The Awakening Of Consumer Awareness: Many Clothing Brands Are Calling For Sustainable Development.

Over the past 20 years, China's role in the global fashion industry has gradually changed from productivity to consumption.

In recent years, sustainable fashion has become a global fashion.

One of the main trends that can not be ignored.

This concept originated from the introduction and prevalence of "sustainable development" in the discussion of global economic problems, and was introduced into the fashion discourse system, which began to arouse people's discussion on the future development of high energy consumption and labor intensive industries.

With the awakening of global consumer awareness, more and more brands are beginning to conform to this trend. Luxury brand Gucci parent company opened the 2025 plan with sustainable development as its foothold. The world's largest luxury brand Louis Vuitton parent LVMH is carrying out sustainable development research with the central Saint Martin and other institutions, and has signed relevant commitments agreement in the group's energy conservation and emission reduction. The fast fashion brand represented by H&M began to participate in the practice of sustainable fashion through recycling old clothes and publishing environmental protection series.

Over the past 20 years, China's role in the global fashion industry has gradually changed from productivity to consumption.

At first, China moved the clothing manufacturing industry to the southeast coast with cheap labor force and low cost. After the demographic dividend period, China shifted from a large garment manufacturing country to a key consumer market.

At present, Chinese consumers account for 1/3 of the global luxury market sales. With the development of China's economy, Chinese consumers consume nearly 46% of the world's luxury goods, of which overseas consumption dominates, accounting for about 77%.

The mainstream view of the Chinese market is that the Chinese clothing market is still in the period of consumerism, and consumers' consumption desire is strong, but the consumption consciousness is not mature enough.

Since sustainable fashion is considered to be a reflection of "anti consumerism" to a certain extent, it is still too early to promote sustainable fashion.

Not only that, from the perspective of production, many domestic clothing brands are still in the extensive operation stage, and the requirements for sustainable development are beyond their capabilities.

In the Chinese market, it may be the brand, not the consumer, who is not ready for sustainable fashion.

The 2018 Copenhagen fashion summit, which just closed in May 16th, seems to indicate some changes for China.

(Copenhagen fashion summit Copenhagen Fashion Summit is known as the "fashion Davos forum". It mainly invited the global fashion industry's major decision-makers and opinion leaders to focus on fashion related environmental, social and moral issues. Since 2009, it has called for more and more brand concerns.

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The three major apparel groups in China, Yida, Ordos and Jiangnan cloth, represent the first time that domestic clothing brands have reached the sustainable fashion international discussion platform, which means to some extent that domestic clothing brands have sprouted consciousness and made preliminary practice in sustainable fashion.

These three domestic apparel groups represent three different types of clothing brand operation models in the Chinese market respectively.

Yida group: as one of the largest manufacturer of high-grade cotton shirts in China, it has factories in China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Mauritius and Sri Lanka to supply shirts for high-end brands such as Hugo Boss and Tommy Hilfiger. It also owns PYE and ten, such as Shi and so on, which has its own brand, and its business range extends from cotton cultivation to spinning, weaving, dyeing, finishing, garment making, exporting and retailing of the whole industrial chain. It is a typical representative of the current supply chain situation of China's apparel industry.

The sustainable fashion practice of Yida group is basically consistent with the main expectations of the international world for large manufacturers. Although it is less affected by the Chinese market, the important aspect of labor rights is placed in a more prominent position in the current Chinese society's understanding of sustainable fashion.

Outside the production line, the new brand ten of Yida group, such as Shi, focuses on making white shirts with different individual sizes, which is the classic style of anti blind trend and over consumption.

Ordos group, known as the 30 year history of China's cashmere brand, Erdos is also a traditional cashmere vertical industrial chain group from the grassland, sheep, and wool, and finally to the garment industry. Currently, it has 4 brands for different customer segments, ERDOS, Ordos 1980, 1436 and BLUE ERDOS.

Erdos hopes to optimize the vertical supply chain, strengthen product tracking and forecasting, and control inventory more accurately, so as to reduce resource idle and waste.

Beyond the commercial dimension, Erdos, as the national brand of the flagship quality, is also trying to enhance the sustainability of products by emphasizing product durability and emotional value, such as providing product recovery and repair services in stores.

Jiangnan Buyi group: founded in Hangzhou in 1997, it mainly has 5 clothing brands, including women's wear JNBY, men's wear CROQUIS sketches, children's wear JNBY by JNBY and Pomme de Terre Peng Ma, and high-end women's wear less. The group will extend its tentacles to the home domain, and has created JNBY HOME and paradox two home brands.

It is reported that Jiangnan cloth June 19th announced the launch of a new fashion environmental protection brand REVERB, Circular fashion as the brand philosophy, uphold the "Athleisure, no gender, regeneration and smart" design concept.

In line with the group's multi brand expansion strategy, and through the combination of brand and category diversification, expand business horizontally.

There is a view that the launch of REVERB brand in Jiangnan Buyi is a practice of sustainable fashion, and represents the demand for a new batch of domestic commercial brands.

And the choice of REVERB in Southern Yangtze River has its own consideration.

Robby Gu, vice president of investment and innovation at Jiangnan Buyi group, said at the Copenhagen fashion summit that Jiangnan cloth's emphasis on sustainable fashion is not just a moral requirement, but a business need.

On the other hand, Jiangnan Buyi's interpretation of sustainable fashion is to return products, that is, to make products more unique and attractive.

The higher price of environmental protection fabric is different from other products in quality, and also guarantees the uniqueness of the brand.

In addition to the above three brands, MO&Co.'s parent company EPO group's Edition in the latest series puts forward the exploration of sustainable fashion.

This series refines commercial reflection from Oriental philosophic thinking, including sustainability, opposition to overproduction and practicality.

The brand said it will continue to focus on and participate in the global focus issues such as environmental protection and women's rights and interests, and cooperate with a number of international sustainable development institutions.

ICICLE, founded in 1997, has been committed to becoming a representative high-end environmental brand in China in recent years. It mainly provides high quality and easy to handle natural pure commuter for middle class women.

It is noteworthy that ICICLE also has the first environmental baby packaging brand ECO BABE in China.

In addition, with the further popularization of the Internet and changes in the consumption habits of young people, there has also been a rental business in the Chinese market. APP two or three, the appearance of two or three can not only provide more clothing styles, but also a fashionable and environmentally friendly way of life.

Overall, Chinese enterprises are still lagging behind in the sustainable fashion product innovation, and there are more and more third party organizations, hoping to help them develop from the perspective of communication and channel distribution.

Last year, Kai Yun group and Shanghai fashion week entered into cooperation. The former opened the "open innovation luxury laboratory" in Shanghai fashion week and released the WeChat applet of My EP&L, the environmental profit and loss computing tool.

Obviously, whether from the perspective of production, consumption or dissemination, China is sustainable.

It has already started, once people get through the bridge between sustainable fashion and business logic, this idea is for domestic.

Brand may be a new opportunity.

Especially in today's economically active Chinese market, the lack of sustainable fashion is not mature market conditions, but innovative business models and truly attractive products.