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What Are the Best Lower-Impact Fabrics and Fibres on the Market Right Now? - Good On You

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Choosing clothes made from more sustainable fabrics is one of the best things we can do to make our wardrobes more eco-friendly. Here are our top eight picks.

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As crowds revel in the glitz and glam of New York Fashion Week in downtown Manhattan, waves of lesser-known designers are crafting an entirely different fashion revolution over the Brooklyn Bridge-one that could speak to the future of the industry.

The Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator (BF+DA) is a community where aspiring and up-and-coming designers can gather for advice, materials and equipment. The catch? They have to be willing to create a line that is crafted with the planet in mind.

Founded by Deb Johnson, the BF+DA is in its third year providing studio space, fabric consultations and public events to help members craft items that are zero-waste, transparent, and charitable.

As soon as I walked into the massive Williamsburg warehouse earlier this month, I met flocks of passionate artists reimagining the clothes we wear. With a "petting library" of eco-fabrics as their muse, they utilized materials that spanned the alphabet from ethically sourced alpaca and angora down to recycled plastic bottles. A tactile feast for the eyes and the fingertips, the fabric menagerie reminded me that a simple touch can evoke a wave of memory and emotion. With this lush experience under my belt, I set out into the bustling world of eco-textiles and the people bringing them to life. What I found might just make you rethink the clothes on your back.

Big Brands, Small Impacts

It turns out that the sustainable principles that govern the BF+DA speak to a greater shift in the fashion industry. Yes, you'll still find synthetics that are made with a host of potentially harmful toxins on shelves-think polyester, nylon, and perhaps worst of all, acrylic. And yes, even natural materials like cotton and silk are often still treated with harsh chemicals in the growing and dying processes. (In fact, The American Apparel and Footwear Association estimates that up to 250 substances used in clothing production are associated with some sort of safety concern.) But large-scale brands are also beginning to create lines that repurpose used materials and showcase new ones that have next-to-no environmental impact.

Take Mara Hoffman's new boho bathing suits made from recycled spandex, or Eileen Fisher's entire line of staples made from recycled cashmere, wool and cotton that's been re-spun into new fabric. Athletic companies are hopping on the green trend as well; Patagonia is repurposing plastic bottles and clothing scraps into polyester for its fleeces and jackets, while Adidas is designing sneaker material from ocean plastic. Meanwhile, popular younger brands like Everlane, Reformation, and Zady have all built transparency and sustainability into their business models from the beginning, using fabrics like organic cotton and tencel that's naturally dyed with colors straight from nature.

Eco Fashion Week (EFW) sets the stage for more innovation by welcoming green designers to Vancouver and Seattle every year. "EFW was born after a long career in the fashion industry-where I was far from being 'eco,'" says founder and president Myriam Laroche. "I needed a change. I still loved fashion, fabric, texture fit... but what is the point of running a business if you know the planet is suffering because of it?" In an effort to align her passion with her values, she kicked off the first show in 2010 with 15 environmentally minded brands. Fast-forward to today and her runways have showcased over 150 designers from around the world across 11 seasons. Though Laroche doesn't think that there is one official criteria that defines a sustainable brand, her eco-recipe prioritizes natural, organic fabrics and recycled materials.

Your 10-Years-From-Now Uniform

It looks like the fashion industry is finally starting to prioritize textiles that are as easy on the eyes as they are on the planet, but what does this mean for your closet? I asked the brains behind the Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator and Eco Fashion Week about the tactile trends that they see taking over.

This is a huge trend that most insiders can agree on. "People tend to be pretty rigid with their fabric sourcing, but the trends I'm seeing are with end-of-life items," BF+DA production coordinator Tara St James tells me, surrounded by the petting library's sea of fabric swatches. "Take-back programs, upcycling, reusing scraps...pre-consumer and post-consumer waste is starting to be considered where it wasn't before."

Pre-consumer waste refers to the scraps that designers often toss out during the production process. Brands like Brooklyn-based Zero-Waste Daniel are restoring these cast-asides into new clothes, saving roughly one pound of fabric scraps from landfill with every punchy patchwork garment. Thousands of miles away in Guatemala, The New Denim Project takes jean scraps and turns them into a soft, light blue fabric that you can now find stateside in stores like West Elm and Whole Foods.

"I am noticing more than eco-conscious designers are being mindful of waste through both the development and production processes," echoes Deanna Ansara of Vincetta. She uses cupro, a regenerated fabric derived from the often disregarded fibers that form on the outer shell of cotton plants.

Post-consumer production, on the other hand, uses garments that have already cycled through a wardrobe or two. Breaking down fibers like cotton, linen and denim and re-spining them into new clothing isn't necessarily easy, but it's possible with the right technology and enough material. And now that clothing recycling services are becoming more mainstream and superstores like H&M and Madewell offer garment collecting initiatives, second-life producers have more to work with than ever.

You don't have to look past the BF+DA to see what this looks like in action-many of the designers in its structured mentorship program are breathing new life into old clothes. Take Noor Zakka, who uses reclaimed jeans in her line of structured dresses, bags and hats. "I founded NOORISM in 2015 after being disheartened by the volume of poorly-made, practically disposable clothes produced by the fashion industry every year," Zakka says. "All of our pieces are unique and slightly different since each old pair of jeans has its own individual story to tell." On the other side of the studio, Crystalyn Brennan uses surplus velvets reclaimed from interior design firms and leather scrap from factories in the city to craft her line of equally unique handbags.

Finally, we've found a way to make plastic bottles slightly less terrible! By cleaning them and breaking them down into polyester, we can actually repurpose them into synthetic fabric. That's because plastic is petroleum-based in its original form and so is polyester. Plus, polyester is infinitely recyclable, meaning its fibers can always be recycled into new fabric without breaking down or getting too short to spin. The only problem is that when polyesters are washed, they leave damaging microbeads behind.

Newlife Yarns is a fiber mill turning bottles into yarn over in Italy, while Thread International is doing the same thing with bottles collected in Haiti, employing Hatains in the process. Back in the BF+DA, Laura Moffat and her partner Kelly are working on Kirrin Finch, a clean, androgynous line that features classic tees made from 50 percent recycled bottles (the other half is organic cotton).

How's this for a fun concept: one day, your outfit might be made from pineapple, coffee and mushrooms. Over in the Philippines, Carmen Hijosa is turning pineapple leaves into a strong, flexible plant-based leather called Piñatex. "We don't have to use any land, water, pesticides, fertilizers...we are actually taking a waste material and 'upscaling' it, meaning that we're giving it added value," Hijosa tells FastCoExist.

MycoWorks is another vegan dream. The leather-like material is made from mycelium, or mushroom skin. The brainchild of artist Phil Ross, it requires less energy, has a smaller environmental footprint than cow leather, and is biodegradable. Plus, mushroom can actually adhere to accessories like buttons and zippers during the incubation process, meaning it doesn't need to be stitched or fussed with.

Companies like Portland-based Olderbrother are cooking up plant-based dyes that can bring any sustainable fabric into vibrant life with shades of roots, plants, trees and, most recently, organic coffee beans.

So there you have it: My investigation into sustainable textiles took me around the world a few times over, and there's still so much more out there to explore. Our clothes clearly tell some wildly impressive stories, so stay curious about what you wear, always prioritize natural and second-life materials, and please, please let us know as soon as you see a pineapple bomber jacket on shelves.

Ready to learn more about how to unlock the power of food to heal your body, prevent disease & achieve optimal health? Register now for our FREE Functional Nutrition Webinar with Kelly LeVeque.

Emma is the sustainability editor at mindbodygreen. Since moving to NYC in 2015, she has reported on everything from carcinogen research to sustainable athleisure to urban beekeeping. A...

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-28720/meet-the-sustainable-fabrics-that-will-kickstart-your-capsule-wardrobe.html

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Meet The Sustainable Fabrics That Will Kick-Start Your Capsule Wardrobe

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As crowds revel in the glitz and glam of New York Fashion Week in downtown Manhattan, waves of lesser-known designers are crafting an entirely different fashion revolution over the Brooklyn Bridge-one that could speak to the future of the industry.

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BBC Earth | Six fashion materials that could help save the planet | BBC Earth

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From fast fashion to cotton, the list of ways we consume fashion that have an adverse effect on our environment and other species is a long one. BBC Earth looks at six types of material and innovations which could help in the drive for a more sustainable way of life.

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Sustainable Fashion Design Begins With Sustainable Materials

Modern Sustainable Materials & Fabrics

Most of today's apparel doesn't break down easily when discarded, ending up in polluting landfills for decades or even centuries. So some basic changes in the fashion industry's attitude to sustainable materials would have a major long term benefit to the planet.

If more fabric itself is sustainable, several of today's fashion industry challenges around pollution and sustainability would be immediately addressed.

Many designers acknowledge this in their work, using fabrics based on natural materials we've known about and used for centuries. Cotton, linen, hemp and silk are just some with an ancient history. Although even these can cause problems, with modern agriculture causing troubling effects on the environment.

But if sustainable textile materials are defined as those that don't exhaust non-renewable resources, we have other options thanks to modern technology and research. Teams today and in recent years have been developing materials that don't use polluting chemicals and toxins while being manufactured.

The results are innovative sustainable materials and fabrics that are viable alternatives to fashion industry norms. Some are from plant sources, others have origins you certainly wouldn't associate with fabrics.

Here are 5 new sustainable materials you ought to know about if you have an interest in sustainable fashion, especially consumers who want to know more what goes into their clothes​.

1. Tencel
(Eucalyptus trees)

Austrian company, Lenzing is very active in man-made fibres. They first created Modal which today is mainstream and used in a variety of apparel.

Tencel R is another sustainable eco-friendly material in their stable. Originally created as Lyocell in the 80's it's now branded Tencel. It's regenerated from wood cellulose from farm grown eucalyptus trees. 99.5% of solvents used in its fibre creation are reused, creating a near closed loop system.

Tencel R fibres are soft, absorbent, very strong when wet or dry, wrinkle-resistant and biodegradable. Tencel R is used for a variety of apparel from underwear to denim today.
Read more about Tencel at ﻿this﻿ link﻿﻿.
What happens when you take wood cellulose fibre and add sea weed to it? You get a sustainable material called Seacell, created by SmartFiber AG, a German fibre manufacturer of lyocell fibres.

Just over a decade old, SmartFiber AG use the same nearly close loop system of lyocell but then add Icelandic seacell into it as a substrate to improve its use as a fashion textile. This gives consumers the benefits of seaweed which the makers say include Vitamin E and antioxidant properties.
Read﻿ ﻿more about Seacell at this link﻿﻿.
SwicoFil, another German natural and synthetic fibre manufacturer, have created something called Chitosan or Chitin Fibre. It's one of their many sustainable materials, but probably the most memorable!

Chitin is related chemically to cellulose, but is a semitransparent substance that makes up the hard outer covering of crustacean shells like crabs and lobsters. It's mixed with viscose to create fabrics which are antibacterial, bio-degradable, hypoallergenic and with high moisture absorption.
Read﻿ more about Chitosan at this link﻿﻿.
Made with a by-product from wine cork production, this is an FSC certified cork powder.

This natural granulate is crushed and merged with the fabric in a patented process from Schoeller. The result is a material that has a 50% higher thermal insulation which is breathable, soft and lightweight. This creates options for not only more sustainable fashion design, but more functional too.
Read ﻿more﻿ about Corkshell at this link﻿﻿.
You might think this is fiction or an April Fool, but QMilch is a fabric made from milk protein, casein. Not just milk protein, but milk that can no longer be sold.

Not only is the fabric made from an unlikely material, but it also has a surprising number of positive characteristics for sustainable fashion design. It's biodegradable, antibacterial, anti-allergenic and soft and comfortable to wear. It can be used by itself or blended with other materials like silk or cotton.

Set up by a biochemist turned fashion designer, just five years ago, this sustainable material holds a lot of promise, but is still not available from suppliers. Hopefully that will change in this coming year.

Read more about QMilch at this link.

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5 Curious Sustainable Materials for Sustainable Fashion Design

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Most of today's apparel doesn't break down easily when discarded, ending up in polluting landfills for decades or even centuries. So some basic changes in the fashion industry's attitude to sustainable materials would have a major long term benefit to the planet.

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"Take, for instance, H&M's use of cotton. It's the material H&M uses most and the company boasts that the non-profit Textile Exchange has recognized H&M as the world's number-one user of organic cotton, which has a lighter environmental impact, and reduces the use of "probably" carcinogenic pesticides. But only 13.7% of the cotton H&M uses is organic." ( Quartz)

In 2014, Forever 21 was subject to claims of greenwashing. "Not only has the fast-fashion powerhouse announced plans to the largest single-rooftop solar-power system in Los Angeles County, it also unveiled a new 18,000-square-foot concept store that promises greater quantities and even deeper discounts on its already cut-price clothing." (ECouterre)

H&M launched a film campaign with actress Olivia Wilde to debut its new "Conscious Exclusive" collection for 2015 ... yet in 2015, H&M will produce over 600 million new garments. That's an increase of 50 million articles of clothing from 2011. It will expand its physical locations by 10 to 15 percent every year, requiring the use of energy-intensive resources. ( Huffington Post).

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"Take, for instance, H&M's use of cotton. It's the material H&M uses most and the company boasts that the non-profit Textile Exchange has recognized H&M as the world's number-one user of organic cotton, which has a lighter environmental impact, and reduces the use of "probably" carcinogenic pesticides.

