consciousconsumer

Retail and sustainability

How Italian consumers view sustainability

Today, Fashion Network shared a survey released during the second edition of the “Retail & sustainability” event. A meeting arranged by Mind-Milano Innovation District.

This survey scans Italian consumers and their views towards sustainability.

The survey

According to it, Italian consumers are more conscious towards environmental issues. One out of three (32%) is more careful to waste. Also, 30% believe it is crucial to limit pollution sources. Most importantly, 58,6% think companies are important players, together with citizens and government, in order to reach UN 23 goals.

According to the people interviewed, they say there is a mismatch between the active role companies should have and what they are actually doing. Specifically, 57,8% of consumers think that fashion and clothing companies are “little or not at all committed to the issue.”

In other words, Italian consumers say brands are not doing enough for sustainability.

But on the other hand, sustainability doesn’t have a fundamental role in the purchasing decision. Indeed, 65,9% of the interviewees consider multiple factors or not at all these aspects (14,7%).

However, in general, the price of these products or services is deemed higher compared to less sustainable alternatives.

Our viewpoint retail and sustainability

We see two problems here:
As a matter of fact, brands and retailers are not doing enough. Because it is difficult, it is time-consuming. Most of all, they wouldn’t make money as they did so far. Why should they make this effort? Of course, business and consciousness do not play well in a capitalistic view!
But also, consumers still purchase a lot of fast fashion or poor-quality garments.

Why aren’t consumers consistent with their expectations?

As a retailer, apart from our niche customers, the only request we hear is: “how much is it?” Because people do not care about quality. No one cares about “buy less, buy better.” They only want “cheap and buy more!”
Furthermore, social media are complicit in the ongoing diffusion of misleading practices. For instance, many brands with hordes of followers sell shoes for 50€, passing them off as made in Italy! Or cheap clothing with a price tag too low to be sustainable with eco-friendly tags. Do we believe in fairy tales?

So, we really would love to hear from consumers, from you!
As consumers, Italian, European or wherever you come from – what do you expect from retailers? And you, on your side, what are you willing to do for sustainability?

Drop us an email or comment here below!

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Is sustainable fashion elitist? BOF questions

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Misunderstanding sustainability or a manipulated behaviour

In a recent post, Business of Fashion raised the question: is sustainable fashion elitist?

Earlier, a fashion writer, Derek Guy, tweeted his thoughts about menswear, inviting his audience to “buy less, buy better”, considering quality pieces over fast fashion.
Well, we agree! But this post sparked controversy: many said sustainable fashion is elitist because most people cannot afford luxury clothes.

Surely we cannot deny that sustainable materials plus production chains that give proper wages to their workers cannot provide cheap products.

But let’s go through some points:

• cheap clothes and disposable fashion are not sustainable!
They offer an easy-to-connect narrative, but they aren’t sustainable. Not only do they damage the environment, but need an underpaid workforce to thrive.
• luxury doesn’t mean sustainable! Indeed, fast fashion and most “luxury” brands are two faces of the same coin. They both share an overproduction pattern based on people and planet exploitation.
• brands that call themselves sustainable but are distributed everywhere, so mass-produced, aren’t sustainable.

Download “The sustainability basics” here!

Education, not just money

Mindful consumption is one of the building blocks of a modern lifestyle, and it is a matter of education, which not necessarily rich people have! The conversation on sustainability is not about inducing low incomes to stop consumption but helping them develop better habits. On the contrary, high incomes must reduce their purchases drastically because their lifestyle’s impact is much higher.

Sustainability is not just about shopping. It’s a lifestyle choice in respect of nature, and people and workers’ rights. A necessity in the face of climate change!

It is tricky to say what is sustainable and what is not. So, the fashion industry can force brands to stick to specific regulations, making things clear to consumers. But, in the end, each individual must learn and become a conscious consumer. Nothing happens on one side only.

How can we explain this complex situation?

We live in a consumer society where everything revolves around consumption. People overconsume at the expense of other human beings and the planet as if it is the only reason for living. Of course, many cannot afford expensive items. But vintage represents a sustainable and circular option. Also, you can find up-cycled clothes in every price range.

So, is sustainable fashion elitist? And why people prefer to buy fast fashion? A quote by Upton Sinclair gives a perfect insight:

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”

Upton Sinclair

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The Sustainability Basics

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Sustainability or greenwashing? Download the checklist to know more!

Sustainability is a vague concept, overused and confusing. When we are lucky, it’s an inspirational reference. But, in general, more than an effective change of paradigm that brands implement in their policy, it is a buzzword hiding a misleading intent. In other words, it’s greenwashing.

You happen to read about sustainable fashion, sustainable brands, and eco-conscious clothing and accessories. Indeed, sustainable labelled products are a good business. But brands label their products by claiming something that goes under zero control.

So, is there a lack of ethics? Or a lack of common sense? The discussion is open. And the business too.

Sustainability basics & how to promote a conscious shift

We understand that it is very difficult to say which garment or brand is sustainable and which is not. And it’s tricky even for those who work in the fashion industry. Imagine for a consumer!

So we thought of providing a list to help you develop critical behaviour towards your fashion purchases. Some points to help you become aware of the fashion industry’s practice and make better choices.

We made this checklist for you, and it’s free.

Download “The Sustainability Basics” list

The sustainability basics
the-sustainability-basics-suite123Download

We encourage you to download “The Sustainability Basics”, read and share it with your friends. Also, start conversations. Most importantly, don’t wait for brands to become sustainable. Educating yourself to become a conscious consumer is what you can actively do to enhance your lifestyle and change for the better.

Less stuff, more meaning is the evolved ethos #formodernhumans

By the way, we just opened the comments section on this blog. So we invite you to hit the “leave a comment” button and let us know your viewpoint. Only registered accounts can leave a comment.

Small communities can make change possible!

One last note: thank you, Leyla Jackson for your collaboration on this project!

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Black Friday? Buy nothing!

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Why say no to Black Friday

Here we go again: Black Friday is back, and we urge you to buy nothing! Yes, we are still at this point. That is where the matter rests: filling up the world with rubbish products.
Even though our economic system failed, and the effects are visible, most people ignore it. And they do not realise we cannot suffer the consequence of mindless shopping behaviours anymore.

Black Friday: the chain system

Manufacturers increase the production of poor-quality goods. Retailers, in turn, order more of them in order to satisfy their customers’ compulsive desire for novelties.
Indeed, that is capitalism: overproduction, which leads to unnecessary overconsumption. And all this happens by exploiting workers and the planet. In other words, those who pay the true cost of these heavy discounts with no fair wages, tons of waste, gas emissions and pollution.

buy nothing

Why should we care?

The point is this: we failed the 1.5-degree target for carbon emission. One of the biggest reasons is that we consume too much. How is it not clear yet? So we have only one possibility: to reduce our consumption drastically. And look, that is what sustainable consumption means! It’s not just about purchasing sustainable products but reducing the goods we buy, consume and throw away.

What can we do? Buy nothing!

Eventually, excessive consumerism is destroying the world. And massive sales aren’t consistent with a thoughtful lifestyle. So we need to get rid of this toxic culture. You know what? No change will ever come from corporations or governments. The system won’t change. But we can change and educate ourselves. Because with our ideas and wallet, we promote the world we want. Also, lower turnovers would be the only language corporations would listen to.

Modern humans are conscious consumers. “Less stuff, more meaning” is our guiding principle. Use this day to spend time with your family or your beloved ones. Read books, more books! Listen to music! But do not contribute to a system that leads to destruction.

What can you do? Buy nothing!

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The society of fake needs

Human needs: are they real or fake needs?
Apart from the basic ones – essential to grant a decent life – human needs involve things that should improve our lives.

But, century after century, individuals have become needier. Or, to put it another way, we have just become spoiled. And if we add a high dose of ignorant and selfish behaviour, easy to detect in our society, the big picture becomes worrying.

We live for instant satisfaction, avoiding caring about the effects of our actions. Among those side effects are issues like global warming and garbage, so much that droughts have increased and the oceans are full of plastic.

Whether it is a sign of malaise or a sign of stupidity, this behaviour isn’t healthy. Therefore, some questions arise: do we really need all the products we consume? Or are ads just building fake needs to make money?

Advertising makes people believe so many things, and they buy without questioning. For instance, according to adv, we need vitamin supplements (all packed in plastic boxes). But the only thing we need is balanced nutrition, unless there are health problems, of course.
They make us believe we need expensive anti-wrinkles, even if nothing will erase a single wrinkle. Only plastic surgery can do that, another one of the crazy modern needs. And, it seems we cannot miss things like water added with hyaluronic acid or yoga pants. It’s a mystery how people could have practised yoga so far!

Also, they make us believe we need a new smartphone every year, so congrats on Chris Evans, who kept the same iPhone for seven years. Hey, seven years! We thought we were the only ones!

Do we need all those things advertising tries to sell?

Surely not. Indeed we built a society of fake needs. And it is the byproduct of a capitalist model, which puts a cage around us. But, at the same time, we talk about sustainability. Or a worldview that, if taken seriously, has nothing in common with capitalism.

Now, we should open our eyes and learn to discern rather than believe whatever they say. Being able to discern implies thinking, which is always a good exercise. And learning conscious purchasing and thoughtful consuming habits if we want the human race to continue to exist.

Dedicating particular attention to the impact of our actions on the environment is crucial. It will help us understand that with fake needs, we go nowhere.

Learning to make better choices is the way out.

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