Disparity of consumer’s perception and brands’ sustainable practices
Keywords: Sustainable practices, Brands, Consumer perception, Mind mapping
The recent 3 percent increase in sales of sustainable clothing suggests that consumers are highly concerned about sustainability and thus have altered their purchasing decisions toward greater sustainability (Goworek, Fisher, Cooper, Woodward & Hiller, 2012). In other words, sustainability has become a pivotal issue, as and companies are compelled to respond to it as a long term strategy both for the company companies and for society as a whole. An industry report by Finnerty, Stanley & Herther (2013) found that industry executives fundamentally believe that their organization’s sustainability commitment is a long term goal and that their commitment will only grow over time. Strategic social and environmental sustainability issues in the clothing industry can includes encouraging sustainable clothing consumption, better employee working conditions and wages, limited ause tion of pesticides, use, and disposal of used garments (Goworek et al., 2012).
However, companies are reluctant to share information about sustainable business practices due to consumer the misperception, on the part of consumers, ofmisperceptions that sustainable practices as a mere marketing ploy (“Market LOHA”, 2013). Consequently, lack of communication from brands regarding sustainable practices has resulted in consumers’ remaining unaware of the growing range of sustainable options across categories, thereby preventing consumers from purchasing sustainable products (Finnerty et al., 2013). In response to increased information about sustainable practices on the part of brands, young consumers become aware ...
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Fashion is everything to society and the media. The fashion industry has transformed into a necessity in the life of people. Everyone wants to look good, feel fabulous and feel as if we belong with everyone else. The envy and desire to wear certain things and look a certain way all come, from wearing the latest fashion handbags, accessories, dresses, shoes, and the list goes on. But, when is considering fashion into an individual’s life going too far to the extreme? Many do not consider the whereabouts of fashion materials and how the environment is affected by the mere existence of certain garments. Some may believe these objects grow on trees. But that is clearly not the case. Even though it would be nice. The fashion industry as a whole, has been notorious from green issues caused by their lack of sensitivity to the environment, conspicuous and unnecessary consumption of materials, encouraging an “throw-away” society and image issues that support women and young adults to look a certain way to feel “beautiful.” This is an issue that has increased over the past decades. Not just women, but men also feel the uncontrollable need to do whatever it takes to look like the celebrities they see on television and on the runways. The thought that the materials to make those desired items may have caused the life of animals or the destruction of mother nature does not come into mind. Countless people are concerned about conserving planet Earth and keeping it healthy. The fashion world has been targeted for many corruptions.
To help further explain these misleading claims, a well recognized company by the media is called Terrachoice. “The Terrachoice Environment Marketing Consulting practice converts knowledge of markets, science and marketing into winning, client-centered solutions to help sustainability leaders deliver results” (“The "six sins," 2007). Terrachoice has conducted a study of the “Environmental Claims in North American Consumer Markets” and found shocking results that made them want to give warning to potential consumers about the ‘six sins of greenwashing. The Terrachoice Company was designed to improve the communication between the purchasers and consumers, helping to enhance, strengthen, and prove market relationship.
As a response of various environmental issues from the textile manufacturing industry, green or sustainable textile manufacturing has aroused in recent years. The idea and concept of sustainable textile manufacturing is involving ethical and sustainable considerations to the entire supply chain process, from textile production to apparel manufacturing to retailing. “According to the Ethical Fashion Forum (2011), ethical fashion “represents an approach to the design, sourcing and manufacture of clothing which maximizes benefits to people and communities while minimizing impact on the environment.” The ethical fashion industry follows an ethical production cycle which creates social and environmental value.” (Cervellon & Wernerfelt, 2012, p. 177) Consumers is the biggest contributor and the reason of success for the textile manufacturing industry, therefore, in order to promote the growth and future for sustainable textile manufacturing, the education and knowledge that consumers have on green fashion and a new mindset for business and manufacturing are crucial for the future of a better environment for
BP is not alone with its marketing practices. General Electric (GE), an American firm and among the largest in the company, frequently exploits the green image to push its own brand. While on the cutting edge of developing renewable energy technologies, GE pushes its business at the expense of natural dignity. The earth becomes a giant problematic marble, hurtling through space, according to GE’s advertising, and GE knows how to fix
One growing social trend has been consumers’ greater awareness and concerns about environmental and health matters. This has led consumers to demand environmentally friendly products (e.g. energy saving, recyclable, non-toxic, etc.) as well as healthy alternatives (e.g. organic foods, natural cleaning and personal care products, etc.).
