Generating Value

ESVP: For ethically conscious shoppers, “Sourced” is the only independent and transparent search engine for apparel stores amongst all other similar platforms because it categorizes businesses by social, ethical and environmental preferences and accreditation.

Additional key words: Green Marketing Strategy

•Is It Real? Is there a prominent market of people that trust and check for third party eco/ethical certification/verification in the clothing sector?

According to (1) (Italy), third party eco-certification labels:

• guarantee (more) reliable information for the purchasing choice, which attracts target consumers with such variables as trust to the producer;
• are some of the most effective tools in facing markets with consumers, who are well informed about the environmental issues;
• positively affect producer’s competitiveness on the market, as it increases the consumer’s trust by sending a stronger environmental guarantees;
• can increase environmental awareness in the producer’s consumers on its own and can stimulate greater attention to the products with the same or similar label.
• work as a form of surrogate for other forms of loyalty for the consumer, which could serve as a winning marketing strategy to overcome consumer’s loyalty to other not eco-labeled brands;
• can appeal to a wide target audience, as nowadays environmental awareness is ever-present in multiple consumer categories, regardless of personal and social characteristics. Which means, that the only way to compete is focusing on providing products “better than the others on the shelf”, for which an official certification can be of most use;
• can positively affect both the producer and the retailer – as retailer can support the producer through co-marketing initiatives and information campaigns, more environmentally conscious consumers will be attracted to that retailer, who is provided by the eco-labeled producer’s (possibly other) products.

(1) Testa, F., Iraldo, F., Vaccari, A., and Ferrari, E. (2015), Why Eco-labels can be Effective Marketing Tools: Evidence from a Study on Italian Consumers. Bus. Strat. Env., 24, 252–265. doi: 10.1002/bse.1821. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bse.1821?saml_referrer)

When is comes to clothing and textile consumption:

• (2) People (Dutch) are willing to buy clothes with eco labels, however they are not willing to spend more money on it. (This supports my previous guesses about the low level of willingness of consumers in this sector to change their behavioral patterns drastically.)

(2) Rutten, Leslie (2022) The influence of certified eco-labels on clothing on consumer behaviour.[http://essay.utwente.nl/90796/]

According to (3):

• ‘Eco-labelling is considered a critical educational and awareness-raising tool for supporting sustainable fashion consumption; however, the existing labelling approach is inadequate due to the complexity of current terminology, lack of eco-literacy, and (UK) consumers’ distrust of industry claims about eco-products, flagging a need to ensure industry transparency’.
• ‘New attention-grabbing labelling, universal eco-terminology and more effective and transparent green communication strategies using a combination of physical and other digital communication are required’.

(3) Eunsuk Hur & Eleanor Faragher- Siddall (2022) Young Consumer Perspectives on Government Policy Interventions for Sustainable Fashion Consumption in the UK, Fashion Practice, 14:3, 405-427, DOI: 10.1080/17569370.2022.2125149 [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/17569370.2022.2125149?scroll=top&needAccess=true]

Additionally, it must be noted that even in 2008 in India, country known as one of the biggest polluters when it comes to textile production, there is a suggested segment among urban residents, who are positively motivated towards eco-labeled clothing. (4)

(4) Paromita Goswami (2008) Is the urban Indian consumer ready for clothing with eco-labels?, International Journal of Consumer Studies, vol. 32, Issue 5

[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2008.00716.x]

‘Results show that consumers in the Dutch market are affected by the use of certified eco-labels on clothing. When consumers are aware of and informed about environmental and social issues, certified eco-labels affect their purchase behavior. However, this study shows that respondents were not familiar with certified eco-labels. This indicates that consumers are willing to purchase clothing with a certified eco-label, especially when they are aware of the environmental and social issues within the fashion industry, but they do not know what such labels mean. If consumers learn more about certified eco-labels, they can make sustainable purchases.’(2)

Conclusion: Though, there is a substantial preference towards ‘officially’ eco-certified/labeled products, the fact that even within the environmentally conscious target audience there is a lack of recognition of the said labels, shows a notable lack in informing and educating of that audience. (2)(3)

Question for future research: Who do producers rely on to educate the consumer? Who is educating the consumer now?

•Can We Win? Any other eco/ethical search engines in this sector? Are they easy to find?