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In April 2019, Swedish fashion giant H&M revealed its latest sustainable fashion innovation: clothes made from fruit peelings that would otherwise be discarded. The new line, part of H&M's Conscious Collection, featured Pinatex products, a leather-like material made from sturdy food wastage like orange peelings and pineapple leaves. The Pinatex clothes were accompanied by organic silk, organic cotton, and clothes made from recycled plastic, but the food-friendly clothing certainly got the most attention from the press.

It takes 480 pineapple leaves to produce just one square meter of Pinatex. This usually would equate to the waste of about 16 pineapples, but the material requires that only the long leaf fibers are utilized, which means that, inherently, some of the pineapple leaves are still discarded. Pinatex also contains plastic and petroleum-based agents, which not only offset any potential positive eco-friendly impact of using fruit fibers, but also renders the material non-biodegradable. H&M thus engaged in what can only be described as surface-level sustainability, a mere toe-dip into a dominant cultural conversation before returning to business-as-usual.

This method of using the climate crisis as a means of marketing without any fundamental change to business is called Greenwashing, a term coined by environmentalist Jay Westervelt. H&M are just part of a wider circle of fast fashion brands jumping on the sustainability bandwagon. In March 2019, Primark - notoriously famous for its child labor scandal and subsequent challengingly low prices back in 2008 - launched a sustainable denim collection, made from 100% sustainable cotton sourced from farmer training program in India and Pakistan, and priced from as low as £13. Online fast fashion giant ASOS quietly introduced recycled products into its portfolio, one pair of black men's jeans proudly proclaiming, "Being less dependent on brand-new materials means you're saving on resources like water and energy."

The climate crisis is the talk of the town. In the case of multinational fast fashion brands, the damning documentary The True Cost, the ambitious research project entitled Travels of a T-Shirt in a Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli, and the health and safety nightmare at the Rana Plaza garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, all meant that fashion was high on the list of industries to make more ethical and more sustainable. The primary question to answer then became: How could all the inputs into the production process, such as materials, technology, and machinery, reduce environmental impact?

The unsustainability of production processes in fashion is only one part of the fast fashion equation. The scale and pace at which collections of clothing are being produced, discarded, and likely reproduced again in the form of a re-emerging fashion trend are enormous, resulting in a textile waste issue that fast fashion is currently turning a blind eye to. The narrative around textile waste is that it is usually consumer-generated, by those throwing out unworn clothes and not knowing the correct manner to dispose of them. Major fashion corporations absolve themselves of responsibility in this narrative - the question remains though as to where all unsold stock ends up. Ultimately, a single-minded focus on amending the production process to meet the sustainability criteria reveals that the objective is still to get consumers in the door.

Fast fashion is also most likely the prime suspect in the distillation of the term 'sustainability,' drilled down to become synonymous with 'eco-friendly,' at the expense of other facets of sustainability. Ecological sustainability alone will be virtually impossible to achieve without other elements of sustainability: economic, health, social, and cultural. Fashion's reluctance to address sustainability holistically, and instead pick it apart to fit its own agenda, is perhaps more detrimental to the environment than it is productive.

Inditex, announced Zara's sustainability measures in July 2019, all of which cater solely to the idea of ecological sustainability: the ambitious targets include 80% of all energy consumed by Zara HQ coming from renewable sources, 100% sustainable, organic, or recycled fabric in all collections, and zero landfill waste by the end of 2025. Zara executives making the announcement failed to mention how this sustainability angle would translate to their garment-workers and suppliers in developing countries.

Beyond Zara, the vast majority of high street fashion brands have a lasting presence in cheap garment-producing factories, and protests for better conditions in the factories have taken place as recently as May 2019 in Bangalore, India and January 2019 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bubbles of discontent are also brewing in Ethiopia, where the garment-making industry now claims to have the cheapest labor in the world, producing for the likes of Calvin Klein.

Some fast fashion has tried to involve the human element in their sustainability effort. Investing in a pair of ASOS recycled denim shorts, "supports Cotton Made in Africa (CMiA)'s sustainable farming" efforts. The product description boasts about providing vital agricultural training and business awareness to farmers, in turn improving living conditions and education. The claims are lofty - are these farmers being educated to become self-sufficient in the long-run, or to continue to provide for companies like ASOS? The latter hypothesis leads us to conclude that these farming communities are financially dependent on organisations like ASOS; their profits and losses directly correlate with those of the Western fashion giant. In addition, should cotton crops ever fail, as they have done in Florida, what would be the use in being an expert in cotton farming? Surely the more sustainable subject to teach would be how to diversify one's income in a risk-prone climate.

One could argue that whether making a dress out of Pinatex or polyester, the payment to the farmer or garment-worker is reflective of wages and living costs in that particular corner of the world. But what does that argument do for lifting people out of poverty? Increased incomes, by law of economics, lead to increased purchasing power, which could be the key to opening and kickstarting new, higher-value market economies on national levels. But as long as prices in the West are kept low, this development elsewhere is sufficiently challenged.

Lines of clothing labelled as 'sustainable,' such as H&M's Conscious Collection, represent a small minority of a fashion brand's overall stock, but a large proportion of what the brand shouts about in their marketing. Such collections satisfy a growing market niche, and for the rest, their apathy is fueled, if not encouraged, by the thousands of other non-sustainable clothing on offer. These ratios themselves reveal the fallibility of fast fashion's attempts at becoming sustainable, or the very lack of a credible attempt altogether.
Image courtesy of Flickr. Originally published by S&S on Dec. 3, 2019.

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In April 2019, Swedish fashion giant H&M revealed its latest sustainable fashion innovation: clothes made from fruit peelings that would otherwise be discarded. The new line, part of H&M's Conscious Collection, featured Pinatex products, a leather-like material made from sturdy food wastage like orange peelings and pineapple leaves.

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Photo by Fernand De Canne on Unsplash

The problem with greenwashing in the fast fashion industry

Have you ever seen a fashion brands new sustainability campaign and thought ‘wow, what a great idea!’. One example many people may recognize is H&Ms recycling campaign that states for every bag of old textiles you bring in you’ll get 15% off your next purchase. H&M is…

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Fast Fashion and Greenwashing are a Match Made in Heaven

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The problem with greenwashing in the fast fashion industry

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I've run a feminist fashion brand called Birdsong since 2014. Most of our clothing is made by women working in charity workshops, rather than factories. We visit them weekly, know them by name and pay a London Living Wage. We know how their families are, and where they're next going on holiday.

There are some things we buy in from overseas, like plain T-shirts. After months of research, asking around, calling suppliers and reading reports, we settled on a supplier who appeared to be industry leaders in terms of their production. One of their factories was even named "the best for garment workers in Bangladesh" in 2009, and it was a member of the Fair Wear Foundation, a non-profit that works to improve factory conditions for garment workers in 11 countries across the world.

Unfortunately, we recently became aware that our supplier's standards had slipped, after a Guardian investigation revealed claims that a female employee at one of their factories had been assaulted on the orders of management. (It's worth noting that because there was a system in place for workers to report abuse, that's how we heard about the complaint, and that other brands might sweep these claims under the carpet.) A spokesperson for the company later said it had set up an anti-harassment system and had a zero tolerance policy on physical and verbal abuse.

We immediately switched suppliers, and will be donating the sale of clothes produced in that factory to garment workers' unions. Despite all of our best efforts, even we got duped by the power of the greenwash. In a world where supply chains are increasingly fractured, sustainability is all the rage and consumers are used to paying incredibly low prices for clothes, how do we know who to trust?

The term "greenwashing" was coined in the 1980s by environmentalist Jay Westerveld to describe companies which grossly overstate the environmental or ethical benefits of their products and services. Decades on, even for seasoned brand sceptics like myself, fashion's adoption of greenwashing is reaching ever more sophisticated heights. It's hard to make informed choices about our consumption. In part, this is because the literature of ethics and sustainability is notoriously hard to navigate. Just because a brand instigates a better workers' code, doesn't mean that they're not polluting by the bucketload, and vice versa. Meanwhile, workers' rights and environmental impact often get conflated under the same umbrella of sustainability. While the two can be interlinked, it's important to remember that workers' rights and environmental sustainability are separate things.

Sometimes brands profess to be sustainable, animal friendly or environmentally conscious as a PR strategy. Take Boohoo, for instance: earlier this year, they announced they'd be banning all wool in their clothes, before reversing their decision within hours. At the time, Peta called Boohoo Group's ban a "compassionate, business-savvy decision". It was later revealed that no wool products were actually stocked by Boohoo, and that the fake fur they retailed may actually be even worse for the environment (fake fur is typically made from plastic, which does not biodegrade). Meanwhile, a 2017 Dispatches investigation found garment workers making Boohoo products in the UK earned only £3 an hour, below the legal minimum wage. It's hard to see that much compassion or sustainability being extended to the workers making Boohoo's products, or in their choice of polluting, synthetic fibres.

A brand that is seemingly adept at the smoke and mirrors imagery of artisanally-produced garments is & Other Stories. Wander into their beautifully airy stores and you'll be greeted with posters of white women's hands loftily holding tailoring scissors over cloth. These images are overlaid with the words "Stockholm Atelier", as if to imply that the product was created in a Swedish factory, with all the labour protections that are (usually) afforded European garment workers. Sure, the products may have been designed in Stockholm. But look at the clothing tags and you'll see that the products are made in China, Bulgaria and Bangladesh. Owned by H&M, & Other Stories uses the same supply chain as its low-cost, better known big sister. It's this not so subtle slight of (white women's) hands that appears to lead customers into a false sense of security about the provenance of their items.

One of the buzzwords I was initially sceptical of (alongside "empowering" and "conscious") is "transparency". Non-profit Fashion Revolution put together a Global Transparency Index, based on how much brands disclose about their policies, practices and impact. H&M has made huge improvements in transparency, coming fourth in the 2018 index with a score of 55 percent, placing it ahead of brands such as Topshop (which scored 26 percent) and Urban Outfitters (a measly 6 percent). However, transparency doesn't correlate to perfect ethics in itself. Factories may subcontract out work, or only show off good working practices when there are factory inspections; there are so many ways to cheat the system. Transparency is absolutely a step in the right direction, but there's so much more information brands should disclose, if they are to be fully transparent: details on how much union representation workers have, maternity rights, how incidents in their HR department are dealt with and how much their workers are paid.

Part of the reason brands are able to be vague about their environmental and social commitments is because of the lack of nuance and public education surrounding words like "ethical" and "sustainable". If you peruse Arket's marketing materials, for example, you'll see frequent references to sustainability. A subsidiary brand of H&M, Arket at least provides information about where their factories are and how many people are employed in them. But H&M seems to have failed to meet its own standards when it comes to paying workers a living wage.

The Clean Clothes Campaign has been monitoring H&M's public commitments on pay and conditions. They found that the company made a commitment that its suppliers would pay a fair living wage by 2018. By 2019, this pledge had been watered down to "clear expectations regarding fair living wages". While wanting to improve your business is laudable, H&M is one of the global brands that created fast fashion and the moral clusterfuck of problems associated with it. No amount of greenwashing will change the fact that workers in H&M supplier factories don't earn a living wage, are reported to have fainted from exhaustion at work and face repercussions for union organising.

So, what's an ethically-minded fashion lover to do? Personally, I'm increasingly taking the route of trusting no brand on the high street. Good On You is a brilliant place to start for breaking down the language, comparing brands and finding better alternatives. Part fashion blog, part rating system, Good On You pull together looks and high street shopping guides with an expert driven rating system. Their ratings take people, planet and animal welfare all into account, in a way that's easy to digest.

Sadly, it's a good general rule of thumb to assume that, unless a brand really goes out of their way to show otherwise, it's probably the case that someone was exploited to make your garment. However, just because brands aren't perfect, doesn't mean they're not genuinely trying or that we should boycott them entirely. For example, Reformation currently pay 22 percent of their workers a living wage. That's not good enough, but their openness about it - and clear action to get to 100 percent - is refreshing and should be supported.

Another approach - and a cheaper one, at that - is to buy vintage and second-hand more often. Depop, charity shops or a clothes swap with friends. This allows you to minimise your environmental impact while updating your wardrobe. When you do buy new, make sure it's made by skilled workers, in good conditions - a win for you too, as it'll last longer.

It's worth pointing out that greenwashing isn't a wholly negative trend. "A greenwash could also be a precursor to real change, a step in the right direction," concedes Orsola De Castro of Fashion Revolution. She hopes that greenwashing may encourage consumers to become more aware of environmental and social issues, and ultimately more savvy: "The true antidote to greenwashing is knowledge - be curious, find out and do something." From H&M Conscious, to Mango's Committed line, it's refreshing to see brands at least talking about the topic of sustainability, even if the ethics of these brands are still questionable.

While progress is being made, the change of pace isn't fast enough: 100 billion garments will be produced this year, using mostly polluting methods, in bad conditions, for poor wages and with a huge proportion eventually going to landfill. It's time to get curious, challenge the high street status quo and get wise to greenwash.

In response to the allegations set out in this piece, a Boohoo spokesperson said:

"Boohoo continues to assess all options as part of its ongoing commitment to a more sustainable future. Boohoo did not formally agree to ban wool, meaning there was no subsequent reversal of the ban. Wool is a very small part of the boohoo supply chain, comprising less than 1 percent of the raw material inputs. It's rare for any of our individual garments to be more than 10 percent wool. Our suppliers must comply with our animal welfare policy and supplier code of conduct. We are committed to ensuring the wool used in our supply chain comes from good husbandry and meets high levels of animal welfare, and will continue to use wool as a sustainable material.

