helps to extend the lifecycle of its products, thereby promoting sustainability.

These examples demonstrate how luxury brands are embracing the secondhand market, understanding its potential to attract new consumers, promote sustainability, and build brand loyalty. Such initiatives are not merely business strategies but conscious efforts to align with changing consumer behaviors and societal values.

However, it is crucial to acknowledge that luxury brands' journey into the secondhand market is only beginning. To tap into this market's full potential, brands must continue to innovate, building strategic partnerships, and developing sustainable business models. In the next and final section, we will explore actionable insights for luxury brands to integrate the secondhand market successfully into their business models, laying the groundwork for sustainable growth in the changing luxury landscape.

Luxury brands must heed the signs. The secondhand luxury market is not an undercurrent or an anomaly; it is a wave of change that has started to redefine the luxury landscape. Luxury brands that acknowledge and respond to this transformation proactively will inevitably be the architects of the industry's future.

The growth of the secondhand luxury market, fueled by changing consumer behaviors, sustainability concerns, and the desire for unique and accessible luxury experiences, presents a powerful opportunity. By embracing the secondhand market, luxury brands can cultivate a new generation of consumers, extend the lifecycle of their products, promote sustainability, and ultimately enhance their brand value.

For luxury brands, participating in the secondhand market is not merely about creating an additional revenue stream-it's about strategically engaging with consumers' evolving preferences and demonstrating a commitment to sustainability. The action is no longer optional but necessary for brands aiming to thrive in the rapidly transforming luxury ecosystem.

Several pioneering luxury brands have already started the journey. Their innovative initiatives serve as examples for the broader industry. Gucci, with The RealReal, J.M Weston with its in-store secondhand initiatives, Bottega Veneta's life guarantee for its bags, and Balenciaga's work with Re-flaunt, are all testaments to the potential of secondhand luxury.

Yet, this is only the beginning. Luxury brands must delve deeper, continuously innovating and exploring collaborations with key players in the secondhand market. Companies such as MONOGRAM PARIS , , Luxe Collective Fashion , , and are leading the way in this sector, providing platforms that luxury brands can partner with to tap into the secondhand market successfully. Luxury Promise Vestiaire Collective

However, merely participating in the secondhand luxury market isn't enough. Brands must communicate their initiatives effectively to consumers, highlighting their commitment to sustainability and the circular economy. Telling compelling stories about the lives and heritage of pre-owned items can enhance consumers' connection with the brand, driving engagement and loyalty.

The call to action is clear: Luxury brands must seize the secondhand opportunity. The stakes are high, but so are the rewards. A sustainable, inclusive, and innovative luxury industry awaits those who dare to evolve and embrace change.

By seizing this opportunity, luxury brands will not only secure their place in the future of luxury-they will shape it. The secondhand luxury market is more than a trend. It's the new frontier of luxury, waiting to be explored.

Join us as we step into this exciting future, reshaping luxury, one preloved item at a time. Let's embrace the future of luxury. Let's embrace secondhand luxury.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Secondhand Luxury Market - An Imperative to Act

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Call to Action for Luxury Brands: Seize the Secondhand Opportunity The luxury industry has long been synonymous with grandeur, craftsmanship, and exclusivity, exhibiting an aspirational quality that has enthralled consumers worldwide. However, in recent years, an innovative sector has emerged, sub

# data[].attributes.headline
 The RealReal reported that more than half of its sellers in 2021 were Generation X or older, or at least 42 years old. And younger shoppers are the ones most often purchasing these secondhand clothes.

# data[].attributes.subject
 The RealReal reported that more than half of its sellers in 2021 were Generation X or older, or at least 42 years old. And younger shoppers are the ones most often purchasing these secondhand clothes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The secondhand clothing business has become a mainstream part of the fashion world. More and more brands are taking part in the resale segment of the industry. According to Statista, "In 2021, the global market value of secondhand and resale apparel was estimated to be worth $96 billion U.S. dollars."

Most recently Amazon formed a partnership with luxury vintage apparel company, What Goes Around Comes Around, to sell high-end brand's merchandise on their site. What is interesting about this partnership is that many of the luxury brands that Amazon will now be carrying as a result of the partnership, are the very brands that had declined Amazon's requests to sell on their site.
Generational Exchange
In the resale business it seems that consumer behaviors shift depending on age. The RealReal reported that more than half of its sellers in 2021 were Generation X or older, or at least 42 years old. And younger shoppers are the ones most often purchasing these secondhand clothes.

As of 2021, 42% of millennial and Generation Z respondents of a global survey stated that they were likely to shop secondhand for items.

On average, online secondhand shoppers in the United States spent nearly $340 U.S. dollars on resale apparel items in 2021.

Younger generations are drawn to shop these pre-owned goods, not only because they can often cost less, but because it is more environmentally friendly. Today, the ability to purchase secondhand clothing through apps and websites makes the process much simpler too, as opposed to having to sift through racks at a physical store location.

Nordstrom launched what they are calling their re-commerce experience, See You Tomorrow, an online marketplace and a physical in-store experience housed in the Nordstrom NYC flagship store. A place where shoppers can purchase pre-owned apparel and accessories, and can also participate by contributing their own worn items through a customer intake program.
Earth Conscious
Reselling pre-owned items isn't the only way brands are catering to the younger generations. Zara collaborated with LanzaTech, a biotech company, to focus on sustainability by making clothes from captured carbon emissions.

This partnership is the first time clothing produced from captured carbon emissions have been made available for sale.

"LanzaTech has the technology that can help fashion brands and retailers limit their carbon impact. By working with Zara, we have found a new pathway to recycle carbon emissions to make fabric," said Jennifer Holmgren, Chief Executive at LanzaTech. The company is also partnering with Lulu Lemon to produce garments made from captured carbon emissions.

Many retailers have also added clothing donation bins to their stores while marketing the initiatives as an environmentally-friendly element to fast-fashion. H&M added these bins to more than 4,200 of their store locations worldwide, stating that pre-used donated pieces can be given a new purpose. However, the program has been met with criticism considering that fast-fashion is the major contributor to the sheer volume of textiles that end up in landfills.

Approximately 85% of unwanted textiles in North America end up in landfills - which amounts to more than 11 billion kilograms a year. Recycling clothing into new garments is very costly and difficult. H&M's 2018 Sustainability Report states that of all of the material used to make its estimated half a billion garments a year, only 0.7% is recycled material. However, the company also stated in the report that their goal is to use 100% recycled or other sustainably sourced materials by 2030 at the latest.

Zara is another company that has provided donation bins in their stores and now also entered the resale market with their own peer-to-peer shopping platform in the UK called Zara Pre-Owned. In addition to reselling previously owned Zara clothing, the platform will allow shoppers to request repairs on any used Zara garment from any season, and schedule donations to be picked up from their homes.

According to ThredUp's 10th annual resale report, the global secondhand apparel market will grow 127% by 2026 - that's three times faster than the global apparel market overall. And the U.S. secondhand market will more than double by 2026, reaching $82 billion.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rise Of The Resale Business In The Retail World

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The second hand clothing business has become a mainstream part of the fashion world. According to Statista, "In 2021, the global market value of secondhand and resale apparel was estimated to be worth 96 billion U.S. dollars."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Growing fashion sales are overwhelming efforts to promote pre-loved apparel.
getty

Pre-loved, vintage, second hand, thrift. Call it what you will, the apparel industry has been making a big noise about its efforts to reuse, recycle and reduce.

But according to results from sustainability charity WRAP today, insatiable consumer demand means that far from a reduction, never-ending demand for new apparel is overwhelming the impact of the growth in pre-loved fashion.

The volume of products signatories sold or placed on the market was 626,000 tons of textiles in 2022, a 13% increase on 2019 baseline levels. This equates to over 17.5 lbs of new clothing per person in Britain, or 28 new items.

The clearly exasperated U.K.-based resources charity WRAP issued its latest update on its Textiles 2030 initiative today and warned that a 13% rise in the production of new apparel between 2019 and 2022 had "cancelled out" progress to reduce the carbon impact of textiles.

While the industry has nudged the dial forward, real progress looks as far away as ever.

Although Textiles 2030 is a U.K. voluntary agreement, many of the names signed up are international players.

Launched by WRAP in 2021 to help the fashion industry to collaborate on reductions in carbon and water use, plus set circular textile targets, currently it has 38 brands and retailers signed up among 130 businesses overall, representing an estimated 62% of the textiles placed on the U.K. market, according to the organization.

Big-name signatories include online fashion giant Asos, grocery group Asda (which has its own fashion line), eBay, Primark, and Dunelm.

The agreement has set out targets for a 50% carbon reduction and a 30% decrease in water use by 2030, notably cotton fiber production which accounts for 84% of the total fashion water footprint.

Fashion Water Use Up

The progress report showed that for each ton of apparel produced, compared with a 2019 baseline, carbon emissions had fallen by 12% and water use by 4%. However, a 13% increase in production meant that total carbon emissions have only fallen by 2% over three years, while water use has actually increased by 8%.

