Why are people still buying fast fashion?

 

A Huff Post columnist - Jen Craven - challenged herself to go 365 days without buying any clothing or accessories

 

She found the experience challenging, but noted that she realized she tended to wear the same items over and over again while ignoring many of the others that she owned.  She also mentioned that she now has a new attitude about buying clothes and realized that "it's not the things in life that make you happy."  (Craven, 2021)

 

Hmm.  Where have we heard that before?

 

She also acknowledged that wearing fast fashion is inconsistent with her values as it both destroys the environment and exploits workers.

More than 60 percent of fabric fibers are now synthetics, derived from fossil fuels, so if and when our clothing ends up in a landfill (about 85 percent of textile waste in the United States goes to landfills or is incinerated), it will not decay. (Schlossberg, 2019) 

Stories about sweatshops in Vietnam and Bangladesh - where 1,134 workers died and 2,500 were injured in a building collapse in 2013, continue to pop up from time to time.  But the problem is actually closer to home too.  A federal Labor Department investigation in 2019 of Nova Fashion in Los Angeles, showed that workers were being paid as little as $2.77 and hour. (Kitroeff, 2019)

 

So when 82% of Millennials say that they "are concerned about the environment."  What does that really mean?

 

Ms. Craven ended her column by saying that not only is she going to buy fewer clothes from now on, but she is also going to check out local resale shops and online vendors like Poshmark and TheRealReal.

 

Good for her.  But what about the Instagram influencers who are stoking the fast fashion market?  Cardi B, Amber Rose and Janet Guzman are still selling Nova Fashion's clothes.

 

Why do you think people say they care about the environment but still buy fast fashion?  Why do people say they care about exploited workers and still buy fast fashion?  Why do people say they care about pollution and still buy fast fashion?  What will it take to get consumers to reject fast fashion? 

 

Do you buy clothes that last?  Do you buy resold clothes?  Will you now?

 

 

 

 

Craven, J. (2021, October 10)  I Went A Year Without Shopping For Clothes. Here's What I Learned.  huffpost.com.  Retrieved October 26, 2021, from  https://www.huffpost.com/entry/no-shopping-for-a-year-challenge_n_617088bfe4b0657357366ef7

Schlossberg, T. (2019, September 3)  How Fast Fashion Is Destroying The Planet.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved October 26, 2021, from  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/books/review/how-fast-fashion-is-destroying-the-planet.html

 

Kitroeff, N. (2019, December 16)  Fashion Nova's Secret: Underpaid Workers in Los Angeles Factories.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved October 26, 2021, from  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/business/fashion-nova-underpaid-workers.html?curator=FashionREDEF

Taking humans out of the equation.

 

On September 3, The Art Institute of Chicago fired all of their docents. 

 

Docents are the volunteers that lead visitors around museums.  Since it is an unpaid job it is mostly occupied by retirees.  And most of those retirees are affluent white females.  Hence the dismissal of them despite the fact that some had worked for the museum for as long as 15 years. 

 

Ms. Stein, the Executive Director of Learning and Engagement at the museum explained that the institute needs to  find “a way that allows community members of all income levels to participate, responds to issues of class and income equity, and does not require financial flexibility.” (Bottum, 2021)

 

So does that mean they are going to start paying volunteers and recruiting minorities?  Doubtful.

 

My guess is that what will happen is the docents will be replaced with technology - QR codes that can be scanned, pre-recorded audio tours, interactive kiosks, etc.  That will of course make the possibility of asking follow-up questions impossible, thus depressing learning, as well as the opportunity for human interaction.

 

And the experience is likely to be as frustrating as trying to get Target's website to work properly.  (For some odd reason they have frozen me out of my cart, yet they keep sending me reminder emails about that cart.)

 

Is this really what Millennials and Gen Z want?

 

Research shows that people who have friends are happier.  It also shows that "loose acquaintances" those that we don't know well, but have pleasant interactions with are particularly important to our perceptions of belonging and happiness.