"We are committed to ensuring that all the garment workers producing the clothes we sell are paid at least the minimum wage and we will not work with suppliers who pay below the minimum wage. We have an in-house compliance team whose job is to ensure that our products are made in factories which comply with all legal and regulatory requirements relating to minimum wage and working conditions."

A spokesperson for H&M said:

"Earning a living wage is a fundamental human right and the reason why we, as one of the very first companies, acted on this. However, to make fair living wages a reality for garment workers around the world, there are certain steps that must be taken first. If you skip those steps because you are eager to hurry things up, you will end up with a shaky foundation that does not contribute to systemic change. The first steps are all about creating mechanisms, processes and collaborations, as well as a new mind-set. Indeed, complex and not very straight-forward things to communicate around, but nevertheless essential when it comes to making fair living wages a reality for garment workers.

"The H&M group has since several years had a dialogue Clean Clothes Campaign [sic] and even if we respect their opinion and share the same vision, we disagree on how to best achieve progress. We listen to recommendations from the ILO and the global trade union IndustriALL on how a company such as ours should address this complex issue. They support our way of working, and we will continue to listen to them.

"Summing up these first five years, we can see that the processes are beginning to fall into place: by empowering garment workers and making fair negotiations possible, we have formed industry collaborations that will enable the entire industry to take steps forward. We have also improved our purchasing practices to ensure that they support fair living wages, for example by excluding labour costs from price negotiations. And most importantly, within the industry approach ACT, we have, together with 22 other brands and the global union IndustriALL that represents garment workers, paved the way for a true game-changer and turning point for the industry: collective bargaining agreements at industry level supported by responsible purchasing practices. In order to secure significant wage increases, it's essential that the work done at individual factories - which our goals for 2018 were about - is accompanied by industry solutions, such as industry-wide collective bargaining agreements.

"Thus, the first steps in creating a solid foundation for fair living wages have been taken. Even if our work is long-term and we never held expectations of fair living wages by 2018, we can see some important progress when it comes to wages. We are one of the few companies to have wage data publicly available."
@sophieavalon

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The 'Greenwashing' Hiding the Truth of Your Favourite Fashion Brands

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I've run a feminist fashion brand called Birdsong since 2014. Most of our clothing is made by women working in charity workshops, rather than factories. We visit them weekly, know them by name and pay a London Living Wage. We know how their families are, and where they're next going on holiday.

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Eco-conscious, environmentally friendly, sustainable - these are just some of the buzzwords being used to promote the green credentials of brands and corporations. But while the surge of companies responding to the climate crisis is hugely positive, it can be difficult to know whether you're being a responsible consumer or buying into greenwashing.

Coined in 1986 by environmentalist Jay Westervelt, greenwashing - or 'green sheen' - is when a company uses misleading or false claims to suggest it's doing more for the environment than it actually is. "It's easy to say something is sustainable and not have to prove it," says Amina Razvi, executive director of Sustainable Apparel Coalition. "It's not always backed up by real, credible data. It makes it difficult for consumers to make smart choices."

This common practice means it's important that consumers do their research and ask questions. "Don't just listen to the marketing," comments Harriet Vocking, chief brand officer at sustainability consultancy Eco-Age. "Look at the company's website and read what they are doing."

Here are six ways to spot greenwashing in the fashion industry and become a more environmentally responsible shopper.
Look for numbers, not words
The easiest way to work out whether brands are greenwashing is by looking for figures that support their claims, rather than taking them at face value. "Companies use words such as 'sustainably made' or 'eco-friendly'," says Razvi. "[But] what percentage of their products are made with recycled materials?"

Find out whether brands have measurable targets set out on their website. "What quantifiable goals do they have listed publicly?" Razvi adds. "Companies truly committed to sustainable practices are setting ambitious goals that can be backed by science. They measure and are committed to reducing environmental impacts [every year]."

Natural isn't always more eco-friendly

Natural materials such as viscose, rayon and bamboo are promoted as eco-friendly, but it depends on how they're sourced. For example, 150 million trees are cut down for viscose production every year, according to Canopy. "Viscose is responsible for deforestation, unless it comes from a certified source," explains Orsola de Castro, founder of campaign group Fashion Revolution.

Read more: A Beginner's Guide To Shopping Sustainably On A Budget

Meanwhile, bamboo is a fast-growing fibre but it's sometimes grown with pesticides and chemicals are often used when it's turned into fabric. "Unless it comes from an organic source, bamboo is incredibly polluting," de Castro continues.

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Brands are making great strides to becoming more eco-friendly - but there's no doubt some are simply greenwashing to sell more clothes. Here's how to make sure your purchases are really sustainable, from supply chain to shop floor.

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McKinsey's 2019 chief purchasing officer (CPO) survey finds that sustainable sourcing at scale is the fashion industry's new must-have. The survey shows that social and environmental sustainability has become a key priority for apparel companies, just as it is becoming an increasingly important issue for consumers and governments.

The survey reflects the perspectives of 64 participating sourcing executives, who together are responsible for a total sourcing value of more than $100 billion. Most report that responsible and sustainable sourcing is already a top priority on their company's CEO agenda-and the area in greatest need of improvement in their companies. As the survey shows, companies also see real urgency in process-improvement actions such as digitization of sourcing processes, consolidation of supplier bases, and end-to-end process efficiency (Exhibit 1).

In our survey, we asked respondents to identify the three topics in sustainable apparel sourcing at the top of their agendas for the next five years. The top-ranked area for action was sustainable materials (Exhibit 2). Other priorities were transparency and traceability, supplier relationships, and purchasing practices.

For example, the share of apparel products containing sustainable materials remains low today, but the majority of executives surveyed aspire to source at least half of their product with such by 2025. Likewise, apparel companies are under increasing pressure to create transparency on their supply chains and to share that information with consumers-and eight in ten CPOs surveyed have ambitious plans to step up transparency. Social and environmental sustainability is also taking on much greater importance in supplier relationships: two-thirds of CPOs surveyed said it would likely become a top factor in their supplier ratings by 2025.

The report makes it clear that most apparel companies will need to shift current practices dramatically if they are to deliver on these bold expectations. Indeed, the industry lacks a common language on sustainable sourcing, let alone a shared set of standards. But the findings leave no doubt that sustainable sourcing at scale will be a must for apparel companies over the next five years-and that consumer demand for sustainable fashion is growing rapidly. At the same time, margin pressure is making it even more important that companies improve the efficiency of end-to-end product development and sourcing processes. As our survey shows, executives see no conflict between this imperative and the drive for sustainability.

Our survey also underlines the impact of "Trade 2.0" -increasing trade tensions exemplified by the US-China trade war. CPOs surveyed said they expected the more challenging trade environment to have a high impact on sourcing-cost development over the coming year, adding to margin pressure from consumers. And for US-based fashion companies, trade tensions are also accelerating the shift away from China as a sourcing country-more than half of North American executives surveyed were planning to reduce their sourcing value from China by more than ten percentage points over the coming year. Bangladesh and Vietnam will be the greatest beneficiaries of the shift out of China. These developments are a reminder that companies need to make progress on sustainability while navigating a volatile, fast-changing environment.

In the years ahead, apparel companies must shape a robust sustainability agenda that addresses both social and environmental imperatives. And they must deliver it at speed and scale, harnessing innovations in technology, standards, processes, materials, and communication.

Download Fashion's new must-have: Sustainable sourcing at scale, the full report on which this article is based (PDF-12MB).

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Fashion's new must-have: Sustainable sourcing at scale

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Sustainable apparel sourcing is fast becoming a top priority for fashion companies. A survey of sourcing executives reveals ambitious targets-and highlights the transformation needed.

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Opinion | Fashion companies use greenwashing to lie to consumers

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The environmentally conscious consumer searches for "green" products. It's a sentiment growing within the clothing industry after being a niche market for decades. At the same time, for college students, it can be hard to choose an environmentally friendly piece of clothing while on a budget.

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Executive Summary

For years, brand managers have groused that consumers say they intend to buy sustainable products but don't actually buy them. Companies have used this conventional wisdom as justification for not making their products more sustainable. A new study, looking at the sales from 2013 to 2018 of products marketed as sustainable, finds the conventional wisdom isn't true. In more than 90% of consumer packaged goods categories, sustainability-marketed products grew faster than their conventional counterparts. They accounted for 16.6% of the market in 2018, up from 14.3% in 2013, and delivered nearly $114 billion in sales. Companies should be aware that consumers are increasingly voting with their dollars - against unsustainable brands.

Shana Novak/Getty Images

For years, brand managers have groused that while consumers say they intend to buy sustainable products, in store they don't actually purchase them. This conventional wisdom has been used by many brands as justification for not making their products more sustainable.

NYU Stern's Center for Sustainable Business just completed extensive research into U.S. consumers' actual purchasing of consumer packaged goods (CPG), using data contributed by IRI, and found that 50% of CPG growth from 2013 to 2018 came from sustainability-marketed products. IRI's data comes from bar scan codes at retail checkout in food, drug, dollar, and mass merchandisers. We examined over 36 categories and more than 71,000 SKUs, which accounted for 40% of CPG dollar sales over the five-year period.

Products that had a sustainability claim on-pack accounted for 16.6% of the market in 2018, up from 14.3% in 2013, and delivered nearly $114 billion in sales, up 29% from 2013. Most important, products marketed as sustainable grew 5.6 times faster than those that were not. In more than 90% of the CPG categories, sustainability-marketed products grew faster than their conventional counterparts.

We also reviewed which categories had the largest share of sustainability-marketed products. Toilet tissue, facial tissue, milk, yogurt, coffee, salty snacks, and bottled juices were among those with the highest share in their category (more than 18%), while laundry care, floor cleaner, and chocolate candy had less than a 5% share.

Our analysis looked at products' on-pack communication about their sustainability. We assessed third-party certification, such as USDA organic and Fair Trade, and the packaging's claims about undesirable traits (such as genetically modified, BPA, parabens, antibiotics, growth hormones) and positive characteristics (local, grass-fed, compostable, animal cruelty-free).

Given that sustainability issues vary by category, we also assessed whether a claim concerned a material environmental or social issue for that category. For example, "plant-based" is not a material issue in cereals, as most are plant-based; it is in detergents, where it means toxic chemicals are not used. Our analysis did not include the term "natural" (which is ubiquitous but means nothing) or marketing claims related to social causes or charities.

Products that we deemed sustainability-marketed in 2018 were considered sustainability-marketed in 2013 too, as we were unable to examine 2013 packaging for all products. This likely depressed the growth numbers, as many brands have become more sustainable over time. We made no attempt to assess if products marketed as sustainable were, in fact, sustainable. Instead, we focused on whether the marketing of a product as sustainable would drive purchases.

To a certain degree, products that need to have a higher degree of efficacy (such as laundry care and sanitary napkins) were more likely to have a lower share of sustainability-marketed products, perhaps because consumers are concerned about performance trade-offs. That said, some of those categories saw high growth in sustainability-marketed products - sanitary napkins and laundry care were among the highest, at 150%. So it appears that some categories that are behind in sustainability-marketed product share are making up for lost time.

What do these findings mean for corporate managers and investors?

Consumers are voting with their dollars - against unsustainable brands. The legacy companies that will thrive are those that accept this shift and are willing to pivot, such as PepsiCo and Unilever. Notably, those two companies are doing so despite the strident objections of investors who criticized Indra Nooyi and Paul Polman, the former CEOs of PepsiCo and Unilever, respectively, for moving away from their traditional brands. CPGs that are not making the pivot will lose - Kraft Heinz, whose investors have encouraged a cost-cutting approach that is backfiring, is a case in point. Given the evidence that consumer tastes are changing, an attitude of "Why mess with a recipe that has worked well over the last 40 years?" is the wrong one to take.

Some of the necessary transformation can be accomplished by reinventing legacy products, as Unilever has shown with its "sustainable living" brands, now delivering 70% of its turnover growth. These brands speak to consumers' interest in aligning their shopping with their values: Hellmann's uses 100% cage-free eggs in its U.S. products, for example. Small brands in this space are also attracting the bigger players' attention - Unilever has purchased brands with loyal followings such as Seventh Generation, Sundial Brands, and Pukka Herbs.

Corporate leadership should no longer give brand managers a pass when they claim that there is no demand for sustainable products. And investors should support companies in making the investments needed for the pivot. The future for CPG, and increasingly for other categories such as apparel, is sustainable.

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Research: Actually, Consumers Do Buy Sustainable Products

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Executive Summary For years, brand managers have groused that consumers say they intend to buy sustainable products but don't actually buy them. Companies have used this conventional wisdom as justification for not making their products more sustainable. A new study, looking at the sales from 2013 to 2018 of products marketed as sustainable, finds the conventional wisdom isn't true.

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We were just days from publishing our 2020 Resale Report in March when the Covid crisis hit.

Like every business in the world, thredUP paused to focus on the safety of our teams and set a plan for the rest of 2020. At the time, it seemed that Covid had "changed everything." But is that really true as we look ahead? Here's what the latest data is telling us:

First, changes that were already afoot in retail are accelerating rapidly. Sheltering in place catalyzed the shift toward shopping online. As a result, opportunities are expanding for the strongest ecommerce and marketplace businesses.