The report outlined that while 71% of cotton used by signatories now comes from improved sources, production levels have eroded some of the positive movement.

Despite industry pledges, soaring demand means pre-loved is only 9% of the market.
getty

It also highlighted the potential for greater savings by designing for longer product life and increasing the use of recycled fibers, which it estimates could reduce the total carbon footprint by 12% and water use by 18%.

Despite the per-ton reduction in water use in 2022, an overall production increase since 2019 has not only cancelled this out but lead to an 8% rise in water use, equivalent to neraly 110 billion cubic feet - or in other words enough to provide 87% of the U.K. population with water for all wants and needs, every day for a year.

The rise in production also impacts the actual reduction in carbon, which has been reduced to just 2%.

Pre-loved Continues To Lag

"Textiles and fashion are responsible for up to 10% of global carbon emissions. But as fast as positive improvements happen, they're cancelled out by rising production. If we hope to get anywhere near achieving the critical goals of the Paris Agreement, we must get serious about textiles," Catherine David, director of behavior change and business programs, at WRAP said.

"We need sustainable design, sustainable business models, and more sustainable ways of buying and using clothes from more businesses. But production is clearly the key issue, and the onus is on businesses to make preloved part of their portfolio, so it's accessible, easy and fun."

With more brands and retailers operating take-back schemes, the volume of used textiles collected and sold for reuse or recycling between 2019 and 2022 had doubled, WRAP said.

However, production of new apparel far overshadows the pre-loved market, and a gulf remains between new products and pre-loved items sold, with the second-hand market making up just 9% of textiles placed on the market, according to WRAP.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Pre-Loved Growth Overwhelmed By Soaring Demand For New Apparel

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Call it what you will, the apparel industry has been making a big noise about its efforts to reuse, recycle and reduce, but demand is overwhelming pre-loved efforts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The best advertising campaigns make you want to be the woman on the billboard. In 2013, I wanted to be Daria Werbowy in a pink, roll-top bath, naked save for a rhinestone-studded collar necklace and bracelets, in Céline's spring campaign.

I dreamt about that sparkling choker, specifically, for months, though it was wildly unaffordable - upwards of £2,000 - on my peanut salary as a fashion reporter. Years later, when its creator Phoebe Philo announced she was leaving the brand in 2017, I thought of the necklace again. Curious to see if I could track one down, I hit Google. Fifteen minutes later, I had unearthed a German seller on the French resale website Vestiaire Collective, who was willing to part with theirs for £481.37, complete with its dust bag and original box. Reader, I bought it. And then I bragged about it. "It's spring/summer 2013," I told admirers who enquired as to the necklace's origin at a Vogue party.

Time was when past-season designer wares would be pushed to the back of the wardrobe or donated to willing recipients after their moment in the spotlight. Now, pre-loved, pre-worn, used, thrifted and resale clothes and accessories could not be more desirable. "Vintage" is the term that covers all bases, though it makes the sticklers shudder: technically, it should only be applied to clothes made between the past 20 and 99 years. In any case, the second-hand market today is distinctly evolved from the two categories that "vintage" used to denote: an acid-free, tissue-wrapped couture dress acquired at an auction house on the one hand, or a moth-ball-scented slip dress unearthed at a flea market stall on the other.

For one thing, the pre-loved items that today's savviest shoppers are hunting down are often not that old. And the hunt isn't taking place in cavernous warehouses or auction houses, but online. Today's well-dressed fashion fans score gently used Alaïa dresses on The RealReal, worn-once Bottega Veneta Cassette bags on Vestiaire Collective, vintage Chanel bouclé jackets on Hewi, and pre-owned Hermès Birkins on Collector Square. They snap up sold-out BNWT ("bought new with tags", in internet speak) Zara leggings on Depop and second-hand Jean Paul Gaultier Cyber Dots mesh tops on eBay. They go to StockX for like-new Dior Air Jordans and to Chrono24 for lived-in Cartier Tanks, making a brief detour to Dotte for Mini Rodini cast-offs for their kids.

They sell, too. After all, their original Dior Saddle bag from spring/summer 2000 is worth a pretty penny since Maria Grazia Chiuri reissued it in 2018 - making it far too lucrative to pass on to a daughter.

"People's sense of ownership has changed," says Rachel Reavley, a former Vogue staffer and board member at Hewi, a family-run, UK-based resale site with particularly affluent clientele. (Hewi is short for Hardly Ever Worn It; more than 30 per cent of stock on the site has never been worn.) "When you've experienced shopping in a luxury re-commerce space, it really opens up your customer expectation. Then you start to look at things in your wardrobe, thinking, am I ever going to actually wear those Dior boots again? You go online, and as long as you've taken care of them, they've held their value. It's a win-win - you have the financial reward, the feel-good factor of participating in circular economy. Then, you might buy something else, and it feels guilt-free."

Resale is big business. The second-hand market is projected to double over the next five years, growing 11 times faster than the broader retail clothing sector to reach £67bn by 2025, according to a report by GlobalData and ThredUp. Why the boom? It must be said that women have been buying pre-loved fashion for decades; as far back as 1928, for instance, British Vogue was advertising 22 second-hand clothing dealers who could be trusted to discreetly dispose of last season's Chanel suit. But the key word there is "discreet".

Generation Z, who are primarily fuelling the growth in thrifting, are more likely to boast about their finds on social media than keep said item's second-hand status under wraps. "From the research that we did in collaboration with Depop, if you analyse the youngest generation, they don't have that stigma anymore," says Claudia D'Arpizio, luxury goods guru at management consulting firm Bain & Company. "It's clear they are also buying a lot of 'first-hand' products. But I think the stigma was more attached to previous generations."

After all, eschewing the brand-new is cheaper and less intimidating (in the case of luxury items) than hitting London's Bond Street or New York's Madison Avenue, and more sustainable: according to a Farfetch report, purchasing a pre-owned item on average saves 1kg of waste, 3,040 litres of water and 22kg of CO2, compared with a new item.

Then, there's the thrill of the chase. As Camille Charrière, journalist and influencer with an Instagram following of more than 1.2 million, and who regularly shops resale platforms for past-season pieces, puts it: "I get a lot of kicks from wearing things that no one else has got." Her most highly prized trophy is a one-of-a-kind John Galliano for Dior dress from the Noughties, a gift for a recent birthday. She relishes the time spent acquiring one-off pieces. "You don't need to buy the latest thing that's just come out to be able to be well-dressed," she says.

The pandemic has changed our world in myriad ways - but perhaps its biggest legacy for fashion will be the shift in mindset towards pre-loved products. Farfetch, for instance, has been selling pre-loved clothing alongside brand-new luxury stock since 2010, but 2020 was a clear turning point: pre-owned views increased 151 per cent year-on-year, with notable growth from March 2020 onwards, when the pandemic took hold. Moreover, it noted a 506 per cent increase in sales of pre-owned items valued at more than $10,000 (£7,253) from Q1 to Q4 of 2020. As Tom Berry, Farfetch's global director of sustainable business, notes: "Our pre-loved curation isn't necessarily targeted at a low-price offer. For us, people come for unique items, for great fashion, and it makes them feel better because it's sustainable." Customers have also been availing themselves of the "Second Life" service, where they can resell their luxury bags in return for Farfetch credit.

Net-a-Porter has been taking notes. Last October, it announced a resale pilot with Reflaunt, the tech company behind H&M's "Rewear" programme, offering customers the chance to sell well-preserved designer items in their wardrobes in exchange for store credit. And at Printemps in Paris, a new 13,000sq m floor entirely dedicated to vintage and thrifted clothing, as well as a new buy-back scheme opened in October, reportedly the biggest-ever space dedicated to second-hand fashion in a department store. Marie Blanchet's Mon Vintage, a high-end vintage service, is the star attraction, with its racks boasting original Versace bondage suits, Yves Saint Laurent safari dresses, and even the Jean Paul Gaultier cameo necklace from his spring/summer 1998 Hommage à Frida Kahlo collection, once worn by Madonna in the music video for 1998's "Frozen". "What we curate looks like it could be on the runway right now," says Blanchet. She believes the pandemic has fundamentally shifted the way we feel about new clothes. "Now, it's all about meaningful purchases. Vintage, in this sense, is a sustainable signifier. You are buying into a story, feeling unique, and wearing pieces that were made to last - the quality of fabrics on the whole is incredible."

Gucci wants in. Hot on the horsebit-adorned heels of Ridley Scott's House of Gucci - which stars Lady Gaga and is stuffed with throwback Gucci looks sourced from the house's vast archive in Florence, as well as vintage dealers, eBay and Etsy - in September it launched Vault. Billed as an online concept store, it is partly stocked with vintage items acquired from Italian grannies and auction houses alike, reconditioned by in-house artisans, and in some cases customised by creative director Alessandro Michele.

