Purpose

Purpose is one of the 4 pillars of fashion business, and it explores the reasoning as to why a brand does something, and what it does beyond generating profit. 

Although probability a key aim for a brand, it is also important for them to align the ethical values. Social corporate responsibility is looked at when exploring a brands purpose, as it describes a brands commitment to practising business in an ethical way, by taking responsibility and account for their social, economic, environmental impacts, while considering human rights (The Human Rights Act 1998).

Brand philosophy explores a brands mission, vision, and values, which affects the way a brand carries out business and makes decisions. Nudie Jeans clearly shows their mission, values, and vision of wanting to become the most sustainable denim brand in the world. They have created the concept of a sustainable denim brand, this is done by using dry denim which is made will 100% organic cotton and using no extra treatment or washes, this is to reduced water waste in the dying process of the jeans. Nudie Jeans 2020 sustainability report states that 98.6% of their products produced were sustainable, this considers products which are made up of at least 70% sustainable fibres. Nudie Jeans also have free repairs for life policy which aims to reduce waste, they claim “Every pair of Nudie jeans, no matter where you buy them, comes with a promise of free repairs.”

In order to attract Gen Z, brands need to achieve their goals to fulfil their purpose. One way which they can communicate their purpose with Gen Z is by focusing on ethical issues that Gen Z are particularly interested in such as sustainability and diversity. Sustainability is a key aspect for Gen Z as 90% of Generation Z have made changed to move towards a more sustainable future (Wightman-Stone, 2022), this suggests that a brand should propose itself in a sustainable way to communicate with Gen Z, this may be achieved via social media platforms.

References:

Moir, L., 2001. What do we mean by corporate social responsibility?. Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, 1(2), pp.16-22.

Fredman, S., 2015. Foreign fads or fashions? The role of comparativism in human rights law. International & Comparative Law Quarterly, 64(3), pp.631-660.

Moran, G. (2022) Drapers, Gen Z and Millennials 2022

Wightman-Stone, D. (2022) Gen Z consumer inspired by sustainability and self-expression, FashionUnited. FashionUnited.

Nudie jeans:

Schäfer, L., 2020. Sustainable Communication: Fashion Consumers’ Reception and Interaction: The Case of Nudie Jeans.

Ahlberg, E. and Wilandh, A., 2012. Nudie Jeans co-How do companies integrate sustainability in the form of recycling into their business strategy?.

Jeans, N., 2020. Sustainability report.