Second, for all the challenges Covid posed to our assumptions about consumer behavior, one thing is clear: consumers everywhere are prioritizing value and accelerating the shift to thrift. When times get uncertain, we all focus on our family balance sheet. Brands whose core proposition delivers value and convenience have the opportunity to gain share. Amazon, off-price, and resale are emerging as winners.

Finally, the youth of the world are more switched on than ever about the health of the planet. With their words, deeds, and dollars, the younger generation is demonstrating a genuine desire to be part of the long-term solution to fashion waste. This should inspire much optimism in all of us. The consciousness of the next generation of consumers is a tailwind for businesses that deliver customer value in a sustainable way.

This year's Resale Report, unlike any we've published, captures insights from two different consumer worlds: pre- and post-Covid. We hope it sparks rich dialogue about the enduring shifts underway and the forces fueling the future of resale.

- Anthony S. Marino
President, thredUP

thredUP's Annual Resale Report contains research and data from GlobalData, a third-party retail analytics firm. GlobalData's assessment of the secondhand market is determined through consumer surveys, retailer tracking, official public data, data sharing, store observation, and secondary sources. These inputs are used by analysts to model and calculate market sizes, channel sizes, and market shares. Further, for the purpose of this report, GlobalData conducted a January 2020 survey of 3,500 American women over 18, asking specific questions about their behaviors and preferences for secondhand. thredUP's Resale Report also leverages data from the following sources: Green Story Inc. research and internal thredUP customer and brand performance data. View all sources here.

Covid Update: All market numbers were reforecasted in April 2020 to more accurately reflect the current situation, and are included throughout the report. GlobalData ran a post-Covid consumer survey in April 2020 to better understand how recent events have shifted consumer sentiment and behaviors. Those findings are included in the Covid section at the beginning of thredUP's Annual Resale Report.

Disclosure: All third-party brand names and logos appearing in this report are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Any such appearance does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement of thredUP.

A quick reference to where the major players in the industry currently reside.

Secondhand: Consumption of all used apparel. Includes both the Resale sector and the Thrift & Donation sector.

Donation & Thrift: A sector of the broader 'secondhand' market that includes traditional options such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, and yard sales. These secondhand options are primarily, but not exclusively, offline.

Resale: A sector of the broader 'secondhand' market that includes more curated product assortments, often well merchandised and/or higher end. Examples include thredUP and TheRealReal as well as upscale offline players like Buffalo Exchange. These secondhand options are primarily, but not exclusively, online.

Secondhand Products: Consumption of all used apparel, footwear, accessories, books, furniture, entertainment, and beauty.

Department Stores: A type of general retail store, wherein the retailer displays products within distinct departments, often located on separate floors, specializing in defined product areas. Examples include Bloomingdale's, Macy's, JCPenney, Nordstrom.

Off-Price: A retailer that sells items at lower prices than those typically charged by retail businesses. Off-price stores typically purchase overstocked goods or make special purchases. Examples include TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, Burlington Coat Factory.

Value Chains: Value stores are a retail format that sells inexpensive items, at a single or limited number of price points. Examples include Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree.

Mid-Priced Specialty: Specialist clothing retailers operating in the middle of the market in terms of price. Not value but not premium or luxury. They tend to be found in malls or traditional main street locations. Examples include Gap, Ann Taylor, J.Crew.

Fast Fashion: Specialist clothing retailers with a fast stock turnaround and whose business models rely on selling high volumes at (usually) inexpensive price points. Examples include Zara, H&M, Forever 21.

Direct-to-Consumer: Specialists and generalists selling clothing directly to the public. Primarily online only. Excludes C2C or auction type sites, and the online side of traditional retail businesses. Examples include Everlane, Warby Parker, Outdoor Voices.

Sustainable Fashion: Apparel that has been produced, sold, and distributed in such a way as to minimize, as much as possible, any damaging social and environmental impact. To be classified as sustainable, a company must reduce negative impacts at multiple stages of the supply chain and of the product's lifecycle. Examples include Reformation, Allbirds, Eileen Fisher, Patagonia.

Amazon: Amazon's clothing sales in the US, stated at gross merchandise value.

Subscription: Subscription-based services for clothing. Excludes non-clothing elements of subscription models, and rental services. Examples include StitchFix and Trunk Club.

Other: Sales of clothing from all other sources, including grocers and supermarkets, drug stores, duty-free, warehouse clubs, variety stores, other non-clothing specialists, and convenience stores.

This [Resale Report] contains forward-looking statements. thredUP has based these statements largely on its current expectations and assumptions, and on information available as of the date of this report. However, we operate in a competitive, new, and rapidly changing market. New risks may emerge. thredUP assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this report, except as required by law.

This [Resale Report] also contains estimates and other statistical data made by independent parties and by thredUP relating to market size, growth and other industry data. This data involves a number of assumptions and limitations. thredUP has not independently verified the data generated by independent parties and cannot guarantee accuracy or completeness. Projections and assumptions about the future performance of the markets in which thredUP competes are subject to a high degree of uncertainty. These and other factors could cause results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed.

1. GlobalData Market Sizing: GlobalData's assessment of the secondhand market is determined through ongoing retailer tracking, official public data, data sharing, store observation, consumers surveys, and secondary sources. These inputs are used by analysts to model and calculate market sizes, channel sizes, and market shares. Market data analysis included in this report was done in April, 2020 and includes the impact of Covid.

2. GlobalData Consumer Survey: The consumer data in this report is derived from a consumer survey of 3,500 women. The survey asked them a number of questions about their attitudes towards apparel, secondhand products, and resale products. The sample was designed to be representative of age and income and was also geographically representative. Surveying was undertaken by GlobalData between December 12, 2019 and January 6, 2020.

3. GlobalData Covid Survey: GlobalData performed a second consumer survey of 2,000 women in April, 2020 which specifically focused on changes in attitudes towards apparel, secondhand products, and resale products in light of impact of the global pandemic.

4. Second Measure Transaction Data: Second Measure tracks, analyzes, and benchmarks U.S. transaction trends through direct to consumer channels

5. GlobalData Fashion Retailer Survey: 50 U.S. fashion (apparel, accessories, footwear) retailers were surveyed from December 12, 2019 to January 6, 2020 about their Circular Fashion goals.

6. Green Story Inc. Environmental Study: Independent research firm, Green Story Inc., was contracted to calculate the environmental savings from reuse of secondhand garments sold by thredUP. The study compared the environmental burden of purchasing a brand-new garment with that of reusing an average garment sold by thredUP across all stages of the garment's lifecycle. The savings were calculated across three areas: greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, and water consumption. The study followed international ISO 14040 LCA standard.

7. Resale Value Rankings: thredUP evaluated 35,000+ unique brands on its platform and created an aggregate score to determine a brand's ranking based on demand, virality and value to the seller.

8. Internal thredUP Customer Behavior / Data.

10. GlobalData Seller Survey of 2,000 U.S. Women on clothing resale habits

Cowen Equity Research: Cowen's Best ESG Investment Ideas for 2020; March 3, 2020

Department of Health and Environmental Control: How Landfills Work

Deloitte: Advancing environmental, social, and governance investing: A holistic approach for investment management firms

The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF Foundation): Report on US Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing Trends 2018

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2020 Fashion Resale Market and Trend Report

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We were just days from publishing our 2020 Resale Report in March when the Covid crisis hit. Like every business in the world, thredUP paused to focus on the safety of our teams and set a plan for the rest of 2020. At the time, it seemed that Covid had "changed everything."

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Fashion industry leaders including dozens of well-known apparel brands have joined the newly launched UN Climate Change's Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action. Aligned with the Paris Agreement, this charter envisions the industry achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

The 43 signatories represent fashion brands, retailers, supplier organizations, and others. They include Adidas, Burberry, Esprit, Guess, Gap Inc. Hugo Boss, H&M Group, Inditex, Kering, Levi Strauss & Co., Puma, PVH Corp., and Target.

Membership organizations Business for Social Responsibility, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, China National Textile and Apparel Council, Outdoor Industry Association, and Textile Exchange also joined the charter, as did global logistics company Maersk and the nonprofit organization WWF International.

"The charter, which is open for other companies and organizations to join, recognizes the crucial role that fashion plays on both sides of the climate equation; as a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and as a sector with multiple opportunities to reduce emissions while contributing to sustainable development," the UN Climate Change says.

Signatories commit to implementing or supporting 16 principles and targets that will be developed collectively through working groups convened by the UN Climate Change early next year. An initial target is to reduce aggregate greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030. The charter members also agreed to establish concrete measures like phasing out coal-fired boilers from their own companies and direct suppliers by 2025.

"We are aware that more than 90% of Puma's carbon footprint is being generated in shared supply chains, said Puma CEO Bjørn Gulden. "If we want to reduce carbon emissions in our supply chains, we need to work together with our industry peers."

Designer Stella McCartney helped launch the new charter at COP24 and is one of the founding signatories.

"I want to call on my peers in the business, from other brands to retailers and suppliers, to sign up to this charter now and take the necessary actions to address the reality of the issue of climate change in their business and value chains," McCartney said. "Collectively we have a voice and the capacity to make a difference."
We are currently accepting submissions for the 2019 Environmental Leader Awards. Learn more and submit a project or product here.

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Dozens of Fashion Brands Commit To Net Zero Emissions for Industry

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Fashion industry leaders including dozens of well-known apparel brands have joined the newly launched UN Climate Change's Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action. Aligned with the Paris Agreement, this charter envisions the industry achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The 43 signatories represent fashion brands, retailers, supplier organizations, and others.

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Today, thanks to many movements and organisations, we're also beginning to realise how harmful our consumerist society has been to the people and our planet. The sustainable fashion movement is gaining in importance, and more and more consumers are reducing and changing the way they consume fashion, in an attempt to force the industry to clean its sh*t up.

In the last few years, we've been seeing a rebirth of counter-movements. Slow Fashion has been a growing trend, advocating for a more holistic approach to fashion and a slowing down of the rate at which we produce and consume.

The awareness of clothes lifecycle is also growing, leading to vintage clothes shopping becoming more and more accepted and fashionable.

Recycling and recycled clothing have also been gaining in popularity, as well as up-cycling, and circular economy practices, which promote methods to add back value to old clothes have also emerged.

Fashion can sometimes be seen as frivolous, but the fashion industry is one of the major economic players on the market, which significantly impacts human beings all over the world, as well as the environment. So it's vital to understand the fashion industry and ethical movement's history, how it works and how it evolved, in order to change it for the better.

Black, S. (2008) Eco-Chic, the Fashion Paradox. London: Black Doc Publishing.

Black, S. (2015) 'Fashion and Sustainability' in Bibliographical Guides. London: Bloomsbury Academic. [Online] DOI:10.5040/9781474280655-BG008

Braungart, M. and McDonough, W. (2002, reprinted 2009) Cradle to Cradle: Re-Making the Way We Make Things. London: Vintage

Henninger, C., Alevizou, P. and Oates, C. (2016) 'What Is Sustainable Fashion?' Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: an International Journal, 20(4) pp. 400-416. [Online] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-07-2015-0052

Minney, S. (2016) Slow Fashion: Aesthetics Meets Ethics. Oxford: New Internationalist Publications Ltd.

Steele, V. (2010) 'Ethical and Eco-Fashion' in The Berg Companion to Fashion. London: Bloomsbury Academics.

Svendsen, L. (2006) 'Fashion Consumption' in Fashion: A Philosophy. London: Reaktion Books Ltd.

The True Cost. (2015) Directed by Morgan, A. [Online video] Available through Netflix

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A Brief History of Ethical and Sustainable Fashion - Solene Rauturier

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Today, thanks to many movements and organisations, we're also beginning to realise how harmful our consumerist society has been to the people and our planet. The sustainable fashion movement is gaining in importance, and more and more consumers are reducing and changing the way they consume fashion, in an attempt to force the industry to clean its sh*t up.

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Before the internet came along, most business would have self-identified that they were a B2B (business to business) or a B2C (business to customer) company. Have you even calculated or noticed the explosion of C2C (customer to customer) companies in the past 20 years? With the continued rise of product or service ecommerce, companies are leveraged things or places that people have and have created marketplaces for consumers to do business with each other. Platforms like AirBnb, Etsy, eBay, and others have exploded this industry. You could claim Amazon is becoming a C2C platform as it is increasingly creating and selling its own products. Why the rise of C2C?

C2C businesses are a new type of business model, sometimes disruptive, that have emerged with ecommerce technology and the sharing economy. The advantage for customers is that they benefit from the competition for products and often find items that are difficult to locate elsewhere. In addition, margins can be higher than traditional pricing methods for sellers because there are minimal costs due to the absence of retailers or wholesalers. C2C websites or even applications are convenient because there is no need to visit a brick-and-mortar store. Sellers simply list their products or services online or via an application, and the buyers come to them.

This business model still allows the companies that build and launch these C2C platforms to make money from the fees charged to sellers for listing items for sale, adding on promotional features and facilitating payment transactions. The C2C market is projected to grow in the future because of its cost-effectiveness. The cost of using third parties is declining, and the amount of products for sale by consumers is steadily rising. Consumers consider it to be an important business model because of the popularity of social media and other online channels. These channels showcase specific products already owned by consumers and increases demand, which drives increased online traffic to C2C platforms.