Vault is a no-brainer for the vintage-obsessed Michele: the pre-loved pieces reinforce the seasonless codes on which he has built his Gucci reboot. As he put it in an interview at Vault's launch: "Gucci turns one hundred this year, and it's the time to show everybody how beautiful it would be to give a second, a third life and more to old things that are the most beautiful." Having successfully reissued the archival Jackie, Horsebit 1955 and bamboo-handled Diana bags in recent years to monster sales figures, as well as revisiting 1990s hits from Tom Ford-era Gucci for its centenary Aria collection, stepping into resale won't feel like much of a stretch for Michele and CEO Marco Bizzarri. After all, it won't have escaped them that Prada's recent decision to reissue its signature nylon handbags from the 1990s and 2000s has resulted in the originals increasing in value by about 174 per cent, according to Rebag.

Read more: The 10 Key Spring/Summer 2022 Trends To Know Now

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Rise Of Resale: How Second-Hand Became Fashion's First Port Of Call

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The best pre-loved fashion is no longer discovered only in IRL. Today's savviest fans are finding everything from vintage Alaïa to Zara in all corners of the digital shopping space.

# data[].attributes.headline
report including statistics on the future of the trend

# data[].attributes.subject
report including statistics on the future of the trend

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
" Second-hand Clothing Market " Research Report 2024 offers statistical information about the market's past and present conditions, production costs, volume, share, size, and growth. The provision of product categories like types [Luxury Brand, Fast-selling Brand, Others] and application [Men's Clothes, Women's Clothes, Kid's Clothes] to the quickly expanding sector is a significant trend in the worldwide Second-hand Clothing business. This Research explains effective marketing techniques, the contributions and most recent advances of important companies, numerous methodologies, and analysis.

Browse Detailed TOC of Second-hand Clothing Market report which is spread across 121+ Pages, Tables and Figures with Charts that provides exclusive data, information, vital statistics, trends, and competitive landscape details in this niche sector.

Who is the largest manufacturers of Second-hand Clothing Market worldwide?

Short Description About Second-hand Clothing Market:

The Global Second-hand Clothing market is anticipated to rise at a considerable rate during the forecast period, between 2024 and 2031. In 2022, the market is growing at a steady rate and with the rising adoption of strategies by key players, the market is expected to rise over the projected horizon.

North America, especially The United States, will still play an important role which cannot be ignored. Any changes from United States might affect the development trend of Second-hand Clothing. The market in North America is expected to grow considerably during the forecast period. The high adoption of advanced technology and the presence of large players in this region are likely to create ample growth opportunities for the market.

Europe also play important roles in global market, with a magnificent growth in CAGR During the Forecast period 2022-2029.

Second-hand Clothing Market size is projected to reach Multimillion USD by 2029, In comparison to 2022, at unexpected CAGR during 2022-2029.

Despite the presence of intense competition, due to the global recovery trend is clear, investors are still optimistic about this area, and it will still be more new investments entering the field in the future.

This report focuses on the Second-hand Clothing in global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.

The report focuses on the Second-hand Clothing market size, segment size (mainly covering product type, application, and geography), competitor landscape, recent status, and development trends. Furthermore, the report provides detailed cost analysis, supply chain.

Technological innovation and advancement will further optimize the performance of the product, making it more widely used in downstream applications. Moreover, Consumer behavior analysis and market dynamics (drivers, restraints, opportunities) provides crucial information for knowing the Second-hand Clothing market.

What are the factors driving the growth of the Second-hand Clothing Market?

Growing demand for below applications around the world has had a direct impact on the growth of the Second-hand Clothing

What are the types of Second-hand Clothing available in the Market?

Based on Product Types the Market is categorized into Below types that held the largest Second-hand Clothing market share In 2024.

Which regions are leading the Second-hand Clothing Market?

North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)

Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Turkey etc.)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)

Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)

Inquire more and share questions if any before the purchase on this report at - https://www.precisionreports.co/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/21046251

This Second-hand Clothing Market Research/Analysis Report Contains Answers to your following Questions

What are the global trends in the Second-hand Clothing market? Would the market witness an increase or decline in the demand in the coming years?

What is the estimated demand for different types of products in Second-hand Clothing? What are the upcoming industry applications and trends for Second-hand Clothing market?

What Are Projections of Global Second-hand Clothing Industry Considering Capacity, Production and Production Value? What Will Be the Estimation of Cost and Profit? What Will Be Market Share, Supply and Consumption? What about Import and Export?

Where will the strategic developments take the industry in the mid to long-term?

What are the factors contributing to the final price of Second-hand Clothing? What are the raw materials used for Second-hand Clothing manufacturing?

How big is the opportunity for the Second-hand Clothing market? How will the increasing adoption of Second-hand Clothing for mining impact the growth rate of the overall market?

How much is the global Second-hand Clothing market worth? What was the value of the market In 2020?

Who are the major players operating in the Second-hand Clothing market? Which companies are the front runners?

Which are the recent industry trends that can be implemented to generate additional revenue streams?

What Should Be Entry Strategies, Countermeasures to Economic Impact, and Marketing Channels for Second-hand Clothing Industry?

Second-hand Clothing Market - Covid-19 Impact and Recovery Analysis:

We were monitoring the direct impact of covid-19 in this market, further to the indirect impact from different industries. This document analyzes the effect of the pandemic on the Second-hand Clothing market from a international and nearby angle. The document outlines the marketplace size, marketplace traits, and market increase for Second-hand Clothing industry, categorised with the aid of using kind, utility, and patron sector. Further, it provides a complete evaluation of additives concerned in marketplace improvement in advance than and after the covid-19 pandemic. Report moreover done a pestel evaluation within the business enterprise to study key influencers and boundaries to entry.

Our studies analysts will assist you to get custom designed info to your report, which may be changed in phrases of a particular region, utility or any statistical info. In addition, we're constantly inclined to conform with the study, which triangulated together along with your very own statistics to make the marketplace studies extra complete for your perspective.

Final Report will add the analysis of the impact of Russia-Ukraine War and COVID-19 on this Second-hand Clothing Industry.

Detailed TOC of Global Second-hand Clothing Market Research Report, 2024-2031

7 Research Findings and Conclusion

8 Appendix 8.1 Methodology 8.2 Research Process and Data Source 8.3 Disclaimer

Purchase this report (Price 3450 USD for a single-user license) - https://www.precisionreports.co/purchase/21046251

Precision Reports is the credible source for gaining the market reports that will provide you with the lead your business needs. At Precision Reports, our objective is providing a platform for many top-notch market research firms worldwide to publish their research reports, as well as helping the decision makers in finding most suitable market research solutions under one roof. Our aim is to provide the best solution that matches the exact customer requirements. This drives us to provide you with custom or syndicated research reports.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Second-hand Clothing Market - Growth, Trends and Forecast (2024 - 2031)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Second-hand Clothing Market" Research Report 2024 offers statistical information about the market's past and present conditions, production costs, volume, share, size, and growth. The provision of product categories like types [Luxury Brand, Fast-selling Brand, Others] and application [Men's Clothe

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Resale and rental occupy a curious spot in the fashion market.

The pioneers that charged out ahead and into the public markets - including Rent the Runway Inc., ThredUp Inc. and The RealReal Inc. - have all struggled with investors, who are no longer willing to settle for growth and want actual profits.

Still, brands and retailers keep jumping in, pumping more heat into a resale and rental sector that is sometimes seen as a kind of sustainable savior, a single-item logistics nightmare or just a black hole for money.

Maybe it's a little bit of all of those, but certainly big companies are very much still paying attention.

Zara launched a pre-owned platform in 14 European markets in December. And Amazon Luxury Stores recently entered resale with Hardly Ever Worn It in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

Urban Outfitters Inc.'s Nuuly rental platform drove $65.5 million in revenues in the third quarter, an 86 percent increase from a year earlier that produced operating profits.

"With the strong partnership of our sister brands Anthropologie, Free People, FP Movement and Urban Outfitters as well as over 400 other partner brands, we have curated what we believe is the most compelling rental clothing assortment on the market," crowed David Hayne, Urban's chief technology officer, to analysts last year.

Just where all these resale and rental efforts lead remains to be seen. But the sense is, they're going somewhere.

"We're kind of in the messy, let's figure it out [stage], because brands and companies all realize now, yes, it's a real market," said Cara Smyth, chair of Fashion Makes Change at the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

"Resale grew five times faster than the regular retail clothing sector in 2022," Smyth said. "There's money to be made. There are consumers that are interested in it and it's a new channel. You can't establish a new channel in such a short time. We are in this: How do we make it work? How do we deal with single [stock keeping units]? There's a lot of technical portions as well, a data portion to make it function."

And consumers seem to be ready for it.

The ThredUp platform counted 1.8 million active buyers in the third quarter while luxury specialist The RealReal said its active buyers over the past year tallied 954,000.

ThredUp's annual Resale Report last year projected that the global secondhand market would nearly double by 2027, reaching $350 billion. Within that, the secondhand apparel market is seen growing three times faster than the apparel market overall.

"There is a market for it. It is a growing market. And it's really important," said Adam Davis, who is managing director at Wells Fargo Retail Finance and works with both retailers and resellers.

"That's why you've seen major brands like Levi's and Lululemon and Rolex adopting the concept of pre-owned," he said. "They have their own reasons. They want to control their product distribution, they want to build that relationship with the consumer. There's probably a profitability thing there, and then there's a lower entry point for consumers."

