Fashion marketing and environmental responsibility can coexist. These concepts should not be seen as mortal enemies playing a zero-sum game. Marketing should be viewed as a tool that can be effectively used to meet the goals of both concepts. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s focus on the challenge at hand.
Fashion’s Environmental Impact
The fashion industry, fast fashion in particular, has wandered into the environmental crosshairs. The reason? We are consuming 400% more clothes than we did 20 years ago. At this pace, by 2050 the fashion industry will be responsible for 25% of the planet’s carbon emissions. All that ugly, man-made debris you see littering our shorelines? 85% of it is from microfibers (a go-to fabric for many apparel manufactures). Landfills are filling up with non-biodegradable apparel. Fashion is creating an environmental disaster.
Fortunately, the fashion industry is not ignoring the problem. Some of the largest fast fashion houses such as H&M and Uniqio are releasing organic collections and even promoting recycling. Image has done a piece on Irish apparel companies committed to sustainable clothing and The Good Trade has also published a list of ethical fashion brands. Other companies are encouraging their customers to turn in their old products.
Even government bodies and academia are joining the battle. The City of New York has recently launched a campaign to decrease the amount of clothes in its landfills. A group of academics has formed the Union of Concerned Researchers in Fashion (UCRF). Britain is considering a fashion tax. Meanwhile, consumer groups are attempting to give buyers the information necessary to make environmentally-informed clothing purchases.
These are all good things. However, in my previous blog I noted how research and actual sustainable marketing campaign results indicate that the situation may not be as good as it appears to be – or could be. Because of this, we need to do more to sustain the sustainable fashion movement. I believe marketing plays a key role in insuring that this movement not only survives but thrives (apologies for the cliché).
How To Use Direct Response Marketing
In this blog, I’ll discuss ways to use direct response marketing to effectively promote sustainability. Future blogs will address other forms of marketing.
To understand how to effectively use direct response marketing we must turn to the fundamental rules of selling. Every good marketer should know what they are:
1. People don’t like the idea of being sold
2. People buy things for emotional, not rational, reasons
3. Once sold, people need to justify their emotional decision with logic
People do not like the idea of being sold
Studies by the Journal of Consumer Research and by LIM College offer some insight into why marketing campaigns focused on sustainability have been unsuccessful. Consumers conveniently forget ethical information when making purchases, and millennials purchase clothing based on price and convenience, not sustainability.
However, I believe there is another significant contributing factor – the way these campaigns violate the first fundamental rule of selling. Because people don’t like to be sold, overt and direct attempts at selling them sustainability will ultimately fail.
My recommendation? Don’t fight consumer psychology. Go easy on the direct approach. Use the other two sales rules to market sustainability.
People buy things for emotional, not rational, reasons
Successful marketing messages have strong emotional content. Why not weave sustainability into those messages? The obvious fashion emotion is vanity but also include pride, whimsey, insecurity, belonging, and yes, even lust.
Weaving sustainability into the core buying emotions is challenging but has a high payoff if done correctly. You’re reaching the consumer at the moment they make their purchase and you can have a direct impact on their decision. This approach also lends itself to analytics which means you can measure the campaign’s effectiveness and accurately evaluate ROI.
A successful example of combining emotions and environmental awareness can be seen in the automotive industry, specifically electric cars. Before Tesla, electric cars were, well, ugly. Few people wanted to buy an ugly car even if it was friendly to the environment. Then Tesla brought excitement to the market with a beautifully designed electric vehicle. They combined the emotional appeal of a good looking automobile with eco-friendliness, effectively appealing to the consumer’s pride and vanity – pride in owning a beautiful and environmentally friendly car, yet vane enough enjoy a status symbol that accelerated faster than a Porsche. While this isn’t an exact example of using direct response marketing, it is a good example of combining core buying emotions and environmental responsibility.
Once sold, people need to justify their emotional decision with logic
A more straightforward way to include sustainability in the sales process is via the third rule. Include sustainability in the logical justification customers need to feel good about their purchase. One way to do this is in product descriptions.
This approach is perhaps less impactful. At this point in the sales process the purchase decision has already been made. Sustainability becomes a member of the supporting cast instead of the star. But it can play a key role in establishing a brand’s environmental identity.
It Won’t Be Easy
It is my belief that sustaining the sustainable fashion movement will be harder than many people think. It’s a noble cause but human psychology is working against it. Lasting success can only be achieved when sustainability becomes a seamless part of the sales process, not something treated as a stand-alone entity. This will require creativity and perseverance. It’s not going to be easy but I think our planet is worth the effort.
© 2019 David Biagini All rights reserved
