The fashion industry represents the third-highest source of global pollution, following the oil and agriculture industries, accounting for 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, while a staggering 85% of textile products end up in landfills each year.
Consumer awareness is growing globally, and the luxury market is regaining its strength through the discovery of new sustainable materials. Consumers and investors are shifting towards replacing primary materials as the pressure for immediate actions and solutions takes precedence. 2021 holds pleasant surprises, and despite the global economic crisis, it’s time for action through industrial revolution and the necessary integration of innovative potential strategies.
Over the years, climate change has become a pivotal issue, primarily shaping not only the fashion industry but also the broader environmental interest that will ultimately determine the future of the industry, the pollution clause, and environmental destruction.
Environmental pollution has always been a pressing issue in recent years. However, in 2021, consumer and investor concerns about the environment are expected to reshape the luxury market and the effectiveness of environmental law.
As science substantiates the causes of environmental degradation, delineating its impacts and presenting solutions, the legal framework can be readjusted to respond more effectively to environmental challenges.
By studying existing impacts, reducing industrial risks is now a fundamental prerequisite for the evolution of the luxury market. Fundamental pillars clearly demonstrate the influence of climate change on marketing strategies that each house will be forced to follow, universally determining their future.
Ethical and sustainable fashion ensures ecological balance and is necessary for the prudent and rational use of available natural resources, combined with intelligent innovation solutions that bring about radical changes in every existing system, even criminal ones.
- Consumers of “The New Normal”
The luxury industry, through the disruptive yet manageable impacts of COVID-19, has already entered the process of “The New Normal,” which is undeniably characterized by a particularly unprecedented low economic growth. We all now know and experience firsthand the physical, psychological, and economic consequences stemming from the lockdown and The New Reality.
A post by a clearly concerned Twitter user.
The current situation, as much as it concerns us, is reshaping and restructuring the new reality with groundbreaking solutions. To succeed in the new challenging decade, luxury brands must reapproach the new consumers – the aforementioned 85% of Millennials and Generation Z – by anticipating and meeting their needs.
Specifically, as I analyzed in the article “The Benefits of Gaming for Fashion Business”, the Gen Z community contributes significant revenue to the global gaming market, with forecasts to exceed $200 billion by the end of 2023.
With 91% of the Gen Z community consisting of gamers, it’s evident that this generation holds considerable sway in consumer markets. As highlighted in the GBnews article “What Generation Z Expects from Luxury Brands”, the Gen Z generation spent over $200 billion annually in 2018 and is projected to spend $10 trillion throughout their lifetime.
While there’s a prevailing notion of a broad “Millennial state of mind”, I strongly disagree with this theory and assert that all evidence indicates the Gen Z’s influence over other generations rather than the reverse. Nevertheless, Millennials and Gen Z are uniting forces with high expectations and consumer demands from luxury brands, characterized by three main features:
- Need for service: Digital interaction increases when they choose to purchase a product. Immediate service and problem resolution are paramount.
- Zero time wastage: “I want it fast and I want it now.” The time taken to make a purchase is reduced, with younger customers needing only a third of the time compared to older ones. Decision-making is rapid, requiring swift purchases.
- Uniqueness: Consumers now expect brands to align with their personal preferences, especially with their ecological and environmental concerns.
Today, 70% of luxury purchases are influenced by online interactions, meaning that at least one digital interaction with the brand or product precedes a purchase.
Digital interactions completely change consumers’ approach to the luxury market.
In a related study by Deloitte titled “Global Powers of Luxury Goods”, it states that luxury houses are committed to making significant investments to stimulate the interest of younger age segments, namely Millennials and Gen Z, whom they characterize as “the customers of the future.” Additionally, it adds:
“Luxury brands have begun to create and maintain long-term relationships with a new category of consumers who will prove to be excessively affluent for the future.”
Share of buyers in the United States who have increased or decreased their digital spending during the COVID-19 pandemic since May 2020, by age group.
Finally, another aspect that we must consider with reservation from “The New Normal” directly concerns the luxury market, which is the emergence of a new category of luxury consumers that has started to grow in the last decade and will be particularly relevant in the future: the HENRYs (High-Earners-Not-Rich-Yet). At present, they have a significant discretionary income and are being discussed as a group of relatively older individuals – on average around 43 – who are referred to as the rich of the future. HENRYs earn between $250,000 to $500,000 annually and are primarily families of professionals such as doctors and lawyers.
Marketers see many opportunities in this transitional period where a future wealthy individual continues to adapt to the rapid increase in disposable income. The transition is considered a prime opportunity for a luxury brand to integrate into the lifestyle of HENRYs and begin to build lasting trust.
However, the duration of this specific category’s influence in the luxury market is undoubtedly debatable but nonetheless shows a significant rise. Note: Many tend to confuse HENRYs with the so-called “newly rich.” However, I assure you that they are not related at all. It’s a recycling of misinformation and should never be confused.
Given that HENRYs are heavily influenced by modern technology and the use of social media to make their purchases, luxury brands have already begun to engage to some extent with these new customers by leveraging social media platforms.
Companies like Gucci have already invested in this category by seizing the opportunity of interacting with HENRYs through various strategies such as the #GucciGram top digital initiative, where they collaborated with HENRYs artists on Instagram, and the #24HourAce project, where HENRYs artists equally participated in a Gucci video project taking over the company’s official Snapchat account for an entire hour.
However, regarding the needs of HENRYs, sustainability does not necessarily seem to be a primary criterion of their expectations. Environmental sensitivity remains a prerequisite for the desires of younger ages, even though their influence extends to older age groups. The fashion revolution is primarily supported by younger ages, and the development of the luxury industry is rejuvenated through their innovative and fruitful market approaches.
2. The sustainability of the luxury industry.
Climate change is reshaping the luxury industry through heightened consumer demands for sustainability. Studies show that 73% of Millennials are willing to spend more on products from sustainable or socially responsible companies, and 81% expect brands to actively discuss their sustainability impact.
Millennials and Gen Z do not shy away from expressing their desires and expectations from luxury brands. They have high expectations, and it’s up to the brand to listen. Otherwise, it inevitably leads to failure.
Environmental Implications:
Consumer consciousness is undoubtedly rising, with consumers increasingly seeking eco-friendly products. However, this is not a simple matter. Concerning hard luxury items (watches, jewelry, etc.), product replacement occurs at a slower rate compared to soft luxury items (clothing, accessories, etc.). It has not been determined to what extent these products can be replaced and the time frame for this process.
Certainly, the industry needs time, which also pressures it significantly. Excessive water consumption, CO2 emissions, waste production, and broader environmental pollution are issues that, even with the slightest attempt to address them, automatically position the hard luxury market as the most eco-friendly market. Its advantageous position undoubtedly carries the optimistic message that the industry is restructuring and developing systematically.
To fully understand, consider that watches and jewelry are worn thousands of times before being replaced, while most fashion is replaced much more frequently. Consider the process similar to washing and dry-cleaning clothes, which, during their lifecycle, create negative environmental impacts as significant as their production:
- Excessive consumption of polluted water with toxic waste ends up in rivers and oceans. Twenty percent of industrial pollution comes from textile processing and dyeing. Specifically, 200,000 tons of dyes are lost each year in wastewater, with only 90% of wastewater in developing countries being discharged into rivers without treatment.
Solution: Choose clothes made in countries with stricter environmental regulations for factories (EU, Canada, USA, etc.) and opt for organic or natural fibers that do not require chemical production.
The color has dyed a polluted river in China.
- A considerable amount of potable water is consumed in the dyeing and finishing process for all our clothes. Up to 200 tons of fresh water per ton of dyed fabric may be needed, equivalent to consuming 1.5 trillion liters of water annually. Additionally, cotton requires a lot of water to grow (and be heated), but it is usually cultivated in hot and dry areas. Up to 20,000 liters of water are required to produce just 1 kilogram of cotton. This puts enormous pressure on this already scarce and precious resource and has dramatic ecological consequences, such as the desertification of the Aral Sea, where cotton production has completely drained the water while almost 750 million people in the world lack access to clean drinking water. Frightening?
“85% of the daily water needs of India’s entire population could be covered by the water used to grow cotton in the country. 100 million people in India lack access to clean drinking water.” — Stephen Leahy, The Guardian.
Solution: Choose fibers with low water consumption, such as linen, recycled fibers, etc
The complete desertification of the Aral Sea.
- Extrusion of microfibers into the oceans. Every time we wash a synthetic garment (polyester, nylon, etc.), about 1,900 individual microfibers are released into the water, entering our oceans. Overall, 85% of human residues on shores worldwide consist of microfibers. Scientists have discovered that small aquatic organisms consume these microfibers, which are then eaten by small fish, later consumed by larger fish, introducing plastic into our food chain. In total, 190,000 tons of textile microplastics end up in the oceans each year, with twice as many particles released from older clothes compared to new ones. Solution: Opt for natural or semi-synthetic fibers.
The artistic representation of environmental pollution through our washing machines.
- Accumulation of waste. Most clothes have a very short lifespan. As a result, we produce increasingly more fabric waste. A family in the Western world throws away an average of 30 kilograms of clothes every year. Only 15% is recycled or donated, and the rest goes directly to landfills or is incinerated. Synthetic fibers, such as polyester, are plastic fibers, therefore non-biodegradable and may take up to 200 years to decompose. Synthetic fibers are used in 72% of our clothes, while textiles overall account for a significant 5.2% of landfill waste. Today, the average lifespan of a garment is 3 years.
Solution: Choose natural or semi-synthetic fibers. Buy less and better quality, repair clothes, and recycle.
Snapshot from clothing and waste collection.
- Heavy use of chemical substances. Chemicals are one of the main components in our clothes. They are used in fiber production, dyeing, bleaching, and wet processing. The heavy use of chemical substances in cotton cultivation causes diseases and premature death among cotton growers, while also contributing to massive pollution of freshwater and oceans, along with soil degradation. Some of these substances are significantly harmful to consumers due to their toxicity. And if you’re wondering “How toxic can it be?” then let me inform you that it takes just 1 kg of chemicals to produce 1 kg of fabric! Yet, 23% of all chemicals produced worldwide are used for textile manufacturing. Even 27% of a “100% natural” fabric consists of chemicals…
Solution: Choose organic fibers and sustainable brands, always wash new clothes before wearing them for the first time, and ALWAYS look for clothes with certification labels that control chemical content such as OEKO-TEX®, GOTS, or BLUESIGN®.
A snapshot from the series ‘The True Cost’
- Carbon Emissions. The apparel industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions. The global fashion industry emits significant greenhouse gases due to the energy used in production, manufacturing, and transportation of the millions of garments purchased each year. Synthetic fibers (polyester, acrylic, nylon, etc.), used in the majority of our clothes, are made from fossil fuels, making production much more carbon-intensive compared to natural fibers. Most of our clothing is produced in China, Bangladesh, or India, countries largely powered by coal, the dirtiest form of energy in terms of carbon emissions. It’s estimated that approximately 23 kilograms of greenhouse gases are produced per kilogram of fabric produced. And if you think that’s the end of it, you’re sorely mistaken. It’s now a fact that for every annual polyester production, about 70 million barrels of oil are used, while there’s a 400% increase in carbon dioxide emissions if we wear a garment only five times instead of 50 times.
“Cheaper synthetic fibers also emit gases such as N2O, which is 300 times more harmful than CO2.” – James Conca – FORBES
Solution: Choose natural fibers, buy fewer but higher quality clothes, repair them, and primarily purchase garments made in countries with more renewable energy.
The issue of greenhouse gas emissions has been of particular concern to the global fashion industry.
- Soil degradation is one of the primary environmental issues our planet faces. It poses a significant threat to global food security and contributes to global warming. The fashion industry plays a significant role in soil degradation through various practices, such as overgrazing for cashmere goats, soil degradation due to the mass use of chemicals in cotton cultivation, and deforestation caused by wood-based fibers like rayon. Specifically, 93% of global soil degradation is caused by overgrazing (35%), deforestation (30%), and agriculture (28%). It’s clear that degraded soil will lead to a 30% reduction in food production over the next 20-50 years if nothing changes.
Solution: Choose soil-friendly fibers.
Two billion people are affected by land degradation.
- Deforestation Disaster: Every year, thousands of hectares of endangered and ancient forests are cleared and replaced by tree plantations used for making wood-based fabrics like rayon, viscose, and modal. Specifically, around 70 million trees are cut down annually to produce our clothes, and this loss of forests threatens ecosystems and indigenous communities, as seen in Indonesia, where large-scale deforestation of tropical forests has occurred over the past decade. It is estimated that 5% of the global garment industry uses forest-based fabrics.
Solution: Choose Lyocell/Tencel® instead of rayon, modal, or viscose.
After the massive tropical forest clearing
Alternative cruelty-free materials
Consumer concerns about animal welfare and the links between animal products and the environment continue to grow. Former staple products of the luxury industry, such as animal fur, have already been banned by almost all luxury houses, as noted by Chanel in December 2018, announcing the definitive cessation of using exotic skins and fur in its collections.
We anticipate that the use of precious exotic skins will likely meet a similar fate, as indicated by the recent uproar over the cruel deaths of thousands of crocodiles. It is estimated that 30,000 crocodiles endure violent deaths for the production of luxury leather handbags each year. In shocking footage released by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), the crocodile leather industry is exposed for its harsh animal treatment, implicating luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Versace, Hermès, Prada, and Michael Kors, which have partnered with these farms.
