This year — as a pandemic put much on hold; and the US saw the most active
hurricane season on record, with 30 named hurricanes — the U.S. Cotton Trust
Protocol conducted research to understand the
sustainability conversation in the apparel industry.
Looking towards 2021, here are three trends we can expect from the apparel
industry, based on the research we conducted in 2020 — as we hopefully emerge
from the COVID-19
pandemic.
Shoppers want brands to meet their sustainability needs
Shoppers’ attitudes show a rising demand for sustainability in their fashion. 51
percent of respondents in a Trust Protocol/Economist Intelligence Unit
survey of top executives at brands and retailers found that customers were the
main driver of sustainability in fashion over other competition or environmental
activists.
Consumers have a real influence on how apparel companies do business, and the
companies are concerned. In our survey with Sourcing
Journal,
49 percent of brands and retailers felt that if they did not meet their
sustainability commitments, their customers may choose to take their business to
a competitor.
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These desires for sustainable goods will become stronger in the coming years. A
McKinsey
survey
found that 31 percent of Gen Z and 26 percent of Millennials were willing to pay
a premium for more environmentally friendly products; only 17 percent of Gen
Xers and 12 percent of Baby Boomers were willing to make the same choices.
In 2021, the oldest members of Gen Z will be turning 24. As the younger
generation’s buying power grows, their demand for sustainability is going to
grow with it. It’s going to be on brands and retailers to respond to a larger
portion of their customers willing to put the environment first when it comes to
how they spend their money. But the demand for environmental products isn’t
going to grow slowly over the coming years. After the events of 2020, Gen Z will
demand immediate
changes.
COVID-19 has strengthened demand for sustainable products
In our Sourcing Journal study, 54 percent of brand sustainability
professionals felt there has been more demand since the pandemic began.
Additionally, in another consumer
study
from McKinsey, 57 percent of shoppers agreed that they had made significant
changes to their lifestyles to lessen their environmental impact; and 64 percent
of shoppers have decreased their spending on clothing and footwear during the
pandemic.
With new stories of successful vaccine trials every day, the economy will begin
to recover in 2021 and customers will return to stores with these new attitudes
towards clothes shopping. This means that brands and retailers will have to
pivot quickly to more sustainable products.
Brands and retailers are changing practices throughout their supply chains
43 percent of Sourcing Journal respondents believe COVID-19 has made a
positive impact on their investments in sustainability. Sustainability is not
only a crucial strategic priority, but brands and retailers see it as something
that can fit reasonably into their business. Sixty percent of EIU survey
respondents also said implementing sustainability measures across the
organization was a main strategic objective, ranking only second to improving
the customer experience.
Seven out of 10 respondents to the EIU survey also agree that “fast, affordable
and sustainable fashion is achievable.” If it’s possible, it’s important to
determine what decisions brands and retailers are making to get to a more
sustainable fashion future. Going forward, brands and retailers are making
investments to better understand their global supply chains’ impact and
providing clear insights about their sustainability to their customers.
Three-quarters of the apparel sustainability professionals polled in the EIU
study agreed that global standards and certification are a good mechanism for
measuring and evidencing a brand’s level of sustainability to customers. And a
quarter of them said the availability of reliable data to help inform
decision-making will be key to improving sustainability over the next decade.
“While many brands and retailers are already working with a range of
sustainable cotton-sourcing
programs,
there is a growing need for environmental metrics at the farm level,” said
Tara Luckman, director of Flourish CSR and
advisor to the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. “Whether it’s water usage or
biodiversity, this data will be a valuable tool for brands as they look to
demonstrate the quantifiable impact of their sourcing decisions.”
The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, a new standard for more sustainably grown
cotton,
is designed to ensure a more sustainable fiber element of the global cotton
supply chain.
“There’s a focus on setting a standard and on reliable data. And we believe
that’s what the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol can bring to the supply chain,” said
Gary Adams, president and CEO of the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. “Our
objective with this new system is to help brands meet these new demands with
verifiable goals and measurement, and by driving continuous improvement in key
sustainability metrics. “
A combination of a unique credit accounting system and the Permanent Bale
Identification (PBI) system enables brands to have transparency throughout the
supply chain to finished product. Companies across the globe who join the Trust
Protocol have access to the Trust Protocol credit system to validate the
consumption of cotton and associated credit.
Through quantifiable and verifiable goals and measurement, the Trust Protocol
can drive continuous improvement in sustainable cotton production in six key
sustainability metrics: land use, soil carbon, water management,
soil loss, greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency. Brands
and retailers can use these data points to show progress against their committed
pledges and goals. Enrolling in the Trust Protocol can help brands and retailers
receive the data they need to ensure that the cotton fiber element of their
supply chain is sustainably grown.
The Trust Protocol gives evidence to the sustainability
credentials
that are proven via Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable
Agriculture, measured via the Field Calculator and verified with Control
Union Certifications, and is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development
Goals.
As we enter 2021, sustainability systems such as the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol
can help the global apparel industry continuously improve its sustainability
through better data and better understand the elements of its worldwide supply
chain, moving us all toward our goal of protecting the planet.
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U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol
Published Nov 30, 2020 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET