Bleart Zeqiri

Purpose is a pillar that focuses on the ‘why’ of a business, and their ‘purpose’ in being of service to consumers. Because of this, businesses that focus on their purpose and getting it across to consumers, they will be successful in translating their relationship with customers into a profitable outcome. 

Companies that take control in their impacts on society can have a more personal relationship with their customers.“Corporate social responsibility refers to companies taking responsibility for their impact on society” (Londrigan, 2018). With this in mind, we can use real world examples such as Balenciaga and their collaboration with the World Food Programme,”Balenciaga partnered with the World Food Programme in 2018 in an endeavor to draw attention to a recent spike in global hunger and to support global efforts to end it by 2030.” (Balenciaga.com). This collaboration, as well as being for a good cause, improves Balenciaga’s brand image and can be very profitable. 

A brand’s mission statement can help those within the business understand the aims and values of the business. For example, Nike’s mission statement is “Our mission is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world” (comparably.com). As well as giving the consumer an understanding of what to expect from Nike, product-wise, it can also improve the motivation of employees in helping them understand what to focus on. 

Gen Z have a huge influence on businesses in the modern day being more socially aware. Gen Z are much more likely to support a business that is socially aware and is open with their customers. For example, when Volkswagen was exposed for many VW cars being sold in America having a “defeat device” that was being untruthful about their CO2 emissions. (BBC.com). Because of this they lost many loyal customers and cars were being returned, losing a lot of profits for the business. You can see this in Figure 2. 

Figure 1: Balenciaga collab with the World Food Programme

Figure 2: Graph showing the aftermath of the scandal

References:

• Londrigan, M.P., & Jenkins, J.M. (2018) “Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability.” Page 42
• Londrigan, M.P., & Jenkins, J.M. (2018) “Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability.” Page 43
• BBC.com
• comparably.com

Profit is a pillar that focuses on a brand’s ability to increase and maximize monetary gain through the means of providing a product or service, boosting the brand’s market share as a result of this. Profits can either be reinvested into the business, distributed amongst shareholders, or retained by the owner (Kenton, 2022). 

“Fashion is one of the world’s most important industries, driving a significant part of the global economy”, McKinsey (2016) states, and can be supported by statistics displayed by Statista (2022), stating the fashion industry grosses up to  $1.5 trillion USD and is predicted to increase to approximately $2 trillion by 2026. Online shopping is a huge catalyst for this, with an overall market value of 668 billion US dollars in 2021, and an expected value of 1.2 trillion USD by 2025 (Statista, 2022).

Gen Z has a large impact on social change, and the fashion industry is no different. With the second-hand apparel industry expected to grow to a value of 218 billion US dollars in 2026, due to increased demand from environmentally conscious younger consumers (Smith, 2022). We can see brands such as StockX and Goat being highly successful in the resale market due to this fact. Social media can also be seen as a tool brands can utilise to “communicate their social and environmental endeavours” (Peterson, 2015) in order to improve their brand image and in turn, increase profit. 

Creative directors bridged the gap between creativity and commerce. Former Creative Director of Off-White, Virgil Abloh, tapped into a “certain demographic’s sense of culture and credibility” (Ahmed, 2013) by using “artification” to elevate streetwear products. However, the growing accessibility to both fashion (De Souza Crook, 2018) and cultural and social capital has increasingly transformed people into artists, due to the blurring of ideas and knowledge (Crane, 2019).

Figure 1: Virgil Abloh on the Sneaker Freaker website

Figure 3: StockX logo

References:

• Kenton, W. (2022) Profit definition plus gross, operating, and net profit explained, Investopedia. 
• McKinsey (2019) The influence of ‘woke’ consumers of fashion
• McKinsey (2019) ‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its implications for companies 
• Statista (2022) Apparel – worldwide: Statista market forecast, Statista. Ströer Media.
• Statista (2022) Global fashion e-commerce market value 2025, Statista. Ströer Media. 
• Smith, P. (2022) Secondhand apparel market value worldwide 2021-2026, Statista. Ströer Media
• Peterson, D. (2015) “Social Media as a Tool for Social Change,” in Sustainable fashion what’s next?: A conversation about issues, practices and possibilities. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Inc, pp. 76-99. 
• Crane, D. (2019) “Fashion and artification in the French luxury fashion industry,” Cultural Sociology pp. 293–304. 
• Ahmed, A. (2013) Bridging the gap between art and business, The Guardian. Guardian Media Group
• SneakerFreaker.com
• StockX.com