While a number of organizations have not adopted a sustainable operations management strategy, large retail firms like Morrison, Wal-Mart, Marks and Spencer, and Sainsbury’s have adopted this concept into their management strategies in order to reflect customer concerns and thus sustain the competitive advantage. Many larger firms are willing to promote sustainable operations in their markets because this strategy arguably attracts and retains customers.
It is certain that people are getting more used to wasting products that are still reliable to use and, especially in fashion, not that many people are aware of the concept of sustainability. Although concept of recycling paper, plastic and glass has now spread a cross the states, people still doesn’t know how to recycle or reuse their clothing. “65 pounds of clothing and textiles a year are improperly discarded and only an eight of that goes to charities for reuse [1].” This indicates how unaware people are when it comes to taking care of their garments. Or rather, the way in which fast fashion industry promotes the value of cloth is very low, and it is because the fashion industry wants people to get rid of their clothing as soon as possible in order to sell their new colle...
The more experience you have putting these tips into practice, the more they will become instinct. And by making informed decisions and ensuring that the product’s claims are accurate, you can feel good about the choices you make and their positive impact on the environment. If more greenwashing means that marketers are increasingly responding to the demand for sustainable products, this could be a positive trend. If left unchecked, greenwashing creates significant risks. Consumers will give up on marketers and manufacturers, and give up on the hope that their spending might be put to good use. Recent developments suggest companies should be prepared for the new wave of measures. Greenwashing has become a buzz word for consumers and the media. Unfortunately, the rules are not always clear when it comes to responsible environmental marketing.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American family spends $1,700 on clothes annually and “the average woman in England has 22 unworn items in her closet.”(Johnson) People buy a surplus of clothing, meaning factories make excess textile waste. While there have been many debates whether the clothing industry is the second most polluting industry of the world, second only to oil, there’s no doubt that the fashion industry has made an impact on the world, but not in a good
Environmental pressures have caused green supply chain management to emerge as an important corporate environmental strategy for organisations’ processes. Our discussion will describe, illustrate and critically evaluate the purchasing process of Woolworths. It will further identify the steps of the purchasing process, the effect of green purchasing and sustainable purchasing. Moreover, the essay will go on to look at the effort that Woolworths has made through their programmes and initiatives of green purchasing.
This article is about the overall impacts of fast fashion. The particular section referenced discusses possible solutions and alternatives to fast fashion. It talks about how it is possible to produce environmentally friendly clothing through the use of organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, and other fiber crops that require less pesticides, water, and other inputs. It goes on to share how certain brands are beginning to implement the model of sustainable clothing. The point of this article is to introduce readers to the topic of fast fashion, give background, and show readers what they
Consumers are also aware of purchases that may contain more carbon footprint over the other. They are often driven to go green and companies must be mindful of the products they sell.
That can lead to the water stress and pollution. Cotton is one of the common natural fibers and it is also a thirsty crop, to produce one cotton shirt it takes 2,700 liters of water which is enough amount of water for one person to drink 2 ½ years (3p Contributor., 2015). The chemical wastages from chemical dye and bleaches that produce from the factory, and carbon footprint such as polyester production which can lead to climate change. Given that amount of water wastage, I feel that people should opt for sustainable fashion clothes. Most people may be hesitant to try something so novel, so green. Therefore, I feel the fashion house should educate the public about the many benefits of sustainable fashion
An example of this is the introduction of the term ‘sustainable consumption’ at the Rio Earth Summit. There are other initiatives taken to promote sustainable consumption like the initiative taken by the Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production. It is also clear that the consumer cannot solve the problem of over consumption alone. Many other bodies like producers and the state need to make efforts to promote sustainable consumption. A good change is only possible when there is communication and understanding among these