The Importance of Educating Consumers About
Garment Care
by Natalia
Salinas
Stella
McCartney is well known for conducting a business where her deeply held values
are the heart of the firm. She is not just another high-end brand where the
colors and silhouettes are what makes her brand so recognized. These core
values shape the brand’s mission and business model, making Stella McCartney a
company everyone should aspire to be like. Stella brings awareness to a very
important problem: environmental impact. Her brand is based on 6 sustainable
commitments, which are: build sustainable supply chains, to eliminate animal
products, to reduce toxic chemical use, to preserve and protect water, minimize
greenhouse gas emissions, and educate consumers about garment care.
Sustainable
Commitment number six, talks about how we should educate consumers about
garment care. The way consumers clean and care for garments can have a large
impact on water and energy use. Also, brands should be making products that
last, so that people should be able to use them for a lifetime. There is a huge
problem right now with quality and durability. Fast-fashion retailers over
produce low-quality garments to offer very affordable products. Even though
buying a $25 t-shirt sounds very appealing, you will probably throw it away
after a couple of washes because it was not made to last for more than a
season. This commitment will reverse this problem by cutting back the amount of
post-consumer waste that ends up in landfill, and result in us having products
that will last a long time.
Brand
story-telling, transparency and campaigns is an excellent way for brands to
commit to this sustainable commitment of educating their customers and creating
great quality products. A company that has been educating consumers about steps
they can take to minimize waste, is Levi Strauss Co. They are well known for
their long-lasting denim, and launched a campaign to inform customers how to
care for their jeans so they have a longer life. Patagonia is another company
that encouraged customers not to purchase more than necessary over the holiday
season with its “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign.
.
According
to an article of the Business of Fashion, Stella said, “There’s no way that a
consumer is not being more informed on that level every day and I don’t think
that designers can [be sure] that women are going to keep buying the same old
shit. The next generation are not going to have it. I don’t think they will.” Education
is certainly key if we want to make a change, and with consumers demanding
long-lasting and sustainable products, brands will not have another choice but
to jump on board.
Resources:
Imran, A.
(2015). Business of Fashion. Stella McCartney: Change Agent. Retrieved from https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/voices/discussions/can-fashion-industry-become-sustainable/stella-mccartney-change-agent
Kaye, L. (2013).
The Guardian. Sustainable consumption: why brands should take the lead.
Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-consumption-brands-take-lead
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