People is a pillar that is significant in the implementation of sustainability in the fashion industry. People are creators as well as consumers. Due to the increase in focus on sustainability, people are now expected to be more socially responsible when producing and consuming clothing (Herthorn, J., & Ulasewicz, C. 2015).

Gen Z are one of the largest consumers globally, taking up to 40% of the market (McKinsey 2019.) Francis & Hoefer (2018) believe there are three factors that attract Gen Z consumers: accessibility of the product/service, individuality and consumers ability to express themselves, and lastly brands that are environmentally and ethically aware.

Social media has become a tool in promotion to attract Gen Z buyers. Gen Z are far bigger users of video app TikTok, for example: 50.3% use it versus 25.7% of millennials (Moran, G. (2022). Because of this, brands can promote their products on Tiktok and will have more of a reach to Gen Z consumers.

Diversity in promotion amongst brands has seen a large increase due to Gen Z’s focus on diversity when looking for a product. Savage X Fenty is a perfect example of this when looking at body inclusivity. They have been one of few brands to use plus sized male models in order to promote more realistic body’s. This skill of being more aware can be very beneficial as consumers, specifically Gen Z, will be more inclined to purchase from brands that support diversity, however it is important that brands focus on representation is done not only for profits.

References:

Hethorn, J., & Ulasewicz, C. (Eds.). (2015). Connecting with people on sustainable practices.

McKinsey (2019) The influence of ‘woke’ consumers of fashion

McKinsey (2019) ‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its implications for companies 

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

Planet is one of the vital pillars when taking into account the fashion industry and their hopes to improve their sustainability. Wolfgang Blau (2020) of Condé Nast believes that the fashion industry needs a shared language on how to improve sustainability and help the planet in the long run. The report based on the glossary being developed by Condé Nast, opens up about how we as an industry need to work together in order to improve the sustainability within the industry as the fashion industry is known the be one of the most wasteful in the world, for example, due to overproduction and the doubling of clothing production between 2000 – 2014 (Drapers,2022). With the knowledge of waste being a huge reason for CO2 emissions, there needs to be a change in order.
Circular fashion “ditches the linear “take-make-waste” model and instead asks the industry to close the loop on production, including responsible manufacturing, use, and end-of-life for every garment.”(Hill, 2022). This idea hopes to extend the life of clothing products in hopes to improve the environment/planet. In doing so, a full reconstruction of the fashion industry would need to take place in hopes to improve sustainability.
SDGs and their relevance and impact on the fashion industry is evident when considering the United Nations list of 17 goals for the world’s future up until 2030. For example, when focusing on the dying and garment production through chemical treatments, we see that it leaks into the rivers & seas which is a negative impact on the sea world, as well as the need for up 2700 liters of water needed to produce just one T-shirt can add stress to the world’s water supply.
References

Hill.M, 2022 https://goodonyou.eco/what-is-circular-fashion/

Drapers, 2022

Wolfgang Blau, Condè Nast, 2022 https://www.condenast.com/news/conde-nast-launches-sustainable-fashion-glossary

Nike is my favorite fashion brand because of their versatility and impact that they have had in the industry. Despite originally being predominantly a sports brand, Nike began to branch out as they began to grow; With the collaboration with Michael Jordan being a huge step forward for Nike into becoming one of the worlds most recognizable brands. This collaboration shifted the brand image of Nike as ”Jordan’s” became a staple in streetwear across the globe. As Nike began to grow and grow, many collaborations with designers and brands alike saw innovative ideas take place; With the late Virgil Abloh being a recurring collaborator with Nike with his brand Off-White. Nike’s ability to branch out and have many different expressions through their versatile styles is inspirational, and their impact on streetwear in the modern day is why they are my favorite fashion brand.