 

And yet, we seem to be moving to a world where human interaction is minimized.

 

Are we doing this on purpose?  Do we really want to eliminate all human contact and interact with each other only on devices?  If not, how did we get here?

 

I recently read an article where someone hypothesized that in the future only rich people will be able to interact with other people and everyone else will interact with robots instead. 

 

What do you think of that?  Is it the future we really want?

 

Bottum, F. (2021, October 15)  Indocency on Display at the Art Institute of Chicago.  wsj.com.  Retrieved October 19, 2021, from  https://www.wsj.com/articles/indecency-art-institute-of-chicago-docents-diversity-firing-11634310172

 

Are D2C subscriptions on their way out?

 

D2C subscriptions were all the rage for a time.  It started with Dollar Shave Club.  And brands like Blue Apron, Stitch Fix and Birch Box followed suit.

 

The most popular categories for subscriptions are food and drink (37%), personal care/health/fitness (36%), and pets (32%).

 

But, based on new research from Attest, the overall trend for D2C subscriptions is down.  41% of Americans currently have an active product subscription, down from 47% just nine months ago.  And people with multiple subscriptions have dropped from 21% to 18% since last year. (Mahoney, 2021)

 

So what do we think about D2C subscriptions?  Why do people buy them?  Why are fewer people interested now than before?  Do you have a subscription?  If so, how many?  Why do you like/dislike them?  Do you think that they will continue to decline in popularity?  Or is there a way for them to become more popular again?

 

Mahoney, S. (2021, October 7)  Consumers Tiring of D2C Subscription Brands.  mediapost.com.  retrieved October 13, 2021, from

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/367582/consumers-tiring-of-d2c-subscription-brands.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=123915&hashid=WJG6Pr0n-cKmmAEAvSYYIvL2MQA

 

Will Cacti be successful?

After its previous failures in the hard-seltzer category, Budweiser has decided to try again.

 

In 2020, they launched Bud Light Seltzer.  In January 2021 they launched Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer.  And in May 2021 they launched Cacti - a fruiter and boozier agave-sweetened seltzer created with Travis Scott.  This fall they introduced maple pear, toasted marshmallow and pumpkin spice flavors.

 

You can clearly see that they are executing their strategy of frequently introducing new flavors.

 

But will it matter in a declining market?

 

When hard-seltzers were first introduced in 2016 growth soared.  But, growth has slowed significantly in 2021.  Among the possible reasons - slower-than-expected reopenings of bars and restaurants, confusion in the store aisles over too many choices, and the migration of some seltzer drinkers to canned cocktails. (Maloney, 2021)

 

But what about the Gen Z trend toward sobriety?  It always seemed a bit odd that hard-seltzers were selling well even as research indicated drinking alcohol overall was declining.

 

Gen Z is drinking 20% less per capita than Millennials - who drank less than Gen X and Baby Boomers did at the same age.  And, sales of non-alcoholic beers and cocktails were up 44% in the May 2020 versus year ago.  (Kim, 2021)

 

So, do you think that people will buy Pumpkin Spice hard-seltzer?  And that variety the key to keeping fickle consumers happy?  Will collaborating with Travis Scoot to engage his tribe work?  Or should Budweiser change their focus to non-alcoholic beverages?

 

Have you seen any marketing efforts for these products?  If so, where?  Who do you think the target is?

 

 

Maloney, J. (2021, October 4)  Bud Light Maker Tries Again With Hard Seltzer.  wsj.com.  Retrieved October 6, 2021, from  https://www.wsj.com/articles/bud-light-maker-tries-again-with-hard-seltzer-11633167002

 

Kim, J. (2021, March 15)  How beverage brands can better engage Millennials and Gen Z.  beveragedaily.com.  Retrieved October 6, 2021, from  https://www.beveragedaily.com/Article/2021/03/15/How-beverage-brands-can-better-engage-millennials-and-gen-z