’ Tis the Season- less
Eco expert Marci Zaroff on the new consumer attitudes taking root this holiday.
This has been a year of unprecedented flux — around the world and in fashion. This holiday season, it’s more important than ever to keep up with shifts in business model innovation and consumer values. E-commerce saw a 44.5 percent increase in sales year-over-year in the second quarter, while new modes of digital retail emerge by the day. Livestream shopping — a clickable, live, mobile experience — has had spectacular success in China. During a livestream event this summer, almost $450 million in sales were generated in one day alone, spurring tech firms to replicate the experience in America. Even better? Shopify reported a 50 percent jump in spending on independent and d-t-c brands from 2019. Consumers want to shop small. for a long-overdue consumer awakening. Black Friday 2020 was anti-climactic — with shallower discounts, longer-running promos and no physical lines as people shopped online. Stores saw approximately half of the foot traffic of Black Friday 2019. With increased online spending came a surge in related shipping materials.
Free shipping incentivized wasteful consumption, with a noticeable decrease in average order value this year. With about 60 percent of packages using plastic or polystyrene as fillers, the combined waste is truly staggering.
As we bury, or at the very least reimagine, this obsolete celebration of overconsumption, let’s turn our attention to the next generation of fashion and the future we hope for humanity. disregard mirrors the slowing down of consumption, which in turn, reflects the slowing down of society.
The momentary pause in routine has offered us time to reflect on what matters. A recent study published in WGSN points to five growing consumer desires: value, wellness, unity, trust and comfort. Several other studies have shown a strengthened interest in sustainability, not to mention the importance of accountability, especially following the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the protests that followed.
This “ECOrenaissance” of renewed values — in stark contrast to material abundance and status aspirations of the past — are prompting us to ask what kind of holiday experience we want to offer our customers. How can we serve consumers in an authentic way when we all have to make up for lost sales?
Here’s where collaboration comes in. By partnering with like-minded organizations, we can lift visibility, amplify our mission and temporarily double our workforce. For example, the clothing rental market has suffered during the pandemic. Rent the Runway has partnered with ThredUp to offer a collection of retired rental pieces, benefiting both organizations. My latest brand, Yes And, is partnering with the rental platform Wardrobe to stock up their offering with sustainable brands and for us to increase our reach. Another recent example of cocreating a new experience around Black Friday was an initiative by Fashion Revolution. Instead of marking down products to increase consumption,
These changes in behavior are not temporary. We are all in this moment together — no one is immune to its challenges. Show gratitude beyond your family, friends and coworkers — remember your farmers and workers abroad. It will take everyone, awakened and united in cocreation, to face 2021 and shape it into what we want for ourselves. We are one humanity on this planet, with a desire to thrive. That can only happen if we collectively pivot every action in the direction of that shared goal
Marci Zaroff coined the term “eco-fashion” and is an internationally recognized ecolifestyle expert, educator, innovator and serial eco-preneur.