The C2C marketplace is continuing to grow, as more startups have entered the space to facilitate C2C transactions. Many companies target niche markets and list specific products to attract unique consumers. For example, Tokopedia, one of Indonesia's largest online marketplaces, is a C2C retailer that provides a platform on which entrepreneurs can open small and midsize C2C enterprises for free. As of May 2018, this leading retailer had approximately 143.1 million visitors. Another would be the rise of apps like Letgo and Offerup that allow consumers to sell to their neighbors. Letgo boasts 100 million downloads and 400 million listings since 2015.

Even Facebook Marketplace is in on the rise of C2C platforms. It is now being used by more than 800 million people in 70 countries, and it only connects you to people near your location. According to the CEO Mark Zuckerberg, one in three people uses the platform. Its popularity might be attributed to the fact that it's free, when other services, such as eBay, take a transaction fee on sales.

While you might think the opportunity for creating a new C2C platform is low, due to the massive platforms already created, there will always be "niche" opportunities within very large markets or industries. Let's look at a few potential examples:

Expert skills or education acquisition: For example, if you were a digital marketer and you did not know what you needed to know about a certain new tool or platform, would you pay $35-50 an hour dollars to have the opportunity to sit in a coffee shop for one hour with a resident expert, either in person or via online chat? There is only so much the universities of Google and YouTube can teach you. Experts can deliver the same information but with more context and experience.

Book publishing services: The industry of self publishing a book has exploded in the past ten years. In 2014, there were about two million Kindle titles. Today, there are over seven million! Yet this industry remains amazingly fragmented. There is no number one platform on a global basis. What would you pay, per hour, to have someone help you start, design, edit and market your book?

Explore a potential hobby: With the rise of Uber, AirBnB and Etsy, we are getting used the idea of almost perfect strangers meeting our needs. This will continue to progress as we look to live well and create more experiences. So, who better to learn from than a local expert when you want to learn to learn to cook, kayak, surf, mountain bike, play tennis, etc. Think of it as a "Tinder" for local experts teaching locals.

Just when you think there can't be any more solutions for what looks like a crowded C2C marketplace, a new C2C platform will rise. Connecting consumers to consumers is a powerful marketplace platform that entrepreneurs everywhere should be examining for potential opportunities.

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Entrepreneurs, Forget B2C and B2B. Build a C2C Ecommerce Platform And Disrupt Or Grow An Industry.

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Before the internet came along, most business would have self-identified that they were a B2B (business to business) or a B2C (business to customer) company. Have you even calculated or noticed the explosion of C2C (customer to customer) companies in the past 20 years?

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UK Lifestyles of Generation Z Market Report

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Providing the most comprehensive and up-to-date information and analysis of the Lifestyles of Generation Z market, and the behaviours, preferences and habits of the consumer. What are the key challenges facing the industry? Who is the consumer and what do they want? Where are the opportunities, where are the risks and what lies ahead?

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After a slow start, luxury fashion has earned its place in the digital universe. Most brands now interact with consumers both through their own branded online store and on multi-brand e-tailers. And even though pure online transactions are currently just a sliver of the total luxury goods market, this isn't going to stay the case for very long. Nearly half of luxury goods buying decisions are already influenced by what consumers hear or see online.

By 2018, global digital sales for women's luxury fashion are expected to grow from a current 3 percent of the total market to 17 percent, for a total market size of $12 billion. Propelling this surge is solid market growth in developed, Western markets and exceptional expansion in China. Annual online sales growth for women's luxury fashion between now and 2018 is expected to be 17 percent in U.S., 18 percent in UK, 12 percent in Germany and a whopping 70 percent in China.

Having overcome some of their initial reservations and concerns about exclusivity and control, many luxury brands are now more comfortable selling and marketing on both their own site and that of select department store or pure play luxury e-retailer partners in select markets. Brands have come to accept that these channels are not mutually exclusive, since they target different shopping occasions and therefore different consumer groups. Multi-brand sites, however, are expected to capture a greater portion of the growth in online luxury fashion, as single-brand sites have more limited growth potential.

Multi-brand e-tailers allow large luxury brands the opportunity to reach both time-pressed consumers who don't have time to shop around on multiple mono-brand sites and more rural customers who aren't easily able to visit urban boutiques. Yet along with this visibility to a wider audience, multi-brand retail also carries the risk of over-exposure and dilution for luxury brands. Because brand cache is so important, luxury fashion brands must have a clear strategy of how to distribute and market offerings across both channels. Most luxury brands still actively steer the selection of which items they put into multi-brand e-tailing. The "long-running classics" are often only distributed through their own brand website, rather than multi-brand e-tailers.

Getting it right in multi-channel retail first means understanding what luxury consumers want from their digital multi-brand experience. To this effect, we completed consumer surveys in seven markets around the world, using McKinsey's proprietary Rapid Brand Research survey in an online panel. This research tool provides quick insights into how a company's brand is performing on key dimensions, including brand funnels and attitudinal and demographic segmentation. Here, we present the distinctive attributes, as well as the commonalities, of three key online luxury fashion markets - the U.S., the UK and Germany.

The US: Room for online growth despite department store dominance

U.S. respondents told us that they intend to spend about one-half of their luxury apparel and accessories spending online over the next year, a figure that is consistent across the UK and Germany as well. While this puts online activity in these three markets considerably above that of the global market average, it is not clear how much spending will actually migrate online. What's certain, though, is that American luxury shoppers increasingly view online channels as a legitimate and trusted source for luxury purchases. When buying luxury apparel or accessories online, most customers (60 percent) say they go directly to an online shop they are familiar with, whether mono- or multi-brand. Search engines still play a role, though: 46 percent say they use one to find a specific product; 31 percent use one to find the brand they're looking for.

The top reason U.S. luxury consumers give for purchasing products online is the ability to buy whenever it's most convenient (80 percent say this). The ability to compare and price items before buying is also highly appealing (76 percent gave this reason), as is the absence of feeling pressured by salespeople into buying something (63 percent).

In contrast to other categories of online shopping, the price of online luxury apparel and accessories is not a big reason for consumers to go digital. Only 39 percent of luxury shoppers say they find less expensive products online and about half say they find better deals and sales online than in stores - both figures that deviate significantly from behavior in other categories like consumer electronics.

In terms of what American consumers expect from their digital luxury experience, a convenient return policy and free shipping are far and away the most important for the vast majority of respondents (90 percent). Having access to items not available in the physical store is also important (60 percent). VIP access that only selected shoppers can access and same day delivery are relatively unimportant. Yet this isn't to say that consumers are willing to wait for their items. Four days until delivery is acceptable, 2.6 is ideal and anything over seven days is an eternity and thus unacceptable. These expected wait times are similar to those in the UK and Germany and largely in line with what consumers are used to in other categories.

There are several key areas of potential improvement for online stores. Sixty percent of U.S. luxury consumers say they would be more likely to buy at an online shop if it offered luxury brands that no one else sold online. Price, now relatively unimportant, could be more of a motivator. Forty-one percent say they would be more likely to buy online if they there were better prices offered. A better web site with stronger functionality and customer reviews and recommendations would also help inspire customer satisfaction.

There is no one type of designer product that a majority of shoppers prefer to buy online. Small leather goods, handbags, silk scarves, jewelry, watches and beauty products are the most frequently purchased. Items that require trying on - clothes, footwear, sunglasses - are less likely to be bought online.

In the U.S., department stores dominate in the online luxury fashion market, as these players continue to expand their offline strengths into online. Nordstrom.com leads, with 71 percent of all respondents saying they have purchased or considered purchasing from this site in the last year. Equally revealing is the site's approval rating. Half of the respondents asked to rate Nordstrom.com say it is their favorite. Fifty-six percent of U.S. respondents have purchased from Neiman Marcus and 53 percent from Bloomingdales.com. Brand-owned sites play a modest role. Sixty-three percent of consumers have shopped there, though this is spread over numerous properties.

The UK: Multi-brand player Net-a-porter.com stands out

The top site for British luxury shoppers is also a department store - Selfridges.com, where 65 percent of respondents say they have either considered buying or have bought luxury goods. But here pure-play Internet sites have a bigger role than in the U.S. Net-a-Porter, which 32 percent say they have purchased from, is among consumers' favorites, staking out firm ground in its home market. The site, which features an authoritative range of products, a high service ethic and unique editorial content, counts the UK as its second largest market, after the U.S. Forty-two percent of British luxury consumers say it is their favorite, ahead of all department store sites except Selfridges.com, where 54 percent say it is a favorite. Although Farfetch.com, a marketplace for upmarket independent (brick and mortar) fashion boutiques, garners just a small share of luxury apparel market, it too has high approval ratings: 36 percent of consumers rate this site highly. With a commission-based model, Farfetch ships products directly from stores and has the same software module installed in each boutique. Brand-owned online sites play an important role as well. Fifty-six percent of British luxury consumers say they have shopped with at least one.

British consumers are more likely than Americans to use search engines to find specific products, providing greater access opportunities for new players. They use search about as often as they navigate directly to an online shop. When making the decision to buy luxury goods online, Brits are less motivated by the appeal of 24 hour shopping than they are by a convenient return policy (75 percent) and free shipping (73 percent). Forty four percent say that having access to items not available in a store is important. Just as in the U.S., services like VIP access to select products and same day delivery aren't big motivators.

British consumers also would be willing to buy more online if there were better prices offered (48%) and if online shops had exclusive luxury brands that nobody else sold online (41%). They would appreciate the addition of customer reviews and recommendations, though a better web site with stronger functionality isn't as important to them.

Germany: Growing but with a demanding customer base

In Germany, brand-owned online shops lead the market, with 57 percent of luxury consumers saying they shopped at one in the last year. The Berlin-based German department store KaDeWe is the strongest multi-brand online shop, with 40 percent of consumers shopping there. Net-a-Porter and other pure play multi-brand sites like Mytheresa.com, a well-established Munich-based site known for its curated offer, and Stylebop, which features hard to find items and designers, are each cited by roughly 15 percent of consumers. The online shops of US-based department stores Bloomingdales, Barneys and Nordstrom also have a small presence.

German consumers are generally accustomed to a high service level in online retailing, and when it comes to luxury, they are even more demanding and discerning. As a result, they do not have a high level of satisfaction with the luxury fashion sites they frequent most often. Only 34 percent say that KaDeWe is their favorite site. Their highest praise goes to Matches Fashion, a London-based luxury fashion retailer, and pure play Theoutnet.com, both of which are frequented by less than 10 percent of luxury consumers.

Germans give similar weight to specific online features as Brits. A convenient return policy and free shipping are the most important factors influencing online purchasing for 74 percent and 69 percent respectively, while same day delivery and personal shoppers are relatively unimportant. Germans are unique in valuing the ability to order a product in two sizes so that they can return the one that doesn't fit, a pattern consistent with what we have seen in lower and mid-priced online fashion in Germany. This two-size feature is one of the main reasons for multi-channel e-tailer Zalando's success in Germany. Forty-six percent of respondents say this is an important factor in their online purchasing.

Germans say they would be likely to do more online buying if sites had better prices or sold brands that nobody else sells online. Having customer reviews and recommendations is somewhat important and a better web site with stronger functionality is somewhat unimportant. Germans also value the importance of having a localized web site with local payment options, clothes sizing, and customer service, as well as a German language site. Having local brands, however, is a less important feature.

Like their British and American counterparts, German luxury consumers buy a wide range of designer products online, with items that don't need to be tried on more popular than designer clothing. These include small leather goods, silk scarves, beauty products, handbags and fragrances.

These findings highlight important execution considerations for luxury players around the globe. The commonalities among the U.S., UK and German markets reveal that online sites, whether mono-brand or multi-brand, have a distinct opportunity to drive sales through both a better approach to pricing and the offer of unique products or brands that aren't available elsewhere online.

The differences are also revealing. In the U.S., the fact that brick and mortar department stores have been able to expand their offline strength into online markets - thanks in part to the tendency of consumers to go directly to specific web sites - means higher table stakes for market success, especially for new entrants. To compete, both luxury brands and multi-channel e-tailers must offer consumers an exceptionally well-designed site and superior customer experience. In Germany and the UK, we see greater chances for market entry since consumers tend to find luxury fashion through Google and other search websites. This, however, also means a higher online marketing spend and greater degree of marketing efficiency. Also in the German and UK markets, return policies are critical to business success, whereas in the U.S., they are barely a differentiating factor.

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The opportunity in online luxury fashion

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After a slow start, luxury fashion has earned its place in the digital universe. Most brands now interact with consumers both through their own branded online store and on multi-brand e-tailers. And even though pure online transactions are currently just a sliver of the total luxury goods market, this isn't going to stay the case for very long.

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The voice of fellow consumers continues to be strongly heard when it comes to the most trusted forms of advertising. Ninety-two percent of consumers around the world say they trust earned media, such as word-of-mouth or recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising-an increase of 18 percent since 2007, according to a new study from Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy. Online consumer reviews are the second most trusted source of brand information and messaging, with 70 percent of global consumers surveyed online indicating they trust messages on this platform, an increase of 15 percent in four years.

Earned media sources remain most credible

Trust in traditional paid advertising messages declines

Confidence in online and mobile advertising increases

Regional variances offer global marketers opportunities

Improved relevance in advertising has room to grow

Nielsen's Global Trust in Advertising Survey of more than 28,000 Internet respondents in 56 countries shows that while nearly half of consumers around the world say they trust television (47%), magazine (47%) and newspaper ads (46%), confidence declined by 24 percent, 20 percent and 25 percent, respectively, between 2009 and 2011.

Still, the majority of advertising dollars are spent on traditional or paid media, such as television. In 2011, overall global ad spend saw a seven percent increase over 2010, according to Nielsen's most recent Global AdView Pulse. This growth in spend was driven by a 10 percent increase in television advertising, with countries including the U.S. and China, attracting more advertising dollars versus the year prior.

"While brand marketers increasingly seek to deploy more effective advertising strategies, Nielsen's survey shows that the continued proliferation of media messages may be impacting how well they resonate with their intended audiences on various platforms," said Randall Beard, global head, Advertiser Solutions at Nielsen. "Although television advertising will remain a primary way marketers connect with audiences due to its unmatched reach compared to other media, consumers around the world continue to see recommendations from friends and online consumer opinions as by far the most credible. As a result, successful brand advertisers will seek ways to better connect with consumers and leverage their good-will in the form of consumer feedback and experiences."

As marketers strive to reach consumers with effective ads, particularly in today's fragmented media environment, relevancy counts. One sure way to boost advertising ROI is to ensure messaging resonates with audiences.

In addition to asking respondents to what extent they trust various forms of advertising, the survey also examined which advertising and brand messaging platforms are most relevant. By this measure, the survey found that relevancy results often mirrored trust responses, indicating there is room for improvement by marketers to make a more personal connection with consumers.

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Reports and Insights | Global Trust in Advertising and Brand Messages | Nielsen

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The voice of fellow consumers continues to be strongly heard when it comes to the most trusted forms of advertising. Ninety-two percent of consumers around the world say they trust earned media, such as word-of-mouth or recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of...

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Les Petites Annonces Amélie Pichard - Chaussures et Sacs d'occasion et seconde main.

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achetez et revendez vos modèles collectors ou introuvables sacs et chaussures Amélie Pichard.

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The co-founder of Rent the Runway saw the fashion-rental service grow to six million customers and a reported $100 million in revenue. Then she realized it was time to walk away.

What should founders be aware of before taking venture capital?

When Rent the Runway first raised funding, we were so excited to get a term sheet from Bain Capital that we signed it right away. We might not have given due time to meeting all the players out on the West Coast. Taking a couple more weeks in those critical moments and exposing yourself to all networks of venture capital can be valuable.

What are some of the challenges that women entrepreneurs face that men don't, and how did you overcome them?

Women often start businesses that address a female need. Rent the Runway is a good example. We were our own customers. The problem is that most venture capitalists are men, so getting them to relate to the problem that you're solving can be challenging. We came up with a good solution: Show, don't tell. We took videos of our trial runs showing the emotional connection women have to fashion, which can otherwise be lost on men. You want to point them in the right direction of your target demographic.

How has being a mother changed your view of entrepreneurship?

The nice thing is that you don't take things for granted as much, and that definitely applies to startup life. When I advise young startups, I tell them not to forget that these are the best of times. These are the memories. Write them down, because this is the stuff you're really going to miss at some point. Last night, I was up for most of the night with my youngest kid, but it was a moment in time, and I know that eventually she will grow up. Drink lots of coffee and try to enjoy the ride.

You're now CEO of Code Eight, a company launched by Walmart's tech incubator. How do you know when it's time to leave your company and start something new?

I compare it to when your kids are ready to go off to college: You realize they don't need you in the same way, and it's bittersweet, but it's a natural next step. It has to be this combination of personal drive--you're excited to go back into the trenches of starting another company--and that the company is ready to let go of you.

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Rent the Runway Had 6 Million Customers, $100 Million in Revenue. Then the Co-Founder Quit

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The co-founder of Rent the Runway saw the fashion-rental service grow to six million customers and a reported $100 million in revenue. Then she realized it was time to walk away. What should founders be aware of before taking venture capital?

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The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice. See Lexington Law's editorial disclosure for more information.
Generation Z-the 18 to 24 year old digital natives born who can't recall a world without smartphones and rapid technology-now make up 20 percent of the U.S. population. Born after 1997, this cohort is making their mark in the economy as they spend an estimated $143 billion per year. The eldest members are in their early 20s, graduating college and entering the workforce for the first time.

This generation differs greatly from their predecessors in saving, spending and overall money management habits, as well as what they value most in the brands they interact with, the type of jobs they're after, and their goals for the future.

Here are a few key characteristics of this generation:

Their ability to find answers quickly by accessing information online enables them to make informed decisions and become smart shoppers.

Many have called this generation the most financially savvy because of their keenness for saving paired with their thrifty, entrepreneurial spirits.

Their sense of independence and self-reliance is partially because of the digital world they grew up in-many received their first mobile device by the age of 10.

Read on to learn more about Generation Z's spending habits and their other financial patterns as we enter 2021.

How Generation Z Shops Online and Offline

Generation Z is known as the first digitally native generation and does not differentiate between online and offline channels. Having grown up in a hyperconnected world, they expect the same quality and speed of an online channel to translate to the physical stores they visit. They're also much savvier with online shopping channels than their predecessors and aren't easily swayed by gimmicks or celebrity influencers. Take a look at how Gen Z shops.

Online Shopping Habits

Since this generation never knew a world without the internet, they have high expectations for online channels and a low tolerance for any slowdowns or glitches. Members of this cohort place a high value on technology and having the information they need at their fingertips.

They're also skeptical about giving away their information since they've grown up in an age of high-profile data breaches for major brands. Read through our stats below to learn how Gen Z behaves online:

Brick-and-Mortar Shopping Habits

Contrary to what you might think, the majority of Gen Z prefers to make purchases in store. One reason could be that they lack access to credit cards to make online purchases (although they do use debit cards.) We may see this preference change over time.

However, it's important to note that members of Generation Z are not blinded by technological "bells and whistles" with any shopping channel. Their priorities lie in the basic retail experience: product availability, quality products and efficient service. While they may be swayed as long as any addition enhances the shopping experience, they have a low tolerance for negative or inefficient experiences while they shop. Read on to see what expectations Gen Z has for their brick-and-mortar shopping trips:

66 percent of Gen Z said they'd be inclined to shop at physical stores offering technology that enhanced their shopping experience. [Source: Kearney]

72 percent of Gen Z want retail technology that can lessen the time they spend standing in line. [Source: Kearney]

61 percent of Gen Z would like retail technology that streamlines the process of finding the products they're looking for in stores. [Source: Kearney]

58 percent of Gen Z said they use shopping in-store as a way to disconnect from social media in 2019. [Source: Kearney]

How Gen Z Views Brands

Members of Generation Z expect brands to be transparent, ethical and responsible in all aspects of their business. Neglecting to do so can result in a lost opportunity to collect information or lost business altogether from this generation.

Generation Z cares far more about the value and quality of their purchases than their loyalty to the brand that makes them, so brands need to work extra hard to keep Gen Z's business around. Take a look at the different brand preferences Gen Z has and what they expect from today's brands:

Financial Habits

Despite their young age, Generation Z holds $34 billion in buying power alone in 2020, and influenced household spending to the tune of $600 billion. In addition to their own dollars, they also exercise a lot of influence over their households. Their digital savviness comes into play once again in this area. Their expertise enables them to guide their families through different purchase phases, from initial product evaluation to the final purchase itself.

Members of Gen Z are also financially savvy and keen on earning money, even at their young age. Freedom and flexibility at work are key values of this generation, and the job opportunities they flock to will be those that offer work-life balance and some level of autonomy over their schedule.

Gen Z vs. Millennials

Millennials have been center stage for many years, and understandably so-they recently became America's largest generation, reaching 72.1 million, surpassing the 70 million Baby Boomers living in the U.S. As Millennials begin to age out, however, Generation Z is beginning to capture the world's attention with their different spending, saving and earning habits.

Millennial spending habits differ quite a bit from their Gen Z counterparts. This is partially because Gen Z is very price conscious and focuses on overall value when making buying decisions. We can see these differences when comparing preferences and priorities with different products and services.

While 55 percent of Gen Z said they planned to do their holiday shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, 32 percent of Millennials said they planned to do their holiday shopping through their mobile phones. [Source: Shopkick via Retail Dive]

75 percent of millennials are willing to pay more for great customer experiences compared to 69 percent of Gen Z. [Source: Salesforce]

While 76 percent of Millennials cited natural or organic ingredients as important in the products they purchase, only 71 percent of Gen Z said the same. [Source: IBM]

While 79 percent of Millennials cited sustainability as important in the products they purchase, only 75 percent of Gen Z said the same. [Source: IBM]

While 81 percent of Millennials cited purchasing "clean" products as important to them, only 75 percent of Gen Z said the same. [Source: IBM]

While 78 percent of Millennials cited purchasing products that support recycling as important to them, only 72 percent of Gen Z said the same. [Source: IBM]

Millennials and Gen Z share similar habits when it comes to data privacy: 31 percent of Millennials and 33 percent of Gen Z said they used a VPN or Proxy Server in the last month at the time of being surveyed in 2020. [Source: Global Web Index]

Similarly, 45 of Millennials and 46 percent of Gen Z said they used an ad-blocker in the last month at the time of being surveyed in 2020. [Source: Global Web Index]

The 67.7 billion members of this generation are a group to watch as they grow up and enter the workforce. Their financial management looks to be off to a strong start thanks to their frugal mindsets and entrepreneurial attitudes. They've proven so far that they're ready to responsibly make and manage their money, and that they have high expectations when it comes to what they spend it on.

Teens and young adults who are after a financially successful future should not only make plans to keep down debt, but also learn how to build and manage their credit. This includes applying for credit cards, keeping payments down and checking your credit report often to make sure everything is accurate. If you do find any inaccuracies on your credit report like an account you don't recognize, you can call to learn about how Lexington Law's credit repair services can help clean up your credit report.

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The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice. See Lexington Law's editorial disclosure for more information. Generation Z-the 18 to 24 year old digital natives born who can't recall a world without smartphones and rapid technology-now make up 20 percent of the U.S.

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The reappropriation of pre-worn clothes and accessories, historically reviewed, includes a range of practices, from straightforward methods of unhemming garments and reusing the raw material, perhaps turning it to the less worn side, as would have been practiced in medieval times, to the complex scaffold of trades in the nineteenth century. These industries recycled all manner of clothing, with machine-like economy, through specialist and discreet skills. Perhaps the most technologically advanced was the production of "shoddy" cloth in the North of England from rags of wool, cotton, and indeed all fibers (except silk) which became the staple fabric for the ready-to-wear garment production in 1834.

An exploration of the formal and informal ways by which secondhand clothes reached the resale market should highlight that some apparently informal ways may indeed be considered formal, especially in the case of servants receiving their masters' "gifts" of clothing, which were actually considered a part of their remuneration.

In fact, the secondhand clothing trade could be said to have actually diminished in complexity over the last two centuries. It used to consist of many separate businesses employing various skills necessary for the economical recycling and remarketing of different categories of actual garments, as well as the raw material of cloth.

But the origins of the advanced complexity of the secondhand clothing industries of the nineteenth century can be discerned much earlier in records of the extensive exchanges of secondhand garments amongst the Western world's urban populations during the latter half of the seventeenth century.

A Seventeenth Century Londoner's Wardrobe

The Londoner Samuel Pepys' diary (1660-1669) tells of many transactions involving clothing, and perhaps many more where such gifts are offered and accepted. Scholars of the diary often note intimations of Pepys' vanity: he did indeed regularly employ his father's tailoring skills to restyle old garments, often to reflect London's fluctuating fashions. Thus many gifts from the wardrobes of Pepys' more affluent friends were adapted to better suit the needs of their new master. "Samuel Pepys, though vain, was not too proud to sport a second-hand accessory of quality which he could not afford to buy himself" (Stanlisland, p. 5).

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At this time London's secondhand tradesmen were dealing in very large amounts of stock, both old clothing and new, in some cases bringing in thousands of pounds. Such traders were very profitably engaged in the provision of ready-made clothing for the seamen living and working aboard sailing fleets for months at a time, for which the clothes' dealers would be paid thousands of pounds in each transaction. The seventeenth-century Venetian experience contrasts with that of London in that the framework by which tradesmen were permitted to go about their business was strictly governed by regulatory bodies. For instance, the Venetian Guild of secondhand clothes dealers, L'Arte degli Strazzaruoli, in tandem with various civic bodies, including Venetian health officials, conspired to regulate every aspect of the trade, particularly during plague outbreaks as used cloth exchanges were suspected of transmitting disease. A particularly interesting feature of the Venetian trade is its close association with prostitution; Venetian courtesans procured clothing, by buying or renting, from such secondhand sources.

The Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

During the eighteenth century, London's secondhand clothes industry was closely allied with its "slop" or ready-made clothing trade. Madeleine Ginsburg, a leading scholar in this field, identifies a considerable disparity between the provincial availability of used clothing in comparison to urban areas at this time. It is an equally important point that secondhand clothing not only furnished the affluent with more or less fashionable clothing, it was also an essential source of basic clothing provision for the poor. Focusing specifically on the Scottish city of Edinburgh, Elizabeth C. Sanderson has evaluated the role of the trade as a central part of the everyday life of most citizens. She makes the important point that during the eighteenth century the use of pre-worn clothing was an experience familiar to nearly all classes in society.

Considered perhaps the definitive account of the mid-nineteenth century increase in the trade, H. Mayhew's London Labour and London's Poor tells of the concentration of activity in London's East End. However, the most consequential development at this time was the increasingly competitive pricing of cotton and wool fabrics, and accordingly, ready-to-wear garments, thus exponentially limiting the appeal of secondhand clothing, in home markets at least. In this way, used clothing exports, especially to Africa, became an ever more significant aspect of the trade. This is an angle explored particularly thoroughly by Karen Tranberg Hansen's research into Zambia's trade, whereas Ginsburg interprets charity, and the rise of the rummage sale, as the most important developments taking the industry into the twentieth century. Certainly the retail environment constituted by such sales, where purchasers rummage through large quantities of stock, could be considered conducive to the quick and efficient sale of used goods, particularly in urban areas.