Similar Platforms:

Eco Fashion Labels – e-market space – https://www.ecofashionlabels.com/

Advantages

• Comfortable online design
• Well curated website
• There is information about each brand and product and why it is eco-.
• Plant trees for each order
• You can shop by value – Recycled, Vegan, Fair Trade
• Official Fair Trade label used on the website
• 90+ International brands
• Even has a youtube channel
• Brands register themselves
• 11k on Facebook

Disadvantages

• Claims eco-approach, but suggests “free worldwide shipping”
• Seems abandoned, “Summer sale” announcement in October, last blog post in jan 2022
• A bit vague with where the eco part comes from, sometimes the brand is third party verified, sometimes only claims that it is and is judged by the website
• no comments and almost no likes on facebook

Customer comments:

• +
• People like the graphics on sm
• Love the designs of the products

• –
• have around a 100 followers on IG
• Say its a fraud, they don’t answer messages (51 week ago), no comments since

Overall: great website and I do hope it will become alive again.

Switzerland: OEKO TEX: Made in green – traceable product label for textiles and leather products, manufactured in environmentally friendly facilities under safe and socially responsible working conditions. The MADE IN GREEN label also reassures consumers that the textile or leather product is made of materials that have been tested for harmful substances. – https://www.oeko-tex.com/en/our-standards/oeko-tex-made-in-green?gclid=CjwKCAjwnOipBhBQEiwACyGLupx7iHJUODVEXZKX_HQzTocT3LmWhb2vdcCoW_mwhatiUQKbyIqdbhoC53gQAvD_BwE

Advantages:

• Very good and user friendly design of the website
• Tells right away what they do
• “Scan and experience transparency”
• Register product with an ID and a QR code to scan during shopping and it is easy to find out about how its made
• Have a Buying guide with all of the info about the oeko tex approved shops and brands with a checklist for quality (aka tested for GMO and if recycling is involved in the process)
• Post annual reports
• Really focus on transparency
• Tell in an entertaining way what their main values are
• Show their list of standards for certification
• Exist on most sm, 8k sub on FB and 8K on IG
• Offer a Newsletter
• Have partners in different countries

Disadvantages:

• It is a eco label like B-corp, Fairtrade, etc
• In the Buying guide part they say “appendix 4”, a bit uncomfortable, would be better if it was specified for people who are using it for the first time

Customer comments:

• +
• Not many comments on FB but all good
• For the most part the IG comments are positive
• There are distrusting commentators, however they are being answered to by the company

• –
• Some misogynistic comments do come up about the choice of employees

Overall: Great company, but not quite the project I’m working on

Potential demand:

There is a potential demand both from businesses and from customers. Businesses need to be recognisable, customers’ choice would be easier if they knew what the labels meant

•Is It Worth Doing: What is the size of the opportunity and the ROI?

Based on the amount of businesses trying to reach 2025 goals, govemental reinforcements and overall awareness it makes sense. there is a demand on many sides.

Find other websites and apps. find example apps. find where demand is. find eco labels?

“Sourced” falls into Operational Excellence

As an online/mobile app or an additional feature to other mobile apps:

• Cost leadership – lower cost due to digital nature
• Agile and Lean structure – capable of quick updates, twitches in design and its operation
• Continuous benchmarking – (In comparison to other websites (ex …) it would require less behavioral change from the customer
• Digital supply chains/networks
• Cutting edge use of information communications technology

Based on previous observations:

• My idea falls into “Growth” stage. 1) New Entrants – The market of informed customers is growing, there are more companies working with eco-label companies, eco-label companies educate their followers online (sm, website) 2) Innovation – new ways of informing the customer and product testing 3) Hypebeast – Greenwashing, the company wants to look a certain way, even if they aren’t so.

Example of “Hypebeast”

An advertisement by Kim Kardashian, showing the new model of underwear, using ecological issues “jargon”.

Group Tutorial

During the group tutorial: my main question was the way I could do quantitive primary research and who I could ask.

• Inci was very helpful while suggesting checking out: Bad and good questions – Better question list. Though Ranjit suggested looking outside CSM students for research, Inci and I agreed that people in our group could be very helpful, as they are aware of the environmental issues. Maybe go to Whole foods, where there might be more concious shoppers.
• I suggested Tang to check out some more art e-markets for reference (printful.com)
• I have suggested Inci additionally to her idea of secondhand ballet/sport gear to look into recycling and renting of theatre costumes/props, creating an additional income source to the theatre.