Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- The Rana Plaza disaster caused widespread concern around fast fashion
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- Figure 1: The number of brands and retailers disclosing information about their suppliers, 2017-19
- Concern for plastic pollution has swept the nation
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- Figure 2: Top environmental concerns, April 2018
- More is being done to reduce CO2 emissions
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- Figure 3: UK total greenhouse gas emissions headline results, 1990-2017
- Companies and brands
- Marks & Spencer seen as the most ethical fashion retailer
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- Figure 4: Agreement with “ethical” and “unethical” for M&S, August 2014-April 2019
- The consumer
- Nine in 10 made a fashion purchase
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- Figure 5: Fashion items purchased, June 2019
- Consumers demand greater transparency
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- Figure 6: Attitudes towards sustainable and ethical fashion, June 2019
- Sustainable fashion ranges prove popular
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- Figure 7: Most important sustainable factors when buying fashion, June 2019
- Plastic pollution is a top concern for fashion customers
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- Figure 8: Issues taken into consideration when shopping for fashion, June 2019
- Repairing fashion has mass appeal
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- Figure 9: Sustainable behaviours towards fashion, June 2019
- People learn about sustainability from their peers
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- Figure 10: Sources trusted by fashion shoppers when learning about sustainable fashion, June 2019
- People find sustainable fashion confusing
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- Figure 11: Behaviours towards sustainable and ethical fashion, June 2019
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Is there a correlation between price and sustainability?
- The facts
- The implications
- The dangers of getting hung up on plastics
- The facts
- The implications
- How will shopping more sustainably impact the fashion market’s bottom line?
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- The Rana Plaza disaster caused widespread concern around fast fashion
- David Attenborough inspires a plastic revolution
- Trends towards minimalism are discouraging excess shopping
- The rise of the sharing economy
- More is being done to reduce CO2 emissions
- Government urged to do more to address sustainable fashion
Market Drivers
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- The rise of social media has resulted in higher levels of awareness
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- Figure 12: Motivations to use social and media networks, March 2019
- Rana Plaza collapse has led to an increased interest in provenance
- ‘Who Made My Clothes?’
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- Figure 13: The number of brands and retailers disclosing information about their suppliers, 2017-19
- Concern for plastic pollution has swept the nation
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- Figure 14: Top environmental concerns, April 2018
- The Marie Kondo effect
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- Figure 15: Social media posts about Marie Kondo’s cleaning method, 2019
- The rise of the rental economy
- Efforts to reduce CO2 emissions
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- Figure 16: UK total greenhouse gas emissions headline results, 1990-2017
- Vegan nation
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- Figure 17: The number of vegans in Britain, 2014-18
- Government urged to do more to address sustainable fashion
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Brands have been working on ways to close the loop
- The second-hand market goes high end
- Transparency is high on the agenda
- The uptake of veganism has led to more animal-friendly policies
- M&S seen as the most ethical fashion retailer
- Primark tries to change brand perceptions
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Working together for sustainability
- Google and Stella McCartney team up to tackle fashion’s eco problem
- Fashion retailers partner with The London Waste and Recycling Board
- Closing the loop
- Allbirds debuts sugar flip-flops
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- Figure 18: Allbirds Zeffer flip-flops made from sugar, 2018
- George at Asda to sell products made from recycled materials
- ASICS making Olympic uniforms out of used clothing
- Boohoo launches recycled fashion collection
- Veja launches biodegradable shoes
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- Figure 19: Veja’s biodegradable Campo trainer, 2019
- Remade, Reduced, Recycled: transforming old tents into bags
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- Figure 20: Remade, Reduced, Recycled collection by RÆBURN x The North Face, 2019
- mimycri turns boats into bags
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- Figure 21: A bag made from boats by mimycri, 2019
- Swedish Stockings produces tights from recycled materials
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- Figure 22: Sustainable tights by Swedish Stockings, 2019
- Sustainable collections
- & Other Stories releases sustainable capsule collection
- Everlane launches carbon-neutral trainers
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- Figure 23: Everlane’s sustainable Tread trainers, 2019
- Fashion rentals
- Urban Outfitters to rent out clothing
- Little Mistress to launch rental service
- Sustainable filters
- Fashion brands team up with Xarista
- Net-a-Porter adds filter to curate ethical products
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- Figure 24: Net-a-Porter’s new sustainable platform, Net Sustain, 2019
- ASOS launches sustainable product category
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- Figure 25: ASOS’ ‘Responsible Edit’ showing clothing that is more sustainably made, 2019
- Second-hand market
- H&M sells vintage clothing
- Harrods hosts pop-up charity shop
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- Figure 26: The second instalment of the Fashion Re-Told pop-up shop, 2019
- Farfetch pilots handbag resale service
- Galeries Lafayette’s second-hand platform
- Who made my clothes?
- H&M to reveal list of suppliers
- Primark publishes supplier map
- Veja unveils new website that traces the source of its shoes
- Use of blockchain technology
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- Figure 27: The smart label produced for Martine Jarlgaard using blockchain technology, 2017
- Animal-friendly
- ASOS no longer selling mohair, cashmere and silk
- Luxury retailers ban exotic skins
- More brands stop using fur
- Topshop unveils vegan shoe collection
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- Figure 28: Topshop’s vegan shoe collection, 2019
- Collaborations
- Mother of Pearl teams up with BBC Earth
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- Figure 29: BBC Earth x Mother of Pearl sustainable collection, 2019
- Lacoste raises awareness for Save Our Species
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- Figure 30: Lacoste’s first campaign with IUCN, 2018
- Allbirds and the National Audubon Society work together for Earth Day shoe
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- Figure 31: Allbirds Earth Day collaboration with the National Audubon Society, 2019
- Plastic not so fantastic
- Prada announces Re-Nylon collection
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- Figure 32: Prada’s Re-Nylon collection modelled by actor Bonnie Wright, 2019
- adidas pledges to go plastic-free
- Burberry aims to go plastic-free by 2025
- Membership schemes
- Knickey encourages customers to send in old underwear
- For Days swaps any item for cash
Brand Research
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- M&S seen as the most ethical fashion retailer
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- Figure 33: Agreement with “ethical” and “unethical” for M&S, August 2014-April 2019
- Affordable brands viewed in a positive light
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- Figure 34: Top ranking of fashion brands, by agreement with “ethical”, April 2018-June 2019
- Primark’s reputation as an unethical retailer persists
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- Figure 35: Agreement with “ethical” and “unethical” for Primark, July 2012-August 2018
Start-ups and Disruptors Case Study: Save Your Wardrobe
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- Company overview
- What is it?
- Founded:
- Founders’ story:
- Sources of funding and support
- Mintel analyst view
- Mintel Trends
- Why it could succeed
- Why it could fail
- The verdict
- Media profile
- Social media metrics
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- Figure 36: Social media metrics for Save Your Wardrobe, July 2019
Start-ups and Disruptors Case Study: The Adorned
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- Company overview
- What is it?