During the process of skinning crocodiles, the animals must remain alive, making this act not only murderous but at least sadistic.
At the same time, fashion titan Tom Ford, with the presentation of his collection for Spring Summer 2019 in New York, created a stunningly enviable rendition of cruelty-free crocodile leather, making the runway shine with unparalleled ethical elegance.
The official Tom Ford account’s post on Instagram featuring the cruelty-free croco skirt suit.
Until a few years ago, the international fur trade killed over 100 million animals bearing fur for their utilization as luxury products, while just 159 million animals (cattle, buffalo, goats, pigs, ostriches, kangaroos, lizards, and even dogs/cats) were slaughtered for the leather industry.
The process is horrific; the breeding of fur-bearing and non-fur-bearing animals is inhumane. Animals are locked up for life in narrow cages, developing peculiar behaviors. They are instilled with instincts of self-mutilation, cannibalism, and infanticide. The process varies by species. Typically, they are euthanized by electrocution or asphyxiation. Fur and leather are always removed while the animal is still alive, meeting a torturous end, and the animal is relieved from its agonizing death through relatively slow procedures. It’s the epitome of horror, a nightmare scene from a Hitchcock thriller. Except here, there’s no “cut”; here, we define the end… with our consumer power, individually first. Because that’s how the most historic revolutions began.
Photos from the process of creating leather and fur luxury products.
“Does This Really Sound Luxurious?”
On the left, you can observe the process of creating a luxury handbag, and on the right, the result.
In 2017, Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri announced that the luxury house would withdraw fur from all its future collections because, in his opinion, the material had become “a bit outdated.” While the rationale might be seen as weak, it was a commendable effort. We are sure that if he had presented his position differently, he might have gained more respect, as Donatella Versace did. As the head of the Italian fashion house Versace, she revealed in an interview, “Fur? I’m out of that. I don’t want to kill animals to make fashion. I don’t feel good about it.
We rightly wonder, what is the reason for promoting criminal actions against vulnerable creatures in 2021, when, as beings with the highest intelligence on planet Earth, we have created the greatest work/tool of all: technology and science.
Is it really so difficult and costly for luxury brands to replace animal-origin products, or is all this ultimately the result of an inability to evolve and create cruelty-free collections?
Could this entire situation ultimately indicate who is in control of fashion and who is in the last carriages of the train? And how much lifespan can one have in fashion when they go against the “New Normal” and against every branch of it?
In the last two years, fashion houses like Stella McCartney (the queen of cruelty-free products, even though she strongly divides opinions with her prices), Chanel, Prada, Calvin Klein, Balmain, Karl Lagerfeld, Donna Karan, and many others have decided to remove fur forever, with many of them citing ethical reasons.
Το λεγόμενο faux fur ωστόσο, δηλαδή η cruelty free εκδοχή γούνας, ενώ αναμφισβήτητα βοηθά εν μέρει στη βιωσιμότητα, δε θεωρείται ως αυτούσιο βιώσιμο υλικό. Κάτι που τίθεται έντονα ως θέμα συζήτησης και απασχολεί ιδιαίτερα τους οδηγούς της μόδας. Παρ’ όλα αυτά “one step at a time”, βρισκόμαστε σε μια ανοδική πορεία και οφείλουμε να αναγνωρίζουμε κάθε αξιόλογη προσπάθεια και συντελεστή της βιωσιμότητας.
The future of sustainable luxury industry
The size of the global sustainable fashion market reached $6.35 billion dollars just for 2019, having increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% since 2015. The market is expected to grow from $6.35 billion to $8.25 billion by 2023 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8%.
Ethical fashion – and by extension, the reflection of sustainability – is a delicate issue worthy of deep analysis and thorough research, and we must magnify both the problem and the solutions. One can easily delve into the “ethical” way of thinking by delving into the fruitful efforts to solve problems that concern human conscience and sensitivity.
The sustainability of fashion and “The New Normal” redefine the role of the industry, rebelling against anything unethical, often perverse, and bleakly ominous for humanity (environmental pollution, animal abuse, labor exploitation, etc.). The sustainability of the luxury market is directly identified with every branch of the ecological pillar, and if one manages to penetrate it, understanding the magnitude of its consumer power, they have undoubtedly gained a position at the helm of the market, guiding the fashion industry in the pursuit of the new reality, or the notorious “The New Normal”.
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