Our industry has long mirrored the retail clothing industry. When fashion trends change at the mall, our clients expect changes in promotional apparel to happen just as quickly. But these rapid changes in consumer preference, or in retail industry lingo, “Fast Fashion,” not only create an enormous amount of waste, they come at great cost.
A recent podcast from Boston’s NPR affiliate, WBUR, introduced a non-profit focused on turning the tide of Fast Fashion waste. Out of the tragic Rana Plaza factory collapse that killed over 1,100 workers in Bangladesh six years ago, Fashion Revolution has become the world’s largest organization in fashion activism. Rana Plaza was a building that contained multiple clothing manufacturers, the top floors of which were built without a building permit. Brands manufactured there included Benetton, The Children’s Place, Joe Fresh, Monsoon, Primark, Walmart, and others. The building collapse, the injuries suffered, and the lives lost as a result brought the risks of fast fashion for the sole purpose of profit to headlines around the world.
Every year Fashion Revolution publishes the Fashion Transparency Index, a review of 200 of the biggest global fashion brands and retailers ranked according to how much they disclose about their social and environmental policies, practices, and impact. As you look ahead to your next season and sourcing wearables, you might want to take a quick look to see if the brands you are considering working with score well in the index. “Over the last year, 3.5 million people engaged with Fashion Revolution’s efforts to show consumers ethical ways to fill their wardrobes and hold the world's major fashion brands accountable for the role the industry has played in accelerating climate change,” Carry Somers, founder and global operations director for Fashion Revolution, told WBUR.
Fashion Revolution hosts events around the world to pressure brands and retailers to ensure their supply chain is clear from human rights abuses and environmental degradation. Choosing brands that are the most transparent with supply chain information can allow you to give your clients similar assurances. “We know that the further down the supply chain, the more we're likely to see environmental abuses. We know that of the human rights abuses like modern slavery and forced labor,” said Somers. “Exploitation thrives in hidden places.”
You can share the environmental costs with your clients interested in responsible sourcing to help guide their selections. 60 percent of synthetic fabrics are made of fossil fuels and 85 percent of that material will end up in landfills. Those synthetics won't decay or decompose. Is your client big on polyester for warm weather promotions? Remind them that polyester is made from fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases and, when washed, shed microfibers that add to plastic pollution already in the ocean.
We’ve talked about this before, but you should mention it to help build your case for more responsible sourcing—10.5 million tons of clothes are sent to a landfill each year in North America. Unwanted or unsold clothing that’s sent to thrift stores or charity shops instead often end up in Africa or Central America and disrupts the local textile and tailoring economies there.
But if you can convince your client to stop buying polyester, what does Fashion Revolution suggest as an alternative? “There are fantastic ways to get new clothes without buying new,” Somers says. “We can hire. We can rent. We can swap. Or we can invest in clothes which are made by artisans, which have taken time and skill to produce. What we need to do is to care for our clothes. We need to make them last longer,” she says. “Even extending the life of our garments by an extra nine months of active use would reduce the carbon, water and waste footprint by around 20 percent to 30 percent each.” That sounds like a challenge your more discerning clients just might be up to.
Switching gears, are you interested in developing more golf course clients? The idea of responsible sourcing might resonate with them as you are prospecting in the off-season. Two of my favorite courses in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, offer an interesting case story you might share. Caledonia Golf and Fish Club and True Blue Golf Club have undertaken a major initiative to promote their social responsibility. There is significant competition in the golf industry, with courses having to try and grow the game while growing their business at the same time. True Blue and Caledonia use social media to promote both events and amenities. The two on-site restaurants are the only golf course restaurants in South Carolina certified as ocean-friendly by the Surf Riders Foundation, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches. The courses have “gone green,” and their efforts on that front include eliminating Styrofoam, plastic bags and plastic straws, installing special LED lighting that is extremely energy efficient, and greatly reducing the use of plastic products. PGA Pro Bob Seganti says they have provided recycling containers throughout the properties, while providing team members with reusable containers they can use to stay hydrated with free water, coffee, tea, or soft drinks during their shift. “We were honored to attain our ocean-friendly initiative certification in October of 2018, just about six weeks after initiating steps to rid our clubs of these wasteful products and energy-expending lighting. Being able to tout this recognition has provided additional themes and topics to highlight on social media. With over 60,000 followers on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, our message goes beyond just golf and the great experience golfers enjoy every day playing our courses. Because of our green initiative, we are able to stand out among our competition and shine a spotlight on our social responsibility.” The laundry list of golf promotional items needing a source sounds like a great opportunity. Maybe an opportunity you could duplicate for your clients and prospects interested in positioning their course as the greenest in the market.
Here's hoping your 2020 gets off to a great start, and your (responsibly sourced) sales set new records!
Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for 40 years, working in commercial television, Hollywood film and home video, publishing, and promotional brand merchandise. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He retired as executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant promotional products. Before that, he was director of brand merchandise for Michelin. You can find him volunteering as a Guardian ad Litem, traveling the world with his lovely wife, or enjoying a cigar at his favorite local cigar shop. Connect with Jeff on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram, or reach out to him at jacobs.jeffreyp@gmail.com.