But when brands adopt resale, they're largely bolting a new model onto their existing, generally healthy business that's already converting consumer dollars into profits.

"When you think of retailers, they're buying from a manufacturer, they're getting 30, 60, 90 days of payables," Davis said. "So they're able to kind of play with the working capital. Some of those [resale] models don't allow for that. So they are paying cash and they have to try to sell this product as quickly as possible.

"The ones that have done it well have shrunk their sku list for the higher-velocity turning items," he said. "The Louis Vuitton Speedy is going to sell, and you can get a whole slew of those because you can get 'em in Japan through some of the brokers ... that item turns really quickly. So rather than trying to sell everything, you start to shrink down to focus on the items that turn really quickly."

Davis said there were private companies that were making the resale model work.

The luxury resale platform Vestiaire Collective, for instance, was just valued at 1.1 billion euros in November and is eyeing the prospects of an IPO in the not-too-distant future.

Chief executive officer Maximilian Bittner told WWD recently, "We're still very conservative with regard to our planning for 2024, but despite that conservative planning, we think we will approach the profitability toward the end of this year."

Vestiaire Collective's revenue increased by 25 percent last year.

"The resale idea is a hot idea among consumers," said Jessica Ramírez, an analyst at Jane Hali & Associates. "We have a lot of platforms in the U.S. and Europe. There's a lot of competition, it's just a very crowded space.

"A lot of the brands started to bring resale into their own vertical," Ramírez said. "It's been a lot of changes that have happened in the resale market that have made it difficult to succeed."

Part of the sector's PR problem is that some of the most high-profile players are struggling mightily.

Rent the Runway, ThredUp, The RealReal and Poshmark, before its buyout, all had splashy, headline-making debuts. But then they were tripped up by the changing sentiment in the stock market.

"The VC money dried up, they try to solve it with debt, and then the IPO markets opened up and they were able to go public and that's how they ended up funding their business," Wells Fargo's Davis said. "They're in the public eye ... their expense structures are just completely out of whack."

That's changing as the public players have all moved to rightsize their spending and are increasingly focusing on where their models work best.

But it's still been a long journey and investors aren't necessarily hanging around. Rent the Runway 's market capitalization has fallen to just under $36 million, while RealReal and ThredUp are trading closer to $200 million.

Edward Yruma, an equity analyst at Piper Sandler & Co. who covers the sector, said: "I don't think these companies are maybe going to be as profitable as we would have hoped a number of years ago."

The back-of-house operations account for some of that. In some cases, it's a problem of consumer demand.

Yruma said shoppers still seem to be looking for value before they look for sustainability.

"Even though the Millennials and Gen Z are really concerned about the environment, it is still questionable how that links back to their purchasing behavior," he said.

The public players in the space have all made progress cutting costs. But Yruma said, "People want to understand when they achieve profitability, but then, what's the longer-term profitability of these models? These have become show-me stories."

That means investors are holding back, waiting for signs of traction before jumping back in.

And some believers have lost faith.

"I've been a student of the space forever," said Michael Prendergast, managing director in Alvarez & Marsal's consumer and retail group. "I always thought it was very cool. It's interesting, but not sustainable."

That's not sustainable as in eco-friendly, but sustainable in a business sense - at least as currently structured.

"The attraction is this broad breadth of skus across brands and exclusivity in product," Prendergast said of the sector. "That sounds fine, but the problem is when you're running a retail business, what are the main things you need? You need sales. You need efficiency. You need operations that turn and have a supply chain that is very supportive."

Prendergast said he had something like the perfect resale consumer experience - once. He went to a store and found a perfect Moncler jacket at 25 percent of what he would have paid for it new.

"This is the best thing ever," he thought, getting hooked into resale. But then, he went back to the store repeatedly and "never found anything else."

"They've got some real issues when it comes to assortment planning, demand planning and what I would call consistency in skus," he said. "The behind-the-scenes is very complicated for these companies."

That sets the scene for continued evolution in the market and, maybe, some more collaborations and combinations as the players feel their way toward better businesses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Resale and rental plans in fashion are growing despite some high profile setbacks from the RealReal, ThredUp and others in the stock market.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Resale is shaping up to be one of the big winners of the pandemic. Even as wider fashion sales slump significantly, the secondary market is exploding. According to a recent report by ThredUp, online second-hand sales of fashion goods are set to grow 69 percent between 2019 and 2021, as sellers clean out their closets for extra cash, and Covid-wary buyers avoid physical stores and seek bargains online.

In the luxury segment, second-hand sales are heating up, too. Luxury resale is set to grow 15 to 20 percent each year over the next five years, faster than the overall luxury market, which was growing in the low single digits before the pandemic, according to Boston Consulting Group.

Over the last decade, the luxury resale space, once dominated by eBay, has birthed a wave of "eBay meets Net-a-Porter" platforms like Vestiaire Collective and The RealReal, which offer curation, authentication and hassle-free service. Now, major luxury brands - long wary of the secondary market for fear of brand dilution - are paying closer attention to a business model that's gaining serious traction with Gen-Z and Millennial consumers, who are set to account for more than 60 percent of total luxury spending by 2026, according to BCG, and for whom access trumps ownership and sustainability is a growing concern.

This week, Gucci, whose products have long been bought and sold on the secondary market launched a shop with The RealReal, stocked with a selection of Gucci products sourced from the platform's consignors, as well as pre-worn press samples supplied by Gucci itself. In recent years, Stella McCartney and Burberry have also launched partnerships with The RealReal, but the Italian megabrand's reboot has been the last decade's biggest luxury sector success story. Where Gucci goes, others are likely to follow, suggesting that the industry's stance on the pre-owned market could be nearing a tipping point.

There is significant consumer interest in second-hand luxury goods, with demand concentrated on a handful of brands - Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci - according to Bernstein analyst Luca Solca. And research shows that rather than cannibalising full-price sales, second-hand products sold at a discount widen the market for luxury goods and provide more affordable entry points to high-end brands, thereby serving as a gateway for first-time buyers.

There is also evidence that secondary market sales may support sales of new goods as consumers come to see the ultimate cost of a product as its sticker price minus its eventual resale value, booting perceived affordability, said Solca.

This signals a significant revenue opportunity that luxury labels cannot ignore, especially as Covid-19 depresses sales, which could sink by 35 percent this year, according to Bain. And yet, for carefully cultivated luxury brands, the second-hand market comes with risk as well as reward.

The presence of counterfeit goods on resale sites has long been a key concern. In a closely watched trademark infringement and counterfeiting lawsuit, French luxury leader Chanel has accused The RealReal of selling counterfeit bags, claiming its "authentication experts" cannot be trusted. Last November, The RealReal was embroiled in a major controversy after an investigation by CNBC revealed weaknesses in the platform's authentication process which led to the sale of counterfeit goods on the site.

But the dispute with Chanel may reflect anxieties that go deeper than fake bags.

Luxury brands trade on being special and scarce. And yet top brands like Gucci and Chanel mass produce goods in large volumes, relying heavily on high prices and branding to generate the perception of exclusivity that gives their products value. What happens when resale sites reveal these goods to be more ubiquitous and less valuable than consumers may have thought?

Gucci appears to be betting that its products will retain value over time, that bringing these products to a wider audience is something its brand can withstand and that, ultimately, the rewards of engaging more directly with the secondary market outweigh the risks.

Clearly, partnering with The RealReal will allow Gucci to play a more active role in managing its brand on a major resale site. But most importantly, it will give the label the opportunity to more closely study the interplay between second-hand shoppers and its products to inform a much bigger decision: should Gucci build resale into its own business model? And if so, how?

Luxury fashion's megabrands could benefit enormously from bringing resale in-house, much as luxury automobile makers have launched certified pre-owned programs, bringing greater trust and order to the secondary market while taking a more significant slice of second-hand sales.
THE NEWS IN BRIEF FASHION, BUSINESS AND THE ECONOMY

J.C. Penney store | Source: Shutterstock

J.C. Penney judge urges Aurelius Group to bid. The push comes as J.C. Penney, its biggest landlords and holders of most of its senior debt work to execute a bid that would rescue the company by October 16. The deal, which would allow the retailer to keep stores open, was reported nearly a month ago but no formal agreements have been signed.

Puma shares dip as Kering sells 5.9 percent stake. Kering sold its stake in the German sportswear company for approximately $772 million. The move comes as the French conglomerate aims to focus its resources on high-margin luxury brands like Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga. Kering already sold 70 percent of Puma to its shareholders in 2018.

Mulberry forecasts reduced losses on improving sales trend. The group was struggling due to investment costs and a tough trading environment in its home market even before the pandemic hit. Mulberry has seen an uptick in sales as stores reopened since it reported a year to end-March loss of £14.2 million ($18.4 million). The company will not pay a full-year dividend given the uncertain outlook.

Fashion boosts efforts to raise funds for Beirut. A number of prominent industry figures have launched a fresh initiative to support people affected by the explosion in August under a new nonprofit, Creatives for Lebanon. The group has planned a series of events in the coming weeks to raise money for Impact Lebanon, the largest incubator of charities working on the ground to rebuild Beirut.

