Purpose
The purpose pillar focuses on the mission of a brand that goes beyond just making money. It represents a brand’s/company’s commitment to contributing to the society and the environment in order to bring about global change.
A brand’s philosophy serves as a basis of its identity, encapsulating its values, mission and distinctive qualities. The brand’s mission statement outlines its goals and the difference it wants to create in the world. The long-term objectives of a brand are portrayed in the vision and the values as inspiring both the consumers and the producers (Simonson.A and Schmitt. BH, 1997. pg 50-52).
Values emphasise moral behaviour and act as guiding principles that influence a brand’s decisions and actions. Furthermore, a brand’s specific point of view emphasizes its unique qualities and illustrates how it differs from competitors. A pivotal point in the history of the fashion industry’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement highlighted this idea of ethical duty and brand identification. In a 1996 New York Times article headlined “A Sweetheart Becomes Suspect; Looking behind Those Kathie Lee Labels,” Stephanie Strom exposed dubious business practises around the Kathie Lee apparel line, which is produced in Honduras by minors. This episode exposed supply chain problems that regrettably still exist today in various forms and brought attention to everyone’s responsibility for the results of their actions, whether known or unknown. This finding emphasized the significance of brands aligning their values with principles. It also underscored the importance of upholding transparency, ethical sourcing and fair labor practices throughout the supply chain (Londrigan. M.P and Jenkins. J.M, 2018. pg 42-45).
For Gen Z (as mentioned in the People blog) transparency and authenticity are key elements. According to Egolf. K (2018) the brands that seek to communicate their purpose need by being authentic and true about their values tend to gain the attention of Gen Z as they tend to rely more on them.
Simonson, A., & Schmitt, B. H. (1997). Marketing aesthetics: The strategic management of brands, identity, and image. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=cFZ3iRWbttsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Londrigan, M.P., & Jenkins, J.M. (2018) “Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability.” Pages: 41–60 https://www-bloomsburyfashioncentral-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/encyclopedia-chapter?docid=b-9781501317798&tocid=b-9781501317798-chapter3&pdfid=9781501317798.ch-003.pdf
Egolf, K. (2018). GEN Z: Decoding the Digital Generation (pp. 2–6). UNiDAYS https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/4000540/content-reports/reports-pdf-versions/UNiDAYS-Ad-Age-Tech-2019-Report.pdf