Kun Qian

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Purpose

Purpose

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As metioned before there are four pillars in the sustainable study of fashion, the ‘PURPOSE’ which is the last pillar will be illustrated in this blog.

When talking about purpose, it is inevitable to talk about strategy. Strategy is a plan a journey with purpose which is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. Johnson et al (2011) .

Nowadays, for most of the brands they have their own purpose, take Asos as an example, their purpose is to become your undefined self and don’t care about other people’s opinions, have the freedom to explore and express yourself without judgement. 

As we all known, Gen Z is the largest consumer group at present. So when a brand needs to survive in this huge and complex market, they must convey their brand purpose to young people. Therefore, new media or social media used by most young people, such as tiktok and instragram, have become a way for many brands to communicate their purpose the Gen Z. What’s more, brands collabration with some trendy brands or collabration with celebrities popular among young people. Let’s take Nike as an example, advancing a democratic approach to concerns of sustainability, Billie Eilish’s on-going collaboration with Nike enters a new chapter with the Nike x Billie Eilish AF1 Low. The shoe, pieced with leftover material waste from the prior AF1 High, brings aesthetic and narrative together. Billie Eilish herself is a Gen Z singer and which is popular among Gen Z, in other words, Billie is a representation of the present Gen Z. In addition the shoe is made by sustainable material which perfectly spread Nikes future purpose. So this collabration behavior caters well to the tastes of young people and also conveys Nike’s brand purpose.

To make a conclusion, a brand needs to survive in the existing market. Whether it is to compete with competitors or attract consumers, it must have a clear, advanced, and reasonable purpose.                                                               

Reference list:https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-x-billie-eilish-af1-low.                          (https://www.asosplc.com/this-is-asos/our-purpose-and-values) 

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PROFIT BLOG

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This blog will demonstrate profit, which is among the four pillars of sustainable research: planet, people, profit, and purpose.

The fashion industry will be analyzed first. The revenue of the global apparel market has increased steadily from 2015 to 2019, possibly due to the impact of the epidemic, which has experienced negative growth in 2020 and 2022 respectively.  The global revenue in the apparel market was forecast to continuously increase between 2023 and 2027 by in total 0.2 trillion U.S. dollars (+11.49 percent). After the fifth consecutive increasing year, the indicator is estimated to reach 1.94 trillion U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2027.(https://www-statista-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/forecasts/821415/value-of-the-global-apparel-market#statisticContainer)

The specific situation of each sector in the industry is different.The total revenue of the global sports apparel market 2023-2030 published by P.Smith says ‘The global sports apparel market was estimated to generate around 213 billion U.S. dollars in revenue in 2023. Revenues are forecast to increase and reach around 294 billion U.S. dollars in 2030.’

(https://www-statista-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/statistics/254489/total-revenue-of-the-global-sports-apparel-market/)

In addition, the value of the fast fashion market worldwide was estimated to be worth over 106 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. This was forecast to rise considerably in the following years. In 2027, the global market value of fast fashion was forecast to reach a value of approximately 185 billion U.S.dollars.(https://www-statista-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/statistics/1008241/fast-fashion-market-value-forecast-worldwide/) But it is impossible for everything to go smoothly. The revenue of some luxury brands has suffered a serious decline after the epidemic.

‘These companies have already started to invest in technology and digitalization. They’ve invested in sustainability; they’ve invested in talent—all the things that you would want to invest in. They also have a more balanced, more global business. So they will likely get better through

the months ahead.'(Berg 2022)

It can be seen that when most brands are going through periods of economic uncertainty, most of what they do is to expand their communication, such as adding advertisements to social media, creating their brand’s social accounts, etc. to attract consumers’ attention and make itself more competitive. As discussed before, the Gen Z is the main consumer group today, and they are also the ones who use electronic devices and social media the most. So doing this will definitely make it more competitive among its peers.

So nowadays many creative directors of brands need to find a balance between creativity and commerce. There are many excellent artists and designers today, but it is difficult for the commerce to find a market for designs that are too exaggerated, flamboyant or have a strong personal touch.

To make a conclusion, it is not easy for a brand to survive and profit in today’s rapidly changing market and also maintain sustainable development, with no doubt ,the pillar PROFIT is indispensable in the four pillars.

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PEOPLE

PEOPLE

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There are four pillars in the sustainable study which is People, profit, purpose and planet. It’s undeniable that the pillar PEOPLE is an integral part of sustainability of fashion.

Take ourselves as an example the GEN Z group accounting for a large proportion of nowadays consumer group. Gen Z is currently the second-youngest generation, with millennials before and Generation Alpha after. Like every generation, Gen Z’s behaviors are shaped by how they grew up. Young people today have come of age in the shadow of climate doom, pandemic lockdowns, and fears of economic collapse. The first Gen Zers were born when the internet had just achieved widespread use. They’re called “digital natives”—the first generation to grow up with the internet as a part of daily life. (The A to Z on gen Z (2023) McKinsey & Company.)When Gen Z grow up and have purchasing power, their purchasing decisions will often be influenced by the Internet or social media. Today’s young people’s purchasing consumption is often very different from that of the older generation. They may pay more attention to the appearance of things. This does not mean that they are flashy, but that they pay more attention to their own image like the abbreviation called OOTD and the first impression the leave to others.

Gen Z’s tastes are becoming more and more picky. They not only have high pursuit of the quality of goods, but also have certain requirements for its functions and appearance. So now major brands are doing their best to cater to the tastes of young people and capture their eyeballs and wallets. For example, Nike’s basketball series will be co-branded with some basketball superstars. This is actually using the celebrity effect to attract consumers. Or some big brands will sponsor celebrities’ outfits. When consumers see celebrities’ outfits on social medias, they will follow suit and buy. This can also achieve the goal.

In the Z Generation, Diversity is also a standard for the young to make a choice. Diversity today includes but is not limited to the richness of a brand’s offerings. For example: Generational Diversity, Race and Ethnicity Diversity, Gender and Sexual Orientation Diversity Sexual Appearance Diversity and so on.(Chan, B (2020). All Types of Diversity with Examples. Available at: https://diversity.social/workplace-diversity-types/)For example, UNIQLO has products for various genders and sizes, and like many brands, UNIQLO also attaches great importance to sustainable development and implements it into its products. Isn’t this a manifestation of diversity?

There are many successful brand cases on the market today. The most basic element of a successful brand is the product itself. Such as product design, product price and product quality. The most basic things that often catch consumers’ attention and make them pay are these three points. At the same time, the Gen Z is one of the largest consumer groups today. Some celebrity effects, brand co-branding, and targeted marketing are essential.

Generally speaking, the Gen Z is ushering in a new era. The oldest Gen Z group may be graduate students or already working, and the youngest is already in junior high school. They are people who live at the intersection of the new era and the old era with more advanced ideas, which shows the word PEOPLE is one of the most important pillars in the sustainable study.

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PLANET

PLANET

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QIAN KUN

Nowadays,as there are more and more people concerned about the environment, the surrounding, the ecology. The sustainability has been a trending word, and also in the fashion industry. In addition, the 3-Ps: people planet and profit, are the pillars of the sustainable development, which is also a way for industries to report on the total cost of their business.

To be as sustainable as we can, a circular economy is inevitable. There are two basic cycles of the circular economy, the technical cycle and the biological cycle. The technical cycle is basically anything doesn’t by degrade it might be metals, rare-earth metals, and according to the video of circular economy in the moodle, in the technical cycle there is priority from repairing, recycling, and re-manufacture. About the biological cycle, that’s a side of circular economy that would biodegrade. For example food and wood. The conception of regeneration and collection have been mentioned. So in general, a circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible, which will protect our planet in some extend.

There are undoubtedly huge sustainability issues in the fashion industry.For instance, it takes as much water to make one short-sleeved T-shirt as a person drinks in three years. It’s conceivable that there a tons of water and gas have been exhausted each year. But now more and more brands have taken actions towards sustainable development. In addition to some big brands such as H&M, Uniqlo, and Primark, there are also more and more small brands that are making contributions to sustainable development. There is a Chinese small brand called “solif” which produce sustainable hand bag. ( THE MATERIAL USED BY SOLIF IS WATER-WASHED PAPER, WHICH HAS GOOD WATER QUALITY, IS EASY TO DEGRADE, HAS NO POLLUTION, AND CAN BE RECYCLED. OUR USE OF THIS MATERIAL TO MAKE PRODUCTS IS A GREEN EXPRESSION OF SOLIF’S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. )This is a sentence on the brand’s official website, although this is a Chinese brand, many European and American celebrities are also buying their products, which shows that products with the concept of sustainable development are very trendy nowadays.

In order to promote and develop the concept of sustainability, the United Nations launched seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, referred to as SDGs. Among them, I think the twelfth point is closely related to the fashion industry, which is the responsible consumption and production, as consumer, buying what we really need or second-hand clothes is also a good choice, a tinny action can also influence a lot. As long as everyone fulfills their own SDGs, it will be more sustainable to the whole industry.

To make a conclusion, it is well known that our earth is being seriously damaged and polluted. Finding a balance between the fashion industry and sustainable development is what we need to focus on.

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My favourite brand

My favourite brand

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Li-Ning (a chinese sports brand)

That’s a chinese sports brand which is created by Mr Lining in China 1990. He founded the company in 1990 with the simple goal of providing Chinese athletes a national brand to wear on the world stage of the Olympics— historically one of the West’s rare portals into authentic Chinese culture. This modest intention has, 30 years later, led to the rise of a global sport pioneer.

However the company is small and doesn’t work well at first . It suffers a lot and almost shut down. But he is now one of the most popular sports draw cards for young people in mainland China.

Since we are consumers ourselves, the choices of my friends around us are the best example.Taking basketball shoes as an example, in the past, we would never hesitate to choose Nike or Adidas, but now Li Ning’s products will be the choice of the vast majority of people. However, compared to international brands such as Nike, Li Ning’s price is not very cheap, but due to the wonderful design, good quality, cool appearance, and of course, great marketing works, it will make young people give up big brands like Nike and add Li Ning to their shopping basket. For me personally, the series called ’Way of Wade’ it’s my favourite one. This is a series co created with NBA star Wade, which combines fashion, brand, quality, and practicality

Last but not least, Li Ning has also developed his high-end trendy brand to increase his diversity and expand the market.

Overall, Li Ning is an excellent Chinese brand, and I really like it, but it still lacks a certain level of international recognition, and I hope one day I can help Chinese brands like Li Ning open up international markets.

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