- Founded:
- Company mission statement:
- Founders’ story:
- Sources of funding and support
- Mintel analyst view
- Mintel Trends
- Why it could succeed
- Why it could fail
- The verdict
- Media Profile
- Social media metrics
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- Figure 37: Social media metrics for The Adorned, July 2019
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Consumers demand greater transparency
- Sustainable fashion ranges are popular
- Plastic pollution is a top concern for fashion customers
- Many like the idea of preserving worn-out fashion items via repairs
- People learn about sustainability from their peers
- People find sustainable fashion confusing
Fashion Items Bought
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- Nine in 10 made a fashion purchase
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- Figure 38: Fashion items purchased, June 2019
- Childrenswear shoppers want to know how products are made…
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- Figure 39: Fashion items bought, by factors that would encourage people to purchase, June 2019
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- Figure 40: WWF and H&M childrenswear collaboration, 2018
- …while treatment of workers and animal welfare are most important to accessories shoppers
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- Figure 41: Fashion items bought, by most important ethical and sustainability issues, June 2019
Attitudes towards Sustainable Fashion
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- Transparency is key
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- Figure 42: Attitudes towards sustainable and ethical fashion, June 2019
- Patagonia’s plastic packaging trial
- Younger consumers more likely to agree that there is a correlation between price and sustainability
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- Figure 43: Attitudes towards the correlation between price and ethical fashion, by age, June 2019
- Men more likely to care about style than sustainability
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- Figure 44: Attitudes towards style over sustainability, by gender, June 2019
Sustainable Priorities for Fashion
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- Alternatives for animal products and plastic encourage purchasing
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- Figure 45: Most important sustainable factors when buying fashion, June 2019
- Women are more likely to be drawn towards retailers that don’t sell animal-based products
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- Figure 46: People most likely to buy from a retailer that promises to stop using animal products, by age and gender, June 2019
- Retailers are introducing sustainable ranges
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- Figure 47: H&M’s Conscious Exclusive spring collection, 2019
- The younger generations want retailers to be more vocal
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- Figure 48: People most likely to buy from a retailer that raises awareness about environmental issues, by generation, June 2019
Sustainable Fashion Concerns
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- Awareness around plastic pollution makes it a top concern
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- Figure 49: Issues taken into consideration when shopping for fashion, June 2019
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- Figure 50: Tennis player Garbiñe Muguruza in Stella McCartney for adidas biodegradable tennis whites, 2019
- City dwellers are more likely to be worried about carbon emissions
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- Figure 51: Amount of people who take carbon emissions into account when shopping for fashion, by location, June 2019
- Treatment of workers is more important than plastics for Millennials
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- Figure 52: The top three issues taken into consideration when shopping for fashion, by generation, June 2019
- Made in Britain
- Parents of young children are more concerned about the use of chemicals
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- Figure 53: Concern over the use of chemicals in fashion, by age of children in household, June 2019
Sustainable Fashion Shopping Habits
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- Three quarters have donated to a charity shop
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- Figure 54: Sustainable behaviours towards fashion, June 2019
- Repairing fashion items is a popular option
- Rented fashion has a long way to go before it becomes mainstream…
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- Figure 55: How fashion shoppers feel about renting fashion items, by age, June 2019
- …whereas pre-loved fashion is currently a more popular option
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- Figure 56: Shopping behaviour towards second-hand fashion items, by financial situation, June 2019
- Figure 57: Boutique by Shelter’s Hampstead charity shop
- More publicity is needed around brands that swap old items for rewards
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- Figure 58: How fashion shoppers feel about donating old fashion items for a reward, by age, June 2019
Trusted Sources for Sustainable Fashion
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- In a ‘fake news’ era trust is hard to win…
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- Figure 59: Sources trusted by fashion shoppers when learning about sustainable fashion, June 2019
- …leading brands to become reliant on friends and family
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- Figure 60: Sources trusted by fashion shoppers when learning about sustainable fashion, by age, June 2019
- Young men are more likely to trust magazines, while young women trust influencers
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- Figure 61: Sources of influence when finding out about sustainable fashion, by gender and age, June 2019
Behaviours towards Sustainable Fashion
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- Fashion retailers must cut through the noise
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- Figure 62: Behaviours towards sustainable and ethical fashion, June 2019
- Men more likely to educate themselves about sustainability
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- Figure 63: Researching ethical fashion, by gender, June 2019
- Urbanites show more awareness towards sustainable fashion
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- Figure 64: Behaviours towards sustainable and ethical fashion, by location, June 2019
- Figure 65: H&M’s repair stations at its Hammersmith location, 2018
CHAID Analysis: Paying More for Sustainability
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- Those concerned about the treatment of workers will pay more
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- Figure 66: Fashion and Sustainability – CHAID – Tree output, June 2019
- Methodology
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- Figure 67: Fashion and Sustainability – CHAID – Table output, June 2019
- Figure 68: Fashion and Sustainability – CHAID – Table output, June 2019
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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