World Wars I and II saw the increase of the profitable potential of secondhand clothing, especially for resale in Africa. At this time the supply and demand aspect could be strongly linked to the West's veritable accumulation of serviceable and wearable, but outmoded, clothing and the real needs for clothing in developing countries. And it is here that one may perceive the beginnings of the nature that characterizes the trade in the early 2000s.

Interpreting Contemporary Trends

From the 1970s onward, fashion commentators have often noted a marked plurality of styles, compared to the former singularity of fashion houses' diktats; a development engendering fertile environments for alternative, niche fashions, and retrogressive styling. Thus secondhand clothing has come to be seen as offering potential for expressing individual and more autonomous style.

The early 2000s have seen widespread fashion trends reflecting early twentieth-century styles and the decades after World War II. In such a fashion zeitgeist, the cultural and economic capital of secondhand clothing, or vintage as it is latterly termed, has vastly increased. Secondhand clothes' stylistic appreciation has created new markets for its retail: for instance, in designated concessions of urban fashion multiples, within the high-fashion collections of designers including Martin Margiela, and on auction websites, such as Ebay.

"Having my old black suit new-furbished, I was pretty neat in clothes today-and my boy [footboy], his old suit new-trimmed very handsome" (Stanisland, p. 46).

The international recirculation of used clothing is not as straightforward as simply the export from richer to poorer nations: specific markets present more demand for particular items, for example Japan imports a considerable percentage of the world's trade in used designer denim jeans and sneakers. In these ways the state of the secondhand clothes trade could be understood as diversifying in economic potential and enjoying a favorable shift in its industrial, public, and cultural profiles.

See also Recycled Textiles; Anthropology of Secondhand Clothes; Vintage Fashion.

Bibliography

Allerston, Patricia. "Reconstructing the Second-Hand Clothes Trade in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Venice." Costume 33 (1999): 46-56.

Arnold, Rebecca. Fashion, Desire and Anxiety. I. B. Tauris and Co., 2001.

Ginsburg, Madeleine. "Rags to Riches: The Second-Hand Clothes Trade 1700-1978." Costume 14 (1980): 121-135. Often-quoted and very thorough.

Sanderson, C. Elizabeth. "Nearly New: The Second-Hand Clothing Trade in Eighteenth-Century Edinburgh." Costume 31 (1997): 38-48.

Stanisland, Kay. "Samuel Pepys and His Wardrobe" Costume 37 (1997): 41-50.

Transberg, Karen Hansen. "Other People's Clothes? The International Second-hand Clothing Trade and Dress Practises in Zambia." Fashion Theory 4, no. 3 (2000): 245-274. Excellent overview of international trade.

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History of Secondhand Clothes | LoveToKnow

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The reappropriation of pre-worn clothes and accessories, historically reviewed, includes a range of practices, from straightforward methods of unhemming garments and reusing the raw material, perhaps turning it to the less worn side, as would have been practiced in medieval times, to the complex scaffold of trades in the nineteenth century.

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While 2019 was dubbed the 'Year of Sustainability', four months into the new decade and the impact of COVID-19 will define 2020. This doesn't mean retailers need to shelve their sustainability commitments. In fact, it's a time for the fashion industry to reflect on their processes, as well as the toll it takes on people and the planet.

We round up how the outbreak has spotlighted sustainability and the direction for a greener future post-pandemic.
Get in touch to see a demo on how EDITED data can transform your processes to help your category compete in the current state of the market.
1. Rethinking Fashion Weeks

Set to take place in June, Men's Fashion Week has been called off due to the current pandemic, with the Milan and Paris shows joining the Women's Fashion Week schedule in September. However, it still remains unpredictable as lockdown continues.

Fashion Week continuously came under fire pre-pandemic for its lack of eco-credentials as buyers and brands flew to four cities for two seasons a year.

A recent study from Zero to Market quantified the impact of travel, concluding that 241,000 tons of CO2 was produced during the 2018 shows - equivalent to the annual emissions of a small country. A combination of the above has forced the industry to reimagine what Fashion Week should look like.

Tokyo, Shanghai and Moscow have all made digital transitions, showcasing collections and shows online through live and pre-recorded media. With COVID-19 shedding light on climate change and sustainability, this could spark an overhaul of Fashion Week for the greener good.
Shanghai Fashion Week
* Took place over seven days with a mix of live shows and talks.

* Hosted by the online shopping platforms, Taobao and Tmall.

* Attracted 2.5 million users in the first three hours of streaming.

Shanghai Fashion Week

Moscow Fashion Week
* Extended due to the record-breaking views on the first day.

* Half a million users tuned in to the online streams and lectures.

* Mercedes-Benz partnered with TikTok for lectures.

Asomatav Spring 2020

What's next?
From virtual showrooms to digitally produced samples and campaigns, the shift to digital will extend to other processes across the supply chain to save buyers from traveling and reduce waste. Retailers should look to technology for sustainable solutions where possible, including becoming more creative on social platforms.
Got EDITED access? Log in to view the lookbooks and video presentations shown during the digital version of Tokyo Fashion Week.
2. Helping fast fashion slow down

According to the United Nations Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, the apparel industry accounts for 8% to 10% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. As coronavirus took hold, clear skies started to appear above the regions impacted the highest as people were mandated to stay inside. As factories shuttered in China at the start of the year, emissions fell by nearly 25%.

New product arrivals took a hit as brands experienced disruption to their supply chains. As each region surpassed 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, deliveries started to plummet. Looking at the top mass market retailers across the US and UK, new arrivals since the start of 2020 are down 11% YoY and continue to drop as cases rise.

While consumption of fast fashion is experiencing a much-needed slowdown, the closing of brick-and-mortar stores has led to canceled orders, which is negatively impacting more than 50 million international garment workers.

This has resulted in an uprising of organizations drawing attention to the situation. On April 3rd, nonprofit Remake launched the #PayUp petition, calling out some of the largest fashion brands who owe more than $3 billion in future orders to garment factories across Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Cambodia. Companies such as Inditex, Marks & Spencer, Kiabi, PVH Corp. and Target have come forward and reportedly agreed to follow through their commitments to pay suppliers for orders already in production. Businesses need to maintain relationships with their suppliers and factory workers and support them during these challenging times.

Look to postpone orders and put a future action plan in place instead of canceling the deliveries of products already made. So factories won't be left holding onto goods they are unable to sell. With COVID-19 causing furloughs and layoffs across the industry, retailers that were transparent and took care of their workers across all aspects of their business will emerge the strongest.
What's next?
3. Shifting consumer mindsets

As consumers navigate this difficult period, it will lead to a change in mindsets and shopping behaviors. However, don't wait till after the fact to get on board. Now is the time to cultivate authentic relationships with your customers to build engagement and brand loyalty.

With physical stores closed and online deliveries delayed as retailers respond to COVID-19, consumers are adapting by living with less. Retailers should look to push capsule wardrobes, focusing on the concept of 'buy less, buy better.'

The demand for loungewear continues to rise as working from home becomes the new normal for many employees. Post-virus, consumers will seek out brands that they align with morally more than ever before, with an emphasis placed on conscious products. Eco-friendly loungewear is a fail-safe way to invest.

Wellbeing and self-care themes will take shape in the form of natural and organic products. From fresh produce to clothing, 'clean' and non-toxic materials and fibers will drive demand as health continues to be a top priority.
What's next?
4. Connect with nature

Customers who returned to nature-based activities was a key learning from the 2008 global recession. According to the Outdoor Industries Association, participation in backpacking, mountain biking and trail running showed double-digit increases in 2008. As people settle into self-isolation, consumers have a newfound appreciation for nature, highlighting the importance of outdoor apparel. Hopefully, this will place issues around the environment top of mind for customers and further propel retailers' sustainability efforts.

When quarantine lifts, retailers need to take this opportunity to promote holidaying locally to avoid added carbon emissions and overcrowding beaches.

Since summer getaways are pushed back till October, demand for swimwear will be building up. Sustainable swimwear has been an area of focus for some time and the content of your products will be of even greater importance when customers start traveling again. Use this time to rethink material alternatives to reduce microplastic waste, how to implement processes with a more positive environmental impact and ways to educate customers to best care for products.

Look to natural and biodegradable fabrics such as Natasha Tonic's hemp collection. For hitting the waves, take note of Ansea's wetsuits made from Yulex, a sustainably-grown plant-based alternative to neoprene, which requires 80% less CO2 emissions.

5. Repurposing deadstock fabrics
What's next?
Retailers worldwide have pivoted their manufacturing to focus on producing hospital gowns, as well as medical and non-medical face masks. This movement has led to businesses repurposing excess material and deadstock fabrics that would have otherwise ended up in landfill to create washable and reusable protective gear.

Sandro is making masks out of upcycled materials from previous collections. Since baseball season is canceled, Fanatics is using the pinstriped fabric typically used for the Yankees uniforms to make masks and gowns. We are seeing a 'buy one and give one' system operating where many retailers are donating masks to hospitals and essential workers with every purchase, alongside encouragement for customers to create and donate their own gowns and masks.

As businesses are in overdrive to produce masks, the idea of non-medical face masks have risen up as a permanent accessory has arisen. Already a mainstay item in Asian countries worn to protect others, face masks as a fashion statement is gaining momentum worldwide during the pandemic.

Businesses wanting to tap into this trend need to do so sustainably and sensitively without profiting off the current situation. Look to brands such as Armed Angles, which are creating fashionable masks made from 100% organic cotton and donating 2€ per sale to Médecins Sans Frontières to help fight the outbreak.
By Retail Analysts Ashley Graham & Kayla Marci

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5 ways coronavirus is drawing attention to sustainable fashion | EDITED | The Retail Data Platform

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We round up how the outbreak has spotlighted sustainability and the direction for a greener future post-pandemic. Get in touch to see a demo on how EDITED data can transform your processes to help your category compete in the current state of the market. 1.

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AI is likely to have a significant impact on the retail industry in several ways.

1. Personalisation: AI can be used to personalise the shopping experience for individual customers. For example, it can be used to recommend products to customers based on their browsing and purchase history, as well as their social media activity.

2. Predictive Analytics: AI can be used to analyse data from various sources (such as customer data, sales data, and social media data) to make predictions about customer behaviour and trends in the market. This can help retailers to make more informed decisions about what products to stock, how to price them, and how to market them.

3. Inventory Management: AI can be used to optimise the management of inventory. For example, it can be used to predict demand for products, track inventory levels in real-time, and automate reordering processes.

4. Automation of repetitive tasks: AI can help in automating repetitive, mundane tasks like price checking, stock checking and much more.

5. Chatbots: AI can be used to create chatbots that can answer customer questions, provide recommendations, and even complete transactions without the need for human assistance.

6. Image recognition: AI can be used for automated image recognition for products in online retail, which allows for easier product search and category browsing.

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Although we are facing economic headwinds, multiple tailwinds including Artificial Intelligence (AI), retail media, the transition to renewable energy and the return of demand for physical stores are laying new foundations from which retailers can grow their businesses in the year ahead.

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ately, shoppers have been faced with more decisions than ever when it comes to clothing and where to buy from, but one of the biggest dilemmas comes from confusion around the language of sustainability. Of course, the information on the label can sometimes be confusing and misleading, and there's a lot of new language to get your head around. So, here's a handy guide to help you figure out the difference between ethical and sustainable, and why you absolutely should ask for both from all your fashion purchases.

Ethical usually refers to the treatment of people. Are the workers paid a living wage? Are they given proper breaks? Is everyone of proper age? Does the company add positively to the communities in which it produces and help them to thrive? Some also use the term "ethical" to refer to cruelty-free products. Unfortunately, terms such as "ethical leather" and "faux fur" aren't always ethical for the humans that produce them and often these products do not biodegrade easily either.

Elizabeth Suzann's cold weather collection.

Can a product using PVC really be ethical if the workers who produce the PVC get sick? The best way to figure out how ethical a brand is to see how much information it puts out about the treatment of the workers who produce its garments. Elizabeth Suzann is an excellent example of an ethical brand. It has confirmed that its lowest wage is $15 an hour (more than double the minimum wage in Nashville, Tennessee, where the business operates). If there is a brand you love and you're curious about worker treatment, I suggest you send a message or an email and ask what the lowest wage is in its manufacturing process.

Cruelty-free refers to animal welfare and whether any animals were hurt or harmed during the production of the garment. In fashion, it also means that the product contains no animal byproducts, but on beauty products it means the finished product wasn't tested on animals. If you want an item that is free of animal byproducts in regards to beauty, you need to look for a vegan product. But that doesn't necessarily mean the manufacturing process of the item is cruelty-free for humans (for example: faux leather and fur products). There are a number of cruelty-free leather options in development made from natural byproducts such as pineapple skin, but they aren't yet widely available.

Organic (in regards to materials) refers to natural fibres being grown and produced without the use of highly toxic materials such as chemical pesticides in the growing process. Cotton is probably the most common organic fibre you can buy, but it is also possible to find organic hemp, silk and jute, to name just a few. Organic cotton has come under criticism, however, because it requires a lot more water and irrigation than conventional cotton. However, pesticides that go into conventional cotton wreak havoc on the environment, as well as the health of humans who drink from water supplies nearby. The solution isn't to discount organic cotton, it's for all of us to consume less cotton in general.

