Alex Howis

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Purpose

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‘Purpose’ is the final pillar, customers subscribe to brand ideology and want to buy into beliefs that align with their own values, a 2020 report found that 56% of customers surveyed said that environmental and social practices impacted their shopping habits (KPMG Nunwood, 2020). Strong brand philosophy is at the core of a brand, ‘once you know the ins and outs of your own identity, you will be better able to communicate with prospective buyers, and ultimately build lifelong trust and loyalty’ (Silva, 2020). This also means standing up for what your brand believes in, whether that’s infomercials or social media posts addressing current topics, customers want to see that a brand isn’t taking an impartial position to keep all potential customers, in fact this can deters customers from a brand [refer to the Colin Kaepernick Nike example in the ‘profit’ section]. Brand philosophy also helps attract likeminded staff, so that a company’s workforce is striving for a common goal, subsequently authenticity is woven through a brands action. 

An aspect of brand philosophy is a mission statement, this is short phrase which encapsulates an organisation’s purpose, aim, intentions and general objectives (SHRM, n.d.). For example, Google’s mission statement is ‘to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful’ (Google, 2023). Whereas, a vision statement is aspirational, it looks to the future and seeks issues the brand can address and where they want to be in 10 years. Lastly, the value statement is a list detailing core principles in which the brand adheres itself to.

Brands are increasingly adapting their practises to appeal to Gen Z, this includes utilising designated corporate green teams towards advancing a brands sustainability practices; providing clothing aftercare, like repair services or reconstructing the garment into another product. Both these initiatives aim to increase the longevity of the clothing item, reduce waste and slow consumer buying (Finneman et al., 2020). Another method used is employing brand ambassadors, these are usually influencers who have a large Gen Z following and embody the brands image where they use their platform and influence to advertise products or brand deals. 

Another advertising tool is adopting Gen Z representation. For instance, in Nike’s ‘Nothing beats a Londoner’ campaign shows young people in various parts London in ordinary scenarios, like going home from school or playing football at the local grounds. It utilises humour exclusive to Londoners, creating a sense of shared experience and thus community. It shows that Nike understands its consumers and the space in which this demographic is surrounded in by featuring cameos by English celebrities like Skepta and Harry Kane (Nike – Nothing Beats a Londoner, n.d.). 

Word count: 424

References:

Silva, P. (n.d.). Why Philosophy Has Much To Do With Brand-Building (And What That Looks Like). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/piasilva/2020/11/19/why-philosophy-has-much-to-do-with-brand-building-and-what-that-looks-like/

KPMG Nunwood, 2020. Meet your new customer. https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/im/pdf/kpmg-nunwood-customer-experience-meet-your-new-customer.pdf

SHRM, (n.d.). What is the difference between mission, vision and values statement?. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/mission-vision-values-stateents.aspx#:~:text=A%20mission%20statement%20is%20a,customers%2C%20vendors%20and%20other%20stakeholders.

Google Search. (n.d.). Our approach – How Google Search works. https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/search/howsearchworks/our-approach/#:~:text=Google

Finneman, B., Spagnuolo, E., & Rahilly, L. (2020, August 4). Meet Generation Z: Shaping the Future of Shopping. McKinsey. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/meet-generation-z-shaping-the-future-of-shopping

Chiu, C. L., & Ho, H.-C. (2023). Impact of Celebrity, Micro-Celebrity, and Virtual Influencers on Chinese Gen Z’s Purchase Intention Through Social Media. SAGE Open, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231164034

Nike. (n.d.). Nothing Beats a Londoner. W+K London. https://wklondon.com/work/nothing-beats-londoner/

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Profit

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Capital is at the core of the fashion industry, it allows brands to sustain their operations and enables growth. With a labour force of 3,384.1 million, the industry generates an equivalent $3 trillion USD, and roughly one in eight workers is involved in the fashion and textile industry (Fashion United, 2022; Faces and Figures: Who Makes Our Clothes?, n.d.).

Though the rate of financial growth is heavily dependent on various socio-political factors. For example, disposable income reduced during the Covid pandemic due to redundancies and sick leave, between ‘January-March 2020 and April-June 2020, employment levels fell by 424,000’, this severely halted demand for fashion goods thus caused further redundancies within the manufacturing and production process (Powell et al., 2022). As the connect between worker and brand has become more complex and clouded, there is little accountability or legal obligation for decent worker wellbeing, ‘with exploitatively low salaries, garment workers in the Global South have for years struggled to survive. Saving for emergencies was near impossible, meaning they had nothing to fall back on when the COVID-19 pandemic hit’ (Hoskins, 2021).