Harlem's Fashion Row and Banana Republic host design competition. The winning designer will create a collection for sale in September 2021. Application requirements include a personal statement, mood board and a minute-long video. Over the last few weeks, Harlem's Fashion Row has partnered with a number of fashion organisations to support designers and entrepreneurs who are Black, indigenous or people of colour.

CFDA measures Fashion Week's climate impact. New York Fashion Week is estimated to have a footprint of between 40,000 and 48,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to a new report by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Boston Consulting Group. The report concludes that travel is by far the biggest polluter, and has laid out a playbook for brands, production houses and event planners to help shift their outlook on future fashion weeks.
THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY

L'Oréal cosmetics | Source: L'Oréal

L'Oréal to close some stores and cut 400 jobs amid luxury shift. The cosmetics maker's restructuring of its Luxe Division will include shifting investment to e-commerce over the next six months. The move comes as L'Oréal struggles to offset pandemic-induced losses. Although L'Oréal's e-commerce sale grew 65 percent in the first half of the year, overall comparable sales fell 19 percent last quarter.

CVS to label all photoshopped beauty brand images. The drugstore chain will identify all images on beauty products as untouched or photoshopped as part of the brand's Beauty Mark initiative. The effort is an attempt by CVS to promote more realistic standards of beauty and will apply across its 8,000 shops.
PEOPLE

Kenzo Takada in 2019 | Source: Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images

Trailblazing designer Kenzo Takada has died. The Japanese designer, best known for his namesake line Kenzo, passed away following complications due to Covid-19. He was 81. Kenzo was part of a Paris fashion moment in the 1970s that revolved around the nightlife scene and paved the way for designers like Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto to succeed in the French capital.

Glenn Martens appointed creative director of Diesel. Martens, who is currently at the creative helm of Y/Project, has been named creative director of Diesel, effective immediately. The move comes after Diesel appointed Massimo Piombini chief executive earlier this year. The brand has struggled in recent years, filing for Chapter 11 at its US division in 2019. Martens will remain the artistic lead of Y/Project.

Carlos Nazario named contributing editor at American Vogue. Nazario is the latest editorial addition at American Vogue, effective this month. Nazario was named global fashion director of i-D last year and is a prominent stylist. He recently unveiled his first American Vogue cover featuring singer Lizzo.

Virgil Abloh joins The Fashion Scholarship Fund's board of governors. The designer will help run programmes at the non-profit, including scholarships, internships, mentoring and career coaching to help aspiring fashion professionals break into the industry. The announcement comes months after Abloh raised $1 million to support Black students through the Virgil Abloh "Post-Modern" Scholarship Fund.

L'Oréal is set to name a new CEO soon. Current chief executive Jean-Paul Agon, who is stepping down next year when he turns 65, told Bloomberg that the cosmetics giant will announce his successor "pretty soon." The shortlist so far includes Deputy CEO Nicolas Hieronimus, North America President Stephane Rinderknech and Barbara Lavernos, chief technology and operations officer.
MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY
Bernard Arnault buys influence through media deals in France. Arnault's investment group has acquired a more than five percent stake in French media company Lagardère SCA, which owns glossy photo magazine Paris Match and influential Le Journal du Dimanche weekly paper. The purchase is indicative of Arnault's aim of playing a greater role in political activities.

UK politician calls for Boohoo CEO to step down. Following an investigation into the mistreatment of workers in its UK factories, the e-commerce company remains under pressure to implement change. The ultra-fast-fashion group is facing a call from UK politician Liz Kendall for its Chief Executive John Lyttle to step down. Kendall also said she is planning to write a letter to Boohoo's biggest shareholders urging Lyttle to resign.

Compiled by Daphne Milner. BoF Professional is your competitive advantage in a fast-changing fashion industry. Missed some BoF Professional exclusive features? Click here to browse the archive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Should Luxury Build Resale Into Its Business Model?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Resale is shaping up to be one of the big winners of the pandemic. Even as wider fashion sales slump significantly, the secondary market is exploding. According to a recent report by ThredUp, online second-hand sales of fashion goods are set to grow 69 percent between 2019 and 2021, as sellers clean out their closets for extra cash, and Covid-wary buyers avoid physical stores and seek bargains online.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Chief Marketing Officer at Launchmetrics, the leading Brand Performance Cloud in Fashion, Luxury and Beauty
The sportswear industry is clearly a winner in 2021 as consumers continue to spend time at home exercising and seeking comfort in trying times.

Although the fashion industry struggled last year, it seems that activewear and athleisure brands flourished more than ever. With the majority of business meetings taking place in front of a notebook at home, leggings, sweatpants and loungewear have quickly become inherent pieces of our professional wardrobes. According to Statista, the U.S. sports apparel market was valued at $105.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $113.4 billion in 2021.

True Fit's Fashion Genome ( via Direct Commerce), which analyzes data from 17,000 brands and 180 million True Fit users, confirms that athleisure orders jumped 84% since the start of the pandemic; in the U.K. alone, sales of women's athleisure bottoms were five times higher in December 2020 than they were in April 2020. And order volumes for men's athleisure clothing sales were 20% higher than in 2019. American retailer Target reportedly reached $1 billion in sales for its activewear line, All in Motion, which had only just launched before the pandemic. According to the market research company Allied Market Research, the global activewear industry is expected to reach a value of nearly $547 billion by 2024.

That being said, this trend is not really new. I believe the '90s, which many see as a decade that shaped extraordinary music culture, have served as fashion inspiration for today's trends: White sneakers, long dresses, hoodies and baseball caps were as cool back then as they are now.

People have questioned dress codes since the beginning of the pandemic. I believe we've reached a point of no return as more and more people not only spend their time at home exercising -self-care is a trend too, according to an article by Hamutal Scheiber- but also spending their money on clothes that are simply multi-seasonal and multifunctional. Even the influencer landscape has been an indication of the rise of athleisure. According to my company's research, the top two placements for Nike during the first quarter of 2020 were two Instagram posts from Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, which generated over $4.12 million in Media Impact Value™ (a monetary representation of brand performance). One of them was related to Nike's Living Room Cup, and the other announced the launch of the new CR7 football cleats.

Ronaldo and Serena Williams, athletes who are well-known far outside of stadiums and tennis, have become some of the new role models for the healthy, active lifestyle that many are keen to follow. Brands often work directly with individual athletes as influencers. Many athletes are able to create quality content that also makes products look relevant to consumers.

In the latest Launchmetrics report, we analyzed the performance of athleisure over the entire year of 2020, as well as some of the trends to look out for in 2021. We evaluated 10 top players in the industry, including Nike, Reebok, Puma, Lululemon and Fila. While their performance and their Voice Mix remain different, we saw a clear tendency for their Media Impact Value™ to continually increase compared to the previous year. While Nike, Puma and Reebok generated 15% more Media Impact Value™ than in 2019, New Balance's increased by 70%, followed by Gymshark (+34% YoY) and Lululemon (+22%).

In addition, our data detected some key trends:

* Sustainability, a long-time trend in fashion, has also arrived in the athleisure market. We found that consumers continue to discover and invest in new products with sustainable, durable and high-quality materials; many brands are looking to bridge the gap between fashion and innovative-functional designs.

* Diversity and inclusivity are part of the business. By offering clothes for women of all shapes and sizes, athleisure brands can secure their place in clients' hearts.

* Luxury brands may see a new business opportunity to gain market share. From Gucci to Stella McCartney, designers have been entering the market, and I believe they will continue to either create their own performance lines or partner with other activewear brands to launch limited collections.

* On-demand classes are now communities. Athleisure brands such as Lululemon (with its yoga videos) and Alo Yoga (with its Alo Moves service) have become more inventive and developed on-demand offerings to bring yoga, fitness and wellness classes to their customers' homes and build new communities for like-minded fans.

I believe all of this will become key in informing the strategy that brands will have to adopt in order to cater to the new reality and needs of their consumers. What has become increasingly clear to me is that consumers choose brands that reflect their personal values, as illustrated in a 2020 IBM report. It is no longer enough for brands to create a functional or even aesthetically appealing product - many consumers expect them to be part of the debate and to speak up on social and political issues. More than ever, marketers should consider making socio-political engagement a part of their ethos.

More importantly, in order to make sure their message reaches the right audience, brands need to use the right voice for the right channel. This means not only choosing relevant influencers and media outlets to partner with but also being very specific about the channels they choose. Brands should also be more conscious of engaging with location-specific channels their audiences use, such as Chinese social media platforms like Douyin or Weibo. It's crucial to make sure your brand knows how to speak to the local customer to drive brand performance.

Narratives and storytelling are very important for brands, and while authenticity is important, you should also allow consumers to be a part of your brand story. Relating to the brand and its values can cultivate a sense of brand loyalty and create a long-term relationship between the brand and the consumer.

Ultimately, I believe brand performance will continue to thrive around those who understand their goals and leverage the right voices to reach the right consumers on the right channels in order to achieve their objectives and communicate their brand values.

Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Council Post: The Rise Of Athleisure In The Fashion Industry And What It Means For Brands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The sportswear industry is clearly a winner in 2021 as consumers continue to spend time at home exercising and seeking comfort in trying times.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In a world where hustle and bustle often define our daily lives, the fashion industry is experiencing a paradigm shift towards prioritizing comfort and functionality. The rise of wellness in fashion is not merely a trend but a transformative movement that places emphasis on clothing designed to enhance physical and mental well-being. This article delves into the evolution of comfortable and functional apparel, exploring how it reflects the changing needs and values of today's consumers.

1) The Pursuit of Physical Comfort:

Traditional notions of fashion often prioritized aesthetics over comfort. However, the wellness movement has sparked a reevaluation of these priorities. The demand for clothing that allows ease of movement, breathability, and adaptability to various body shapes has given rise to a new era where physical comfort takes center stage.

2) Athleisure as a Lifestyle:

The convergence of athletic wear with casual fashion has given birth to the athleisure trend, where comfort seamlessly intertwines with style. Athleisure has not only revolutionized the way we dress but also encapsulates a broader lifestyle choice-one that values both comfort and an active, health-conscious approach to living.

3) Functional Fashion Beyond the Gym:

Functional apparel, once reserved for sports and outdoor activities, is making its way into everyday wardrobes. From moisture-wicking fabrics to temperature-regulating materials, fashion is becoming smarter, catering to the diverse needs of individuals navigating various aspects of their daily lives.

4) Mindful Design for Mental Wellbeing:

Wellness in fashion extends beyond physical comfort; it also addresses mental well-being. Clothing that feels good on the skin, provides a sense of security, or incorporates thoughtful design elements contributes to a positive emotional experience. Brands are increasingly considering the impact of textures, colors, and overall design on the wearer's mental state.

The intersection of sustainability and comfort is a noteworthy trend within the wellness movement. Consumers are gravitating towards eco-friendly fabrics, such as organic cotton and recycled materials, which not only offer comfort but also align with ethical and environmental values.

6) Inclusive Sizing for All Bodies:

The wellness revolution in fashion is breaking barriers of size inclusivity. Brands are recognizing the diversity of body shapes and sizes, creating collections that celebrate and embrace the beauty of all individuals. Inclusivity goes hand-in-hand with the concept of wellness, fostering a positive relationship between individuals and their clothing.

7) From Loungewear to Everywhere:

The acceptance of comfortable clothing extends beyond the confines of the home. Loungewear, once relegated to lazy weekends, is becoming a staple for various occasions. The versatile nature of comfortable apparel allows individuals to seamlessly transition from work to leisure without compromising on style.

The wellness movement in fashion represents a departure from restrictive norms and a leap towards a more holistic understanding of well-being. Comfortable and functional apparel is not just a style choice but a reflection of a lifestyle that values both physical and mental health. As the fashion industry continues to adapt to these changing preferences, the rise of wellness-focused clothing signifies a transformative era where comfort is not sacrificed for style but rather integrated into the very fabric of fashion. This shift invites individuals to embrace a wardrobe that not only looks good but feels good-a true celebration of well-being through the language of fashion.

Your Story, Your Style, Our Brand | OFU Lifestyle

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dressing for Wellness: The Comfort Revolution in Fashion.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Introduction In a world where hustle and bustle often define our daily lives, the fashion industry is experiencing a paradigm shift towards prioritizing comfort and functionality. The rise of wellness in fashion is not merely a trend but a transformative movement that places emphasis on clothing des

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The concept of wellness has been around for a long time. Remember Jane Fonda workout tapes, neon legwarmers, and the "cookie diet"? These days, consumers view wellness through a much broader and more sophisticated lens, encompassing not just fitness and nutrition but also overall physical and mental health and appearance. They also have more choice in the types of products and services they buy and the way they buy them.

Our latest research shows that consumers care deeply about wellness-and that their interest is growing. In a survey of roughly 7,500 consumers in six countries, 79 percent of the respondents said they believe that wellness is important, and 42 percent consider it a top priority. In fact, consumers in every market we researched reported a substantial increase in the prioritization of wellness over the past two to three years.

We estimate the global wellness market at more than $1.5 trillion, with annual growth of 5 to 10 percent. A rise in both consumer interest and purchasing power presents tremendous opportunities for companies, particularly as spending on personal wellness rebounds after stagnating or even declining during the COVID-19 crisis. At the same time, the wellness market is getting increasingly crowded, creating the need to be strategic about where and how companies compete.

In this article, we'll reveal what our survey data tell us about changing consumer attitudes and behavior toward wellness. We'll couple these insights with the best strategies for companies-both established players and new entrants-to meet consumer needs and preferences in this strong and growing market.

How consumers define wellness

Since views of wellness are constantly evolving, companies must understand the market from a consumer perspective. Our Future of Wellness survey revealed the categories that interest consumers most (Exhibit 1).

Better health, probably the most traditional category associated with wellness, extends beyond medicine and supplements to include consumer medical devices as well as personal-health trackers. Consumers are increasingly taking their health into their own hands: we are seeing a rise in targeted, data-driven care, apps to help consumers seamlessly book their medical appointments or obtain the prescriptions they need, and devices that help them monitor their own health and symptoms between doctor's appointments.

Better fitness has been challenging over the past year. Many consumers struggle to maintain pre-COVID-19 fitness levels when they can't go to their gyms as frequently or participate in sports in the same ways as before. For instance, a UK study found that a majority of consumers worked out less after the pandemic lockdowns began, and many did not return to their previous exercise levels even as those lockdowns were eased or lifted. However, fitness goals persist. Creative offerings (such as Peloton, Mirror, and Tonal) that meet the needs of consumers in their homes have seen unprecedented growth in the past year.

Better nutrition has always been a part of wellness, but now consumers want food not only to taste good but also to help them accomplish their wellness goals. More than a third of consumers around the world report that they "probably" or "definitely" plan to increase spending on nutrition apps, diet programs, juice cleanses, and subscription food services over the next year.

Better appearance primarily involves wellness-oriented apparel ("athleisure") and beauty products (such as skincare and collagen supplements). A number of service-oriented offerings in this area have sprung up recently for nonsurgical aesthetic procedures, such as microneedling, lasers, and oxygen jets.

Better sleep is a relatively new category popular with consumers-and maybe that's no wonder, given the stresses the pandemic has unleashed. Traditional sleep medications such as melatonin now have company: app-enabled sleep trackers and other sleep-enhancing products (for example, blackout curtains and gravity blankets). Half of consumers around the world reported a desire for more products and services to meet the need for higher-quality slumber.

Better mindfulness has gained mainstream consumer acceptance relatively recently, in the form of meditation-focused apps, such as Headspace and Calm, and relaxation- and meditation-oriented offerings, such as Travaasa and Soothe. During the COVID-19 crisis, reports of mental distress have increased globally; more than half of consumers in each of our surveyed countries said they want to prioritize mindfulness more. Half of the consumers said they wished that more mindfulness products and services were available, indicating an opportunity for companies.

Each of these six categories is important for consumers across our survey countries. Better health consistently appears as the most important wellness dimension (and the one with the highest level of spending) across every market we researched.

At the same time, relative responses vary in other categories. For example, consumers in Japan prioritize appearance while those in Germany emphasize fitness; respondents in Brazil and the United States are most interested in mindfulness, those in China and the United Kingdom in nutrition (Exhibit 2).

In overall spending, consumers expect to increase their purchases of both wellness products and services over the next year. We expect a greater shift toward services, especially those (such as personal training, nutritionists, and counseling) that emphasize physical and mental health (Exhibit 3).

Finally, companies should understand that wellness consumers aren't a monolithic bloc with lockstep preferences. Our survey showed that they tend to fall into distinct groups that behave very differently. Wellness enthusiasts are high-income consumers who actively follow brands on social media, track new-product launches, and are excited about innovations. The socially responsible prefer (and are willing to pay more for) brands that are environmentally sustainable and with clean/natural ingredients. Price-conscious consumers believe wellness products are important but meticulously compare features and benefits before purchasing to get the best deal.

Loyalists prefer to stick with their current routines and the brands they know, while passive participants are only marginally involved with the wellness category and don't actively follow brands or new products. We found that wellness enthusiasts and socially responsible consumers are the biggest spenders. The loyalists and passive participants spend far less than people in the other groups.

While consumers in each market are motivated by a unique set of brand-loyalty drivers, all have some motivation that's connected to price and lifestyle compatibility.

Consumer trends and how companies can respond to them

The research unearthed that consumers' reported improvements in wellness levels have fallen behind their hopes and expectations in every country except China and Brazil, suggesting that the market may be underserved. Most consumers around the world report that their personal wellness levels are stagnating or even declining (Exhibit 4).

The research also revealed six consumer wellness-related trends that have been gaining momentum over time. Overall, these trends have implications for industry players across the sector, from traditional consumer healthcare to fitness offerings and nutrition to beauty, apparel, and retail. A number of strategies, applied correctly, can help companies meet the consumer's needs and capitalize on the rapid growth of this sector.