Christy Dawn in California uses 'dead stock' fabric to make 'sustainable' clothes. Photograph: Mike Windle/Getty Images

Conscious fashion is often used synonymously by the fashion industry with "ethical", "sustainable" or "eco" fashion. It's a bit of a catchall phrase that ends up being popular with brands that greenwash (see below). However, there are brands with the word "conscious" in their name (such as Conscious Clothing) where the sustainability credentials do check out, so don't be deterred. A brand that has nothing to hide will have its sustainability record clearly displayed, as Conscious Clothing does on its website.

Fair trade is a partnership that refers to marginalised producers getting a fair wage for their product when it is sold in more affluent countries. Prices for fair-trade materials must never fall below market price. Fair trade has principles such as fair payment and ensuring good working conditions, which fair trade-certified clothing producers are encouraged to follow.

The problem with fair trade is that it's not a perfect solution for regulating the fashion industry. There are multiple fair-trade websites and getting a straight answer about fair-trade fashion often feels impossible. There are other regulations for clothes, such as Global Organic Textile Standard, Cradle to Cradle or the Better Cotton Initiative, that can be more helpful when looking at sustainability and ethics in fashion, but it can often be better to research a company and learn how it operates, rather than rely on a certification. Even if a brand is awarded every certificate under the sun, it will still be a significant polluter if it is making 500 garments a minute.

Levi's is trying to manufacture its jeans with less water waste.

Sustainable refers to the effect that production of a garment has on the world around us. How is it taken from the earth and how will it return to the earth? How much waste is involved in the manufacturing process? If it never biodegrades, it's not truly sustainable. In the words of Céline Semaan, founder of non-profit research team the Slow Factory, "everything you make returns to the earth as food or poison". Sustainable products should always return as food. Brands that make more sustainable products tend to use natural or recycled fibres in their creations. Some, such as Christy Dawn, use dead stock (fabric that would otherwise be wasted) or surplus stock, which maximises the lifecycle of existing fabric. Others, such as Levi's, try to manufacture with less water waste. It's all about producing in a way that harms the planet the least.

Slow fashion is the antithesis of fast fashion. It is high-quality garments that are designed with a long-term lifecycle in mind. In a perfect world, every item we bought would be slow fashion - but that would require us to no longer subscribe to a trend-driven market. Until the biggest fast-fashion producers in the world stop making so many garments so quickly (which, of course, means a smaller profit margin), they won't be slow or sustainable. Instead of buying into fast-fashion, research small labels and lend your support to those that are doing things the right way. Slow-fashion brands tend to avoid being trend-driven and instead focus on classic pieces that will stand the test of time.

Greenwashing is when a brand makes claims about something being ethical or sustainable that, upon further inspection, turn out to be false or exaggerated. An example of greenwashing is a brand claiming that a dress is eco-friendly because it's made of eco wool, when in fact it contains just 4% eco wool, along with other, less sustainable materials. Another example would be a brand loudly advertising a collection of 20 sustainable pieces while its inventory contains thousands of garments that aren't sustainable. Unfortunately, most big fast-fashion brands claiming sustainability credentials are guilty of greenwashing since they tend to produce too much product as a whole (some of which will remain unsold at the end of the season, when it becomes an additional environmental hazard).

This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set. More information.

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Conscious, ethical and cruelty-free: a guide to the language of sustainable fashion

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ately, shoppers have been faced with more decisions than ever when it comes to clothing and where to buy from, but one of the biggest dilemmas comes from confusion around the language of sustainability. Of course, the information on the label can sometimes be confusing and misleading, and there's a lot of new language to get your head around.

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Research by NYU Stern's Centre for Sustainable Business on U.S consumers revealed that 50% of growth in consumer packaged goods from 2013 to 2018 came from sustainable products. This piece asserts that brands can no longer claim that there is a low demand for sustainable products.

According to this article, products marketed as sustainable grew 5.6 times faster, indicating a shift in consumer preference towards environment-friendly products. Products, which need to have a higher degree of efficiencies like sanitary pads and laundry care, have seen growth at around 150% despite having a lower share of sustainability-marked products.

Brands can connect to consumers on a deeper level by aligning their values to customers shopping interests. Unilever is now delivering 70% of turnover growth by reinventing its legacy products into "sustainable living" brands.
Read the original article
[3 minute read]

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More consumers are now buying sustainable products | YouGov

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Research by NYU Stern's Centre for Sustainable Business on U.S consumers revealed that 50% of growth in consumer packaged goods from 2013 to 2018 came from sustainable products. This piece asserts that brands can no longer claim that there is a low demand for sustainable products.

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The Red or Dead co-founder picks his top music-led fashion fads

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According to secondhand fashion marketplace ThredUp's 2019 Resale Report, the secondhand apparel market has been growing 21 times faster than retail apparel over the last three years and is on track to be larger than fast fashion by 2028.

Although millennials and boomers are currently the biggest secondhand consumers, the sector's rapid growth is being driven by Gen Z - Instagram: @thredup

The secondhand market, which is currently valued at $24 billion, is predicted to grow to $51 billion in 5-years time and is expected to be worth $64 billion by 2028, a figure 1.5 times larger than the fast fashion market's predicted value of $44 billion.

These optimistic projections are bolstered by soaring consumer interest, with 64% of women included in ThredUp's report saying that they had bought or were willing to buy secondhand products in 2018, up from 52% in 2017 and 45% in 2016.

Overall, 56 million women were found to have bought secondhand products in 2018, compared to 44 million in 2017.

According to the report, secondhand shoppers come from a range of different shopping backgrounds, with 26% of luxury consumers found to also make resale purchased, along with 25% of department store shoppers and 22% of value chain shoppers.

Overall, 51% of consumers said that they were expecting to spend more on secondhand products in the next five years. As shoppers shift their spending, the biggest losers are projected to be department stores, with 39% of survey respondents planning to spend less at these locations, while 30% thought they would be reducing their spending in value chains.

Although millennials and boomers are currently the biggest secondhand consumers, accounting for 33% and 31% of total resale shoppers, respectively, Generation Z was found to be the driving force behind the sector's growth, with members of the demographic adopting secondhand fashion 2.5 times faster than any other age group.

ThredUp explained this rapid growth in the resale sector with the fact that it responds to the increasing demand for ecological sustainability among consumers, a trend particularly prevalent among younger shoppers. Indeed, according to the platform's report, the percentage of consumers who prefer to buy from environmentally friendly brands rose from 57% in 2013 to 72% in 2018, while 59% of consumers now expect retailers to offer apparel which is ethical and sustainable.

Attitudes to long-term ownership are also changing, a phenomenon both reflected and popularised by hit Netflix show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. Interestingly, ThredUp saw an 80% spike in requests for its Clean Out Kits following the series' debut on the video-streaming platform.

With the sector looking so dynamic, it's hardly surprising that other retailers are eager to get in on the circular fashion game. ThredUp found that 87% of senior retail executives wanted to explore resale by 2020, while 61% were keen to look into rental, and 52% are looking to test refurbishment.

"Even traditional retailers are starting to embrace secondhand," said ThredUp co-founder and CEO James Reinhart. "The resale customer is no longer somebody else's customer, they are everybody's customer. Mass market or luxury, if people can find a high-quality product for much less, they'll choose used. As the line between new and used apparel blurs for consumers, a powerful transformation in retail will unfold."

ThredUp's 2019 Resale Report uses data collected by GlobalData through a number of channels, including a survey of 2,000 American women over the age of 18, conducted in January 2019. As well as internal ThredUp consumer and performance data, the report also leverages figures from Green Story Research, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and a survey of senior retail executives.

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Secondhand apparel market to overtake fast fashion in next 10 years

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News distribution : According to ThredUp's 2019 Resale Report, the secondhand apparel market has been growing 21 times faster than retail apparel over the last three years and is on track to be larger than fast fashion by 2028. (#1081132)

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What did we do?

Immediately after the collapse we helped realize the creation of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh in May 2013 and campaigned for brands to sign on. It was subsequently signed by over 200 companies. The Rana Plaza Arrangement was created afterwards to coordinate compensation for the affected families.

No amount of money can make up for the loss of a loved one or the resulting physical and emotional scars inflicted on those who survived such a tragedy. But what is also true is that the survivors and victims' families should be compensated for the financial and medical losses they sustained as a direct result of the disaster.

With our partners in Bangladesh we identified at least 29 global brands that had recent or current orders with at least one of the five garment factories in the Rana Plaza building, including Benetton (Italy), Bonmarche (UK), Cato Fashions (USA), The Children's Place (USA), El Corte Ingles (Spain), Joe Fresh (Loblaws, Canada), Kik (Germany), Mango (Spain), Matalan (UK), Primark (UK/Ireland) and Texman (Denmark).

Each of these brands was a complicit participant in the creation of an environment that ultimately led to the deaths and maiming of thousands of individuals. Calculations based on International Labour Organisation convention 121 showed that the families of those affected by the Rana Plaza collapse are owed $30 million in compensation.

We campaigned hard to convince all brands in who sourced from Rana Plaza, and essentially all brands in Bangladesh should contribute according to their ability to pay, the size of their relationship with Bangladesh and their relationship with Rana Plaza.

We campaigned for over two years to make brands take their responsibility and pay into the trust fund or increase their contribution if their first payment was insufficient.

We collected over 1 million signatures to make Benetton pay up an appropriate amount. There was irrefutable evidence exposing their direct link to Rana Plaza - photographs of the Benetton labels in the building rubble, and documentation of order forms from the New Wave Factory in the Rana Plaza building.

Following initial denials from the company in regard to their link to Rana Plaza, they later publicly acknowledged that New Wave Style was a supplier for Benetton. The fact that brands like Benetton kept dragging their feet only prolonged the suffering of the workers impacted by Rana Plaza. Some brands linked to the disaster even never paid up.

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The collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building in Bangladesh was the worst ever industrial incident to hit the garment industry. It was followed by a struggle for justice for the Rana Plaza workers and safe factories for all.

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The future of sustainability will focus on regeneration, with pioneering brands at the heart of the effort.

" The New Sustainability: Regeneration," the latest report from The Innovation Group, explores the rising need for better sustainability. Doing less harm is no longer enough. The future of sustainability is regeneration: replenishing and restoring what we have lost and building economies and communities that thrive, while allowing the planet to thrive too.

Ecover environmentally-friendly cleaning solution

2018 has seen record heatwaves on four continents, wildfires in the Arctic Circle and perilous water shortages in South Africa, Australia and India. Scientists now talk of a "sixth mass extinction" of wildlife, birds, insects and marine life. Living systems, they say, are in decline. And there's no question that human activity is responsible.

Despite 195 countries signing up in 2015 to the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions, global use of resources continues to exceed planetary boundaries. As governments struggle to keep the fragile Paris Agreement on track, businesses and brands have an opportunity to play a decisive role in the sustainable future.

Corona and Parley for the Ocean's pledge to protect 100 islands by 2020

What was perhaps once seen as a burden or a box-ticking exercise is now a major opportunity for innovation and even revenue. Peter Diamandis, executive chairman of the XPrize Foundation, says it best: "The world's biggest problems are the world's biggest business opportunities."

According to conservative estimates, a new sustainable economy could be worth $12 trillion and create 380 million jobs. It's potentially a win on many fronts for brands, which can drive efficiency and minimize exposure to risk while aligning with the values of stakeholders, from employees to customers.

House of Lonali sustainable fashion

Consumers are already operating from a sustainability mindset, even if they struggle to make it a lifestyle. They are increasing the pressure on brands to make it easier for them to do so, calling for greater transparency and pushing for more sustainable options.

To understand these consumer attitudes and behaviors across countries, The Innovation Group commissioned an original survey of just over 2,000 adults in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and China. The study was conducted by SONAR™, J. Walter Thompson's proprietary research unit.

Ofo bike-sharing company

Key findings include:

92% of consumers are trying to live more sustainably, but 54% think they could be doing more

92% of consumers say sustainable business practices should now be standard

90% of consumers say that companies and brands have a responsibility to take care of the planet and its people

91% of consumers think companies/brands that pollute the environment should be fined

86% of consumers agree that companies/brands that continue to deplete finite resources are stealing from the future

Interface carpet created using environmentally-friendly processes and materials

The report covers seven sectors. Highlights include:

Natural Wellbeing: the benefits of being in nature for our physical, emotional and mental wellbeing are increasingly being recognized. Can reconnecting with nature help us all live a healthier and happier life?

Climate-Positive Commerce: Retailers are offering convenient ways for conscious consumers to combat climate change.

Good Business: Good business is an opportunity for brands to have a positive environmental and social impact, and drive profit in the process.

Fashion Cleans Up: As consumers increasingly demand the facts behind the labels, the fashion industry is facing up to a number of environmental and ethical challenges.

Vegan Evangelism: Veganism is fast gaining widespread appeal, transitioning from niche to mainstream. Are we on the brink of a vegan revolution?

Download 'The New Sustainability: Regeneration' here.

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New trend report: The New Sustainability: Regeneration - Wunderman Thompson Intelligence

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The future of sustainability will focus on regeneration, with pioneering brands at the heart of the effort. " The New Sustainability: Regeneration," the latest report from The Innovation Group, explores the rising need for better sustainability. Doing less harm is no longer enough.