In addition to this, the Cost of Living Crisis has meant that shoppers have become more stringent with their spending, McKinsey found that ‘81% of Brits have changed their shopping habits in some way as a result of cost-of-living pressures’ (Caris, 2023).

In response to this, brands have had to adapt or face going obsolete. Techniques have been used aid customers in spending, like the ‘buy now pay later’ method. Klarna is a company that provides post-purchase payments, it is featured in many clothing websites, including H&M, Michael Kors and River Island  (Klarna Shops, n.d.). Another technique is boosting advertising, ‘four in ten UK firms expect to…increase their marketing spend in 2023/24, with just 15.3% expecting cuts’, this is so that companies can influence consumers into switching to competitors (Carroll, 2023).

Creative directors not only ensure brand aestheticism but also must evaluate whether it will generate capital, in fact they play a key role in bridging these two elements. Fashion business lecturer and writer Olga Mitterfellner states ‘collections must generate revenue, which is often a point of success measurement when CEOs and shareholders look at annual reports. If the figures don’t impress, the designer can and will be exchanged for another one.’ The brand must be modernised and reinvented with every collection, whilst holding true to the brands ‘visual DNA’ to please customers and board members (Mitterfellner, 2023). This task is made more difficult as the creative director must also oversee a large team, their expertise in this field, however, often lacks as brands bring in impressive designers and fail to consider their ability at staff management (Mitterfellner, 2023).

References:

Caris. (2023, January 31). Consumer behaviour in a cost of living crisis. Curated. https://curated-digital.com/blog/consumer-behaviour-in-a-cost-of-living-crisis/

Carroll, N. (2023, January 19). Marketing budgets cling to growth despite recession fears. Marketing Week. https://www.marketingweek.com/marketing-budgets-grow-despite-recession/

Faces and Figures: Who Makes Our Clothes? (n.d.). Common Objective. https://www.commonobjective.co/article/faces-and-figures-who-makes-our-clothes#:~:text=The%20global%20workforce%20is%20estimated

Fashion United. (2022). Global Fashion Industry Statistics. Fashion United. https://fashionunited.com/global-fashion-industry-statistics

Hoskins, T. (2021, January 18). “They left us starving”: How the fashion industry abandoned its workers. OpenDemocracy. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/they-left-us-starving-how-fashion-industry-abandoned-its-workers/

Klarna shops. (n.d.). Klarna UK. https://www.klarna.com/uk/klarna-shops/

Powell, A., Francis-Devine, B., & Clark, H. (2022, August 9). Coronavirus: Impact on the Labour Market. Parliament.uk. https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8898/CBP-8898.pdf

‌Mitterfellner, O. (2023). Luxury Fashion Brand Management: Unifying Fashion with Sustainability (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003124184

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People

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People play a vital role in the global fashion economy as consumers, and understanding what drives spending habits can aid businesses in profit growth. Sub-group Generation Z is increasingly gaining spending power (USD$360 Billion as of 2021), thus brands are increasingly creating targeted marketing toward them (Pollard, 2021). As digital natives, a unique emphasis on online fashion, namely social media, has unfolded (Francis & Hoefel, 2018). As of 2023, 80% of US TikTok users are between the ages of 16-34. With an average watch time of 95 minutes per day, users are highly influenced by fads on the platform (Doyle, 2023). For example, the top two search results under ‘fashion’ on TikTok is ‘#fashion’ and ‘#sustainablefashion’ with a collective 339.2 billion views.(#fashion n.d.; #sustainablefashion n.d.).

This hyper-interconnectivity has led to rapid turnover with trends (Poncelin, 2023). In response to this, fast fashion retailers have become popular amongst Gen Z, with 90% of British youth stating they have purchased from [them] before (Duffy, 2022). Contrary to this, the same study found that ‘only 3% of participants stated that they were not concerned…about [its]…social or environmental implications’ (Duffy, 2022). This discrepancy has opened a market for greenwashing, a phenomenon that aims for consumers to believe a company is sustainable when it isn’t (Greenwash, n.d.); a technique used to attract Gen Z buyers (Crumbie, 2023).