Trend 1: Natural/clean products get their day in the sun

Consumers are keen for natural/clean products in an array of areas, such as skincare, cosmetics, multivitamins, subscription food services, and sleep enhancers. The magnitude of the shift is striking. Consumers overwhelmingly indicate a preference for natural/clean products, particularly in Brazil and China.

In the case of dietary supplements, consumers around the world said, by 41 percent to 21 percent, that if they had to choose between more natural supplements and more effective ones, they would choose the more natural option. Same with skincare: by 36 percent to 21 percent, consumers said they would choose the more natural option over the more effective one.

Potential strategy for companies. Reevaluate your development road map to consider whether you have more opportunities to introduce natural or wellness-oriented products or to acquire natural/clean product lines. This strategy could look different by segment: in apparel, products designed with organic/natural materials and sustainability in mind; in consumer health, natural/clean beauty products; in retail, merchandising with an eye to products that resonate as authentically natural.

Zarbee's Naturals focused on providing a solution for parents seeking natural remedies for their children; Sephora's private-label brand has launched clean makeup products and has significantly expanded its clean makeup presence in its stores.

Trend 2: More personalization, please

While many respondents told us privacy is still a concern, many (particularly in Brazil and China) are more comfortable trading privacy for personalization. Furthermore, a substantial majority of consumers around the world say they prioritize personalization now more than they did two or three years ago. In the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, more than 88 percent of consumers report prioritizing personalization as much as or more than they did two or three years ago.

Potential strategy for companies. Develop personalized marketing capabilities to target the precise consumer segments that may be most interested in your products, with messaging and storytelling tailored to those consumers. Consider introducing personalized or semipersonalized offerings to your product road map.

A wellness start-up, for example, provides personalized vitamin and supplement subscriptions based on information that consumers submit through a quiz. A fitness-tech company created a fitness tracker that collects physiological data to provide personalized sleep and fitness information to users. Membership includes the tracker, access to daily analytics and coaching, and the ability to join online communities.

Trend 3: The future is digital

The shift to digital channels is happening at the speed of "a decade in days." Our research suggests that the change will be sticky: a majority of consumer categories will continue to project more growth in e-commerce than in other channels over the next several years.

We do see traditional channels holding for certain product categories: fortified foods, multivitamins, and skincare still largely sell through brick-and-mortar stores. Other breakout categories (such as fitness wearables) are almost entirely online native. Consumers in China report the highest share of wellness spending online, followed by those in Japan and trailed by those in Europe, the United States, and Brazil.

Potential strategy for companies. Create seamless omnichannel and digital offerings to ensure that you meet your consumers where they are. Beyond building channel partner relationships, consider developing a supply chain, package sizes, marketing, or the like specifically for e-commerce. For service offerings such as gyms, use a holistic online strategy to build app-enabled features that keep consumers engaged throughout the ecosystem.

For example, one vitamin brand sold only online and known for being sustainable originally offered vitamins for women but has expanded to include products for men and children. Its ecosystem includes the company's app, which is integrated into Apple Health, as well as an active social-media presence.

Trend 4: Under the influencers

Influencers are a key part of the wellness market, and one that traditional companies have had to learn how to leverage for connecting with consumers. In the United States, Europe, and Japan, 10 to 15 percent of consumers say they follow social-media influencers and that they have already made a purchase based on an influencer's recommendation. A much higher percentage say they definitely or probably will consider doing so in the future.

In China and Brazil, the percentage of consumers who say that an influencer has driven their purchasing decisions is much higher, at 45 to 55 percent. This trend applies consistently across both large-scale social-media influencers (defined as 100,000 followers or more) and small-scale influencers (less than 100,000 followers). In unwelcome news for celebrities, their influence appears to be waning among most consumers, particularly in the United Kingdom.

Potential strategy for companies. Use influencers to win with your consumers across social channels, partnering with agencies to identify people who will be a natural fit with your brand and resonate authentically with your target consumer base. For instance, one European fitness-apparel company heavily utilizes influencer marketing on Instagram and YouTube to reach its target audience of young fitness enthusiasts.

In 2015, McKinsey data showed that social media influenced 26 percent of purchases across all product categories, a percentage that has increased since then. Our survey shows that wellness is no exception: in every market we researched, more than 60 percent of consumers report that they will "definitely" or "probably" consider a brand or product posted by a favorite influencer.

Trend 5: The rise and rise of services

Services has been a growing part of the wellness market: experiences are increasingly available as offerings. We see this trend reflected across countries-consumers are shifting toward services that address physical- and mental-health needs (for instance, personal trainers, nutritionists, and counseling services). We see services as an enhancement to-not a replacement for-the overall wellness space. Products remain a consistent and critical part of the segment, at roughly 70 percent of self-reported consumer wellness spending globally.

Potential strategy for companies. Consumer healthcare companies could consider diagnostics or coaching offerings that support a direct connection to the consumer. One company partnered with a telemedicine provider to introduce an app that gives parents immediate video access to healthcare providers for their children. Fitness companies could consider offerings such as connected devices and virtual communities-products and services beyond gyms and exercise equipment.

Peloton expanded its service offering to include subscriptions for its fitness app, in-person studios, and live virtual classes, allowing it to reach consumers who may not own Peloton workout equipment. The company's sales soared in 2020 as the popularity of home workouts increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trend 6: Category lines continue to blur

With the above trends in mind, companies are considering how to play across the health and wellness categories and channels. It's critical to identify the areas where consumers are open to giving these companies permission to extend their brands.

A majority of consumers report that they don't want a single solution or brand to help them with all facets of wellness, suggesting that targeted extensions are a more effective approach for companies.

Potential strategy for companies. Assess M&A opportunities to gain entry into more categories within the wellness ecosystem. With this approach, it is important to ensure that any acquisition has a clear strategic rationale and makes sense in view of the acquirer's existing equity, skill set, and capabilities. If those pieces are in place, we find that a well-defined and executed programmatic M&A strategy can help build resiliency and yield excess returns to shareholders over time.

Lululemon's acquisition of Mirror, for example, gave it a digital offering to supplement its core fitness-apparel business. It has also experimented with nutrition, mindfulness, and fitness offerings in stores through studios and community-based classes. These moves seem to align with the company's brand messaging. Meanwhile, other mindfulness and fitness apps have expanded into "sleepcasts" or moved into personalized health coaching and disease management to promote better health outcomes.

Winning in the wellness market

The global wellness market is healthy and growing. In every category we surveyed, more consumers said they were going to spend more on wellness than those who said they would spend less. The majority of consumers planning to increase their spending was especially large in some categories, including memory/brain enhancers, anti-aging products, beauty supplements, noninvasive cosmetic procedures, nutrition (sports nutrition, juice cleanses, nutrition coaches, fortified foods), and meditation/mindfulness offerings.

This market offers room for growth to all sorts of industry players: traditional "nutraceuticals" companies with experience in regulatory and licensing requirements; global entrants with extensive value chains, marketing capabilities, and deep channel relationships; regional consolidators with local knowledge and partnerships; and emerging brands with digital know-how, integrated consumer data, and an agile operating model.

At the same time, the wellness sector is getting more competitive, so companies should think critically about strategies to engage consumers and whether an ecosystem model might make sense. Companies will want to be purposeful about where to play and how to win with an effective delivery model-whether that model is end-to-end ownership, strategic partnerships, outsourcing and co-manufacturing, or marketplaces.

Wellness is here to stay as consumers across nations plan to increase their spending on personal health, appearance, fitness, and more. If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it's that physical and mental health will remain a priority for millions of people across the globe for a long time to come.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Feeling good: The future of the $1.5 trillion wellness market

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our new survey shows the future of the $1.5 trillion wellness market is bright as consumer interest and purchasing power rise across countries.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The market for sustainable materials is accelerating as consumer consciousness converges with government action on climate change. Today's consumers are highly aware of the environmental impact of their purchasing decisions and increasingly demand sustainable products, while governments are introducing policies and incentives to drive sustainable business practices.

Consumer Behavior: Waking Up to Sustainability

Consumers are waking up to the climate crisis and adjusting their behaviour accordingly. According to a Nielsen survey, 73% of global consumers say they would definitely or probably change their consumption habits to reduce their environmental impact. This awakening is most pronounced among younger generations, with millennials and Gen Z leading the charge for more sustainable products.

Consumers are also examining the materials in the products they buy with a keen eye for sustainability. A report by Accenture found that nearly two-thirds of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable goods, especially for highly visible categories like clothing. Sustainable materials such as organic cotton, recycled polyester, and vegan leather are emerging as popular choices as consumers seek to lighten their environmental footprint through their daily purchases.

Brands are taking note of this seismic shift in consumer attitudes. Major companies are launching sustainable product lines and eco-friendly initiatives to meet demand, such as H&M's Conscious Collection and Nike's Move to Zero programs. By emphasizing sustainable materials and green practices, brands can win over consumers and gain a competitive advantage in the race to a sustainable future.

