The arrival of EU regulations and the push of brands toward an ethical and transparent system with respect to the consumer, beyond the Woolmark Company initiative
The study of consumer confusion on products description by YouGov
Just as the focus on sustainability of garments and materials has increased, fictitious initiatives by brands have also become constant. Some of the harm produced and consequently passed on to the consumer is borne by communication. From ostensibly green design choices to ad-hoc created corners to label claims of recycled and sustainable materials, but that’s not all. A recent, independent study by YouGov shows that even the terms used can influence consumers when choosing a garment.
Terms such as silky, mesh, and fleece are confusing with respect to the composition of clothing and the possible presence of natural fibers, which are often imitated by synthetics. «Seventy-seven percent of people believe that clothing brands and retailers should clearly state the composition of fabrics. However, this vital information is often hidden, misrepresented or not disclosed», the study reports. While sixty percent of respondents would be facilitated in making informed choices if apparel suppliers highlighted the raw materials and fabrics used, it continues.
Filter by fabric: towards transparency
It becomes necessary for companies to be willing to clearly and not fictitious or deceptive to expose their work on garments, with particular attention to the products description. The warning comes from Filter by fabric, an initiative of Woolmark Company, which aims to engage fashion industry stakeholders from manufacturing to communication, in-house, journalism and content creators. Ethics and aesthetics: not only based on what one sees or perceives, the choice must be dictated by the fabric, in order to prefer, for example, natural fibers or sustainable raw materials.
The need is to disclose the composition of fabrics in a correct way, including highlighting the derivation from fossil fuels. «Educating customers is critical so that they understand the value of the information on garment labels, similar to the way they interpret nutrition labels on food or energy ratings on household appliances», points out John Roberts, Managing Director of The Woolmark Company. The steps that will involve companies embracing the project start from free practical help in responsible product development through a concrete action plan involving style offices.
Clear statements in the products description: Filter by fabric aim
The disproportionate use of synthetics in the apparel industry has led to an adjustment in companies. Among the things that consumers might pay attention to is this, also a direct result of the dispersion of microplastics to cite part of the damage of the petroleum derived fibers. The work the industry is focusing on is research into new sustainable raw materials. But in reality, the ability to understand the type of fabric one is going to buy is limited, explains Francesco Magri, Regional Manager E&C Europe of Woolmark Company.
Terms such as cotton or technical wool, are used in an inappropriate way referring to materials that would be correct in terms of responsibility and sustainability to sell something that instead deviates from these values, highlights the manager. These brand behaviors have over time been normalized and absorbed by consumers, who have consequently set their buying processes and tastes to these standards. Ethics and aesthetics: where should be the starting point for generating and maintaining comprehensive change? For this reason, in addition to consumers, the Filter by fabric project gets companies in direct involvement, as they cannot use misleading terms that do not tell in concrete terms about the ingredients through product descriptions.
Natural resources: a trend leading to greenwashing
That of natural resources rather than a quest toward an ethical and sustainable fashion model has become a trend. The purpose of trends is to sell, and those who try to refer to strategies in this sense often do not practice what they declare. In these cases, communication also becomes very aggressive on the part of brands in all price ranges that want to make themselves part of the wave of popularity of a certain issue. With sustainability as well as support for the LGBTQIA+ community and more.
The use of misleading terminologies with respect to raw materials is not the only strategy implemented, showcases declaring eco-sustainability and products designed for single collections or drops are also added. It’s pure greenwashing, those who don’t have a sustainable product are trying to hide it and natural resources are trendy today and profit is first for companies, Magri says. He then continues, «fast fashion has realized that it is being punished for misrepresentation and is trying to differentiate itself by raising the quality of the product to distance itself from what is cheap fashion, there is a greater demand for natural fibers, I’m talking about wool in particular, from the big fast fashion companies currently».
Filter by fabric: the responsibility of communicators
While Filter by fabric’s appeal is aimed at consumers to promote real change through grassroots solicitation against the fashion industry, communicators are also being targeted. Enabling customers to filter by fabric is indeed the responsibility of brands, which through communication, also understood as labels, must publicize the products description highlighting natural resources as well as synthetic ones. More information in consumer choices is essential to achieving responsible business practices, both by gaining more consumer trust and by being part of reducing the fashion industry’s environmental impact.
On the brand side, a research conducted by the Woolmark Company found that these initiatives that denote transparent engagement give back a consistent return in financial terms. Content creators as well as journalists are also involved in the call, and Magri explains, «if no one highlights to the consumer the difference between fibers, inviting them to choose natural resources, telling and educating them about this type of consumption». Newspapers are also for-profit businesses, the manager continues, but there can be ethics with respect to the topics covered and editorial lines that go to the exclusion of funding certain unresponsible brands.
Labels and traceability: allies of products description?
There are two complementary elements when talking about products description according to the manager but working on two different levels: labels are a truthful description with respect to product description and sometimes raw materials, and this is something that should already be correct and established. Magri then continues: traceability is not easy to implement in the fashion industry because of the amount of steps, the relevant thing is instead to go to work on every single section of the supply chain to make it sustainable and know it so thoroughly, without the need to trace it after the fact.
“Giving space to those in the supply chain who already have a responsible attitude is the winning strategy, from farms that implement regenerative agriculture, for example, to those in the supply chain that aim to reduce carbon dioxide,” Magri continues. Sustainability reports, the manager exposes, are also useful elements not only to make explicit the transparency of brands, but also to receive funding and be able to expand their business. In addition to suppliers, the brand must also promote the choice of ethical realities, from raw materials to packaging, in which Magri concludes, the certification sector can help.
Textile impact: where to in fashion policies
In the fashion industry several players think that rules are impositions to the advantage or disadvantage of different players, in reality policies are necessary for transparency in products description and beyond, highlights Magri. «Each of the big brands, from sports to fast fashion, still aims to maintain their current status, condemning those transparency rules that would undermine their business or force them to a total overhaul on their plan of action», the manager explains. Currently in Europe among the regulations being discussed the European Commission has proposed the Product Environmental Footprint and Organization Environmental Footprint methods as a common way of measuring environmental performance.
Among the main rules proposed is control over the release of microplastics. Magri points out and continues, these were later changed in the proposal to microfibers, «but they can be either natural and coexist with the environment when dispersed, not polluting it, or synthetic and become extremely harmful». It is complex to establish rules, scientific research is a basis to propose to European commissions, and Woolmark is working in Brussels, along with other players and consultants, to promote texts that are ironclad and leave no room for different interpretations.
The Woolmark Company
The Woolmark Company is a subsidiary of Australian Wool Innovation, a nonprofit corporation that conducts research, development and marketing along the global supply chain for Australian wool on behalf of some 60,000 wool producers who help fund the company.