Another technique used is having an online presence, specifically interacting with popular trends and memes, this is due to brands having a ‘somewhat seamless existence with our relationship with human others. [Putting] the responsibility on brands to be as “likable” and engaging as any other “friend” in one’s social media space’ (Dimofte et al., 2016). As well as deepening the relationship between brand and consumer, ‘increased reach…can be obtained. Most people can relate to memes, and when hashtags are used well, they…spread quickly and widely. Meme content [is] is much more shareable than advertisements and can therefore help you expand your brand’s reach.’ (Chanana, 2022).

Communication, a people skill, is thus essential in social media management as brands must effectively convey their values and beliefs, brands with strong identities often perform better. For example, Nike endorsed American football player Colin Kaepernick for an advertising campaign after he controversially knelt in tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement, this was met with both backlash and a 31% short-term rise in sales (Pengelly, 2018).

Regarding social sustainability, Gen Z has also expressed a desire for more body-inclusive representation (IZEA, 2023). Nike has been quick in taking this feedback onboard, for instance, in their flagship store in London, plus-size mannequins were installed, generating a 200% increase in clicks on Nike One Luxe Tights online, the garment displayed on the mannequin (Taylor, 2019). Likewise, in 2018 Nike introduced the first sports hijab seen on professional athletes Zahra Lari and Amina Hanif (BBC, 2017; Guardian News and Media, 2023).

Word count: 439

References:

Pollard, A. (2021, November 17). Gen Z Has $360 Billion to Spend, Trick Is Getting Them to Buy. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-17/gen-z-has-360-billion-to-spend-trick-is-getting-them-to-buy 

Francis, T. and Hoefel, F. (2018, November 12). True Gen: Generation Z and its implications for companies. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies

Doyle, B. (2023, September 8). TikTok Statistics – Updated Sep 2023. Wallaroo Media. https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/#:~:text=60%25%20are%20between%20the%20ages,data%20comes%20straight%20from%20TikTok

#fashion. TikTok. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2023, from https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fashion

#sustainablefashion. TikTok. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2023, from https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fashion 

Poncelin, C. (2023, August 30). Harness the power of social media to anticipate fashion trends. Heuritech. https://www.heuritech.com/articles/trends-on-social-media/#:~:text=Social%20media%20has%20led%20consumers,for%20commercial%20and%20creative%20success

Duffy, M. (2022, September 12). Generation Z members say they want sustainable clothes but buy fast fashion instead – new research. Sheffield Hallam University. https://www.shu.ac.uk/news/all-articles/latest-news/fast-fashion

Greenwash. Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/greenwash

Crumbie, A. (2023, May 12). Gen Z targeted by “greenwashing” fast-fashion retailers. Ethical Consumer. https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/fashion-clothing/gen-z-targeted-greenwashing-fast-fashion-retailers

Dimofte, C. V., Haugtvedt, C. P., & Yalch, R. F. (2016). Consumer Behavior in the Social Space. In Consumer psychology in a Social Media World (p. 95). essay, Routledge.

Chanana, T. (2022, September 24). Why brands should use memes for customer engagement and not product selling. The Financial Express. https://www.financialexpress.com/business/brandwagon-why-brands-should-use-memes-for-customer-engagement-and-not-product-selling-2689656/

Pengelly M. (2018, September 08). Nike sales surge 31% in days after Colin Kaepernick ad unveiled, analyst says. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/08/colin-kaepernick-nike-ad-sales-up.

IZEA. (2023, March 16). Why Gen Z Values Diversity. The Consumer Intelligence Platform for Consumer Research. https://www.quantilope.com/resources/insight-studies-consumers-expectations-around-diversity

Taylor, K. (2019, June 12). Nike’s controversial plus-size mannequin is a brilliant business decision. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/nikes-plus-size-mannequin-is-a-brilliant-business-decision-2019-6?r=US&IR=T

BBC. (2017, March 8). Nike becomes first major brand to launch Hijab for Women. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-39205965

Guardian News and Media. (2023, June 7). “I like being different”: Amina Hanif on playing football with the hijab. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jun/07/amina-hanif-hijab-chesham-united-pakistan

Images:

Guest, R. (2018). EMEA Product Campaign, Middle East Region. [Image]. In Nike. https://ryanbelmont.co.uk/Nike-Pro-Hijbab

https://freight.cargo.site/w/2000/q/94/i/8c49d0eec258c5f747303e02f5f3bd32d8108f2bd9e0c7291b974bfaccee5bf3/YasMall_Hijab_020_2000x840px.jpg
(Guest, 2018)
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Planet Blog

Planet Blog

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As concerns over fashion practice and its impact on the planet grow, it is becoming increasingly evident that sustainable policy is integral at every stage of a garments life. Relearning consumption habits in order to mitigate the impact namely overproduction and mass fashion have on the environment in order to preserve animal welfare and habitats, reduce carbon emissions and keep our finite resources in a closed loop.

A circular economy (CE) is a fundamental part of preserving the planet. It is an economic system by which it closes the loop on a garments life cycle, aiming to eliminate waste by reusing the garment at the end of its life, this prevents it from being disposed of in landfill or being burnt, both of which contribute to global warming, 85% of all textiles end up in landfill (Igini, 2023) and annually 200 million trees are logged for cellulose fibres including viscose (Rollscane, 2022) ; trees are a natural absorbent of atmospheric carbon. The goal of a CE is to minimize the extraction of finite resources and thus reduce environmental impact. Fashion design researcher Gwilt emphasizes the importance of moving away from a ‘[business] model that relies solely on achieving economic success from the manufacture of products, to considering a model of practice that incorporates…product-service combinations.’ This system works in conjunction to the current linear model, which operates by a ‘take, make, waste’ ethos, an estimated reduction of 39% of greenhouse gases could be seen by implementing a CE by 2050 (Bradford 2023).

‘Good Health and Well-being’ is a Sustainable Development Goal established by the United Nations, currently the fashion industry violates this aim in order to prioritize financial gain. This can be seen in cotton farming for garments, farmers are burdened by the demand of cotton so that they resort to pesticides to aid rapid production, this not only is a threat to the farmers health (Kannuri & Jadhav 2018), but it has also been seen to cause 20,000 deaths annually from toxic chemicals on cotton fibres, and has been proven to cause cancer (Eden Project n.d).

Additionally, models in the fashion industry should be accounted for too. The impact is not only severe for the models own mental and physical health, but also wider society and our perception of beauty. ‘How women internalise objectification influences their emotional and cognitive behaviour. For example, wearing a swimsuit affected women’s but not men’s performance on a math test’ (Fredrickson & Roberts 1997). The fashion industry reinforces unattainable looks, thus resulting in many particularly women opting for cosmetic surgery, ‘women of the twenty first century is sculpted surgically from top to bottom, generically neutral, all irregularities regularised, all particularities expunged’ (Garland-Thomson 2002)

Word count: 428 (exlc. citations)

References:

Igini, M. (2023, August 21). 10 Concerning Fast Fashion Waste Statistics. Earth.org. https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/#.

Rollscane, C et al,. (2022, February 18). The climate and nature risks hidden in viscose fabric. Forest 500. https://forest500.org/analysis/insights/climate-and-nature-risks-hidden-viscose-fabric#:~:text=An%20estimated%20200%20million%20trees,peatland%20forests%20cleared%20for%20plantations.&text=Viscose%20is%20a%20cellulose%2Dbased,used%20in%20the%20fashion%20industry.

Gwilt, A. (2020). A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.perlego.com/book/1584411/a-practical-guide-to-sustainable-fashion-pdf.

Bradford, A. (2023, May 4). Sustainable waste management: driving profit through circularity + tech. Roadrunner. https://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/sustainable-waste-management-driving-profit-through-circularity-tech#:~:text=The%20benefits%20of%20transitioning%20to,gas%20emissions%20globally%20by%202050.

Kannuri, N. K., & Jadhav, S. (2018). Generating toxic landscapes: impact on well-being of cotton farmers in Telangana, India. Anthropology & medicine, 25(2), 121–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/13648470.2017.1317398

Eden Project. (n.d). Cotton. https://www.edenproject.com/visit/things-to-do/mediterranean-biome/cotton

Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T.A. (1997). Objectification Theory: Toward Understanding Women’s Lived Experiences and Mental Health Risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(2), 173-206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x

Garland-Thomson, R. (2002). Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory. NWSA Journal, 14(3), 1–32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4316922

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