Government Action: Policies for a Greener Future

Governments are also playing an active role in climate change by enacting policies and incentives to push society toward sustainability. The European Union has implemented a carbon pricing mechanism, while the United States has rejoined the Paris Agreement and is investing in renewable energy and a green economy.

In addition to regulations, consumers are calling on brands to advocate for sustainability and environmental protection. A Cone Communications report found that 87% of consumers would buy from a company that campaigned for an issue they cared about. By vocally supporting sustainability, brands can strengthen their positioning in the market and build goodwill with environmentally conscious consumers.

The Rise of Sustainable Materials

As consumers and governments rally around sustainability, demand for eco-friendly materials is ballooning. Here are a few of the sustainable materials gaining traction:

- Recycled and repurposed materials: Recycled polyester and reclaimed or "upcycled" materials like rPVB are popular as companies work to reduce waste.

- Organic and plant-based: Organic cotton and bamboo are appealing to consumers as naturally sourced, pesticide-free materials.

- Biodegradable and vegan: Biodegradable plastics and vegan leather made from fruit peels or other plant materials offer more sustainable alternatives to traditional materials.

- Renewable and reusable: Materials like cork and wool are naturally renewable and reusable, reducing their environmental impact.

The market for recycled materials could reach $64.7 billion by 2027, growing at 7.9% annually, according to Allied Market Research. The global vegan leather market will achieve a value of $89.6 billion by 2025, with a rapid growth rate of 49.9% from 2019 to 2025, as forecast in a report by Grand View Research. Overall, as sustainable materials gain momentum among consumers and industry, companies would be wise to take notice and incorporate more eco-friendly materials into their supply chain. By meeting the demand for sustainability today, brands can ensure their continued success and relevance in the years ahead.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Demand for Sustainable Materials Accelerates

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discover the superior quality of rPVB leather from Carter Industrial Company. Sustainable, durable, and stylish. Elevate your products today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What if buildings "grew" from natural, regenerative materials and nourished ecosystems along the way? Today's materials industry is already capable of digital fabrication, computational design, material engineering and synthetic biology. The question now is: how do we move innovative sustainable solutions into the mainstream?

00:00 - The trouble with rubble

00:55 - Construction is driving climate change

02:54 - The second most consumed resource on the planet: concrete

03:44 - Why concrete is so bad for the environment

04:40 - Cement alternatives

07:40 - Hemp for house construction

09:05 -Saving carbon by building with wood

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sustainable materials: is there a concrete solution?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The construction industry is responsible for over a tenth of the world's man-made carbon emissions, with concrete being the biggest culprit. How can we continue to build, without it costing the earth?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What's Blocking the Rise of More Sustainable Materials?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Weaker-than-expected demand for Swedish textile recycler Renewcell's first commercial volumes of recycled cellulose pulp has sent the company's stock price plummeting and highlighted broader hurdles challenging efforts to lessen fashion's environmental footprint.

# data[].attributes.headline
 examples of how the future looks for the development of sustainable materials 

# data[].attributes.subject
 examples of how the future looks for the development of sustainable materials 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Growing solutions

Repurposing industry to restore natural systems is not only an artistic endeavour. The UN Climate Technology Centre & Network(CTCN) asserts that "carbon-sink and low-carbon building materials and products offer a key mitigation option from the building sector while contributing to social and economic development, especially in developing countries." Crucially, however, innovative ideas need to be supported by awareness-raising, incentivised market schemes, labelling regulations, and policy changes in order to be incorporated into mainstream thinking.

Mushroom cultivation, for example, offers a way to grow alternative sustainable materials. Blast Studio in the UK has developed a method using 3D printing with mycelium that results in buildings designed to feed people. The mushrooms are biodegradable, fire-proof and also sequester carbon.

Mycelium can also be processed to produce , a leather-like material for the fashion industry. Fashion alone was responsible for approximately 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2018. It uses 93 billion cubic metres of water a year, enough to meet the consumption needs of five million people. Around 20% of all global wastewater comes from fabric dyeing and treatment, with a majority of "fast fashion" being incinerated or ending up in landfills, causing additional carbon emissions.

One of the most promising trends for the fashion industry is the transition from linear to circular models of production and consumption. is a small luxury brand from India that has embraced the ethos of reduced waste with its Heart to Haat programme. Creative director Karishma Shahani Khan explains that upcycling materials from landfills "is a simple act of innovating within what is available and finding new ways to create functionality with them".

Ron van de Wiel, founder and CEO of Blue LOOP Originals, has taken a similar approach to salvaging materials from incinerator waste dumps. Mr de Wiel suggests limits to the number of garments that can be produced or imported, explaining that it is "not healthy to produce 25 billion garments each year", favouring support for regional upcycle initiatives and increased restrictions on exporting waste as a way to change how business is done: "We need less, and better." These companies have proved the marketability of responsible fashion, but more support is needed to increase awareness and further grow the concept.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Enabling innovation: the future of materials

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The building blocks of our lives can also help build a more sustainable world

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Chemical recycling: All forms of chemical recycling (sometimes called advanced recycling or molecular recycling) produce "virgin resin" that can be used in pharma and FDA-grade applications (in contrast to mechanically recycled content) and can (at least theoretically) be recycled an infinite number of times without compromising quality. These new processes fit into three distinct categories: purification, depolymerization, and conversion.

Purification: It is a physical process where solvents are used to produce virgin-like polymers from single-polymer feedstocks or mixed plastics.

Depolymerization: These technologies break down the polymer chains of a single-resin feedstock to produce a specific set of products, usually monomers. These virgin-quality monomers can then be used to create polymers and plastic resin.

Conversion: These technologies break the polymer chains to produce hydrocarbon products such as naphtha or syngas. This particular set of technologies distinguishes itself by allowing for mixed plastics with higher levels of contamination. While pyrolysis (one type of conversion process) requires high temperatures, some companies are working to reduce temperatures and pressure to focus on one type of plastic.

Like bio-based materials, there are challenges to scaling up chemical-recycling processes.

Feedstock availability: There is currently a feedstock shortage due to several issues, including:

Lack of access to curbside pickup or other collection sites in some parts of the country

Consumer behavior and lack of understanding of what and how to recycle, which can lead to issues with feedstock contamination

Adoption of more advanced sorting technologies and processing efficiencies, including digitalization and robotics at materials recovery facilities (MRFs)

To address these feedstock challenges, some companies are partnering with municipalities to increase public awarenessand some regions are adopting Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs that stand up a Producer Responsibility Organization, funded by plastic producers, which organizes collections, transport, and sorting of plastics.

Regulatory uncertainty: Twenty-two states have passed laws that recognize advanced recycling as "recycling," even if they convert the plastics to fuels instead. This legislation provides certainty to companies that want to invest in advanced recycling facilities. But other regulations and policies could also potentially impact the economics of projects.

Economics: While some consumers have shown a willingness to pay higher premiums for sustainable goods, consumers tend to be price sensitive, especially in times of economic downturn. Consequently, some investors may view investment in a large recycling facility to be relatively risky from a market perspective. However, this risk could be somewhat mitigated through long-term supply agreements with brands.

Incineration with CCUS: Today, about 19% of all global plastic waste is incinerated. Some companies are working to capture the CO2 from the incineration of plastics and use the CO2 in combination with hydrogen to produce syngas for plastics production.

Three strategic levers for chemicals companies

The push toward sustainability could challenge the industry to innovate across processes and products. As companies navigate through these new demands-more sustainable, safer, reliable, and better-performing products-three considerations should help guide them.

Realizing value from existing assets and data

For some companies, the first step in developing more sustainable business practices is not just tracking emissions; it's taking a holistic look at current assets, data, and partnerships. An up-front assessment of current data can help identify opportunities and track progress. Taking a holistic view of all data is important since some data will be useful in multiple parts of the business. This data can be used for the discovery, development, and scaling of new materials, optimizing operations, and minimizing emissions.

Additionally, for some companies and some products, there could be natural areas for the integration of bio-based materials, recycled content, or other sustainable advanced materials. These drop-ins could help companies increase their portfolio of sustainable products with relatively low up-front costs. However, other applications may require companies to redesign the entire supply chain, which may involve a higher upfront cost. Understanding the options and cost implications of each strategy can help companies determine how to develop their product portfolios.

Making the economics work

Forecasting is difficult in the most stable of markets, and the movement toward higher quality, sustainable products can make forecasting even more difficult. Consequently, to make the economics work, companies may need to sign long-term contracts, utilize government funding or incentives, and make efforts to garner customer loyalty.

Maintaining brand trust, increasing enterprise value

Customers that highly trust a brand will purchase from that brand again 88% of the time. Consequently, highly trusted companies outperform low-trust companies with up to four times the amplification of market value. Brand trust is generally built upon four factors: humanity, transparency, reliability, and capability. For oil, gas, and chemicals companies, the biggest gap between the best-performing and worst-performing companies is in the intent factors (transparency and humanity). As chemical companies move toward more sustainable products, it is important that companies be transparent about their successes and failures to help reduce reputational risk and maintain brand trust.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Advanced science and technology have made it possible for scientists to design new, purpose-driven materials that may be engineered to outperform naturally occurring materials.