•Family size/cycle – nuclear family, however also if a person lives alone
•Social status – young professional, who cares about ecology and possibly shares their findings with others
Geographic Variables
•City location/size – city with 300 K population or more
•Country location/size – UK, 67.3 million residents
•Climate – temperate climate
•Urban/rural – urban
Psychographic Variables
•Personality – open to learning, philanthropic, nature loving, aware of modern textile issues
•Values – people, who “care a lot/ care mildly” about the eco friendliness of the product.
•Lifestyle – modern urban lifestyle, don’t visit places where they have to necessarily show off a new outfit every other time.
•Beliefs – that by approaching shopping more consciously they are helping the clothing waste crisis.
•Activities – shopping for clothes is not preferably their most often activity.
•Interests – possibly take interest in other social causes
Behavioral Variables
•Volume usage – don’t buy clothes as a hobby. Instead, they look for long lasting pieces to invest, or buy something that they need.
•Frequency usage – buy clothes for everyday use
•End use – prefer to gift or donate unwanted clothes
•Benefit expectations – possibly hoping to pay less for certain products (secondhand, recycled)
•Loyalty – loyal to the eco labels they trust
•Price sensitivity – middle-low price sensitivity
Overall:
Based on the primary and secondary research, the main target audience would be the “I care a lot” type of people, who are already looking for substitutes in other, more sustainable forms of clothes shopping. However, it is also possible to expand to the “I care mildly ” audience, who are unsure about the product “greenness” but feel positively about when the product they have chosen is eco friendly. The belief, is those individuals are capable of being tipped over to the “I care a lot” group after learning more information.
Justification
The reason why this product is necessary, because the interest to eco-friendly products is decreasing in UK, however the interest towards eco labels that are doing the research and checking job for the consumer is growing. Therefore it can be suggested, that many are already aware of the ecological issues but don’t have the time and resources to go more in-depth research of individual products. Thus, they choose to believe third party accreditation. In the UK the interest towards Vinted (secondhand) platform and search: second hand are almost at the level of a well known fast fashion brand (ZARA). It must be noted that the living crisis might be one of the main reasons for secondhand items and when it comes to less expensive brands such as H&M, secondhand clothes are not as close in interest rate, however it can be noted that the interest towards both ZARA and H&M is slowly going down on their own. In the UK such online e-market places as Pretty Little Thing, Boohoo and SHEIN are searched less than secondhand and secondhand platforms. Therefore, it can be concluded that there is a market with an overall interest towards sustainable substitutions to clothes shopping, however there is a lack of sources and platforms that collect, combine and curate the information to assist the consumer in making a more educated choice.
blue – sustainable clothing stores; red – eco friendly clothing; yellow – eco friendly clothing stores; green – eco friendly fabric; purple – eco friendly clothing uk (last 5 y.) dark blue – sustainable clothing stores; orange – eco friendly clothing; grey – eco friendly clothing stores; yellow – eco friendly fabric; light blue – eco friendly clothing uk (last 5 y.)
If to analyze the trending line (UK), it is noticeable, that the interest towards eco friendly clothing for many searches has peaked 2020-2021 and has been decreasing. Therefore, it can be concluded that time and interest in these topics are not correlated.
search: eco friendly clothing, blue – UK, orange – US
The same tendency can be seen in another group – USA residents. And even though US market seemed richer in interest in the last 5 years, at the moment the rate of searches towards eco friendly clothing of both countries is at the same level, given the fact that USA has a greater population.
blue – EU Ecolabel ; red – B corporation; yellow – Global Organic Textile Standard; green – eco label ; purple – eco friendly clothing ( last 5 y.)
when it comes to eco friendly approach to fashion UK residents are seen as one of the top interested groups (for searches like : eco friendly clothing, sustainable clothing stores, eco friendly clothing stores, eco friendly fabric).
In comparison search: eco friendly clothing uk > search: eco friendly clothing stores (worldwide).
Many of the eco- related searches have peaked during covid and have been decreasing ever since.
In comparison: people are more likely to look for/learn about businesses that solve the problem rather that learn about the issues themselves.
When looking for eco friendly clothes people are simultaneously looking for other resons to buy some clothing piece, so the popularity of certain brand can also play a role.
Declan Gibbon: Exchange of sources with Declan Gibbon. Some of the information shared by him has supported my previous conclusions and motivated to continue with this project. Additionally, I’ve participated in his survey. This wasn’t as helpful to me as it probably was to him, as his survey was more focused on South African/African art and fashion and not general eco-shopping.
Shanti Du Rocher:
Tree Maps ChartShanti Du Rocher – Google Trends masterclass
Suggestions by Shanti:
Data Literacy
My survey was used more to figure out psychographic traits
Can use Google Trends for geographic metrics
Google Trends notes:
Related entities
History of trending topics
Specifically after covid
A peak in a line graphs might be connected to a specific thing like news
Add square value – Time has a weak correlation with trending eco products
Boohoo – ware house
Inconsistently interested in it eco products in UK
Anything that helps make eco shopping easier is a justification for why it is needed
Make a comparison for different countries where there is a peaks as well
Which brands are people interested in
Compare brands which one is are most popular
Reflection: I found both peer-2-peer exchanges very helpful. Declan’s suggestions were great sources of qualitative research about secondhand shopping while Shanti’s google data research idea gave me a rich way to understand more quantitive factors.
Me giving suggestions to Shanti:
Shanti asked me, due to my Illustration background, which of the line graphs would work best as information representation for the creative teams. I suggested to look at the comparison charts as those I believe are the most informative and beneficial for the topic discussed, as comparison creates an illusion of choice. Shanti agreed, that limiting choice was something she wanted to use for this project.
Data was collected via a survey, answered by 25 participants total, developed using Google forms, an online survey tool. Google forms have further analyzed and finalized the answers in their quantity by the forms of piecharts and barcharts. The survey was anonymous, except for one participant, therefore the consent form was unnecessary for most. The survey was designed to find out the key variables, which would help investigate the questions: Are people aware of the ecological issues created by apparel production?, Does it affect their choice while shopping? , Does their environmental consciousness transfer to other forms of ethical consciousness and vice versa? and Do they check for/trust the third party eco-labels?. This survey was used to funnel out and categorize the people with different levels of awareness and activism from least to most aware and see whether they react to other more mainstream labels. The survey was shared via email, instagram DMs and stories, Facebook stories, Watsapp and Telegram. Due to that, the set of participants reached was diverse.
Instagram/Facebook Stories – Artist: Jonas Peterson
Answers to Google Form: 24 participants total
Red Tier: unaware of the facts given in the survey (4 total)
3/4 18-25 y.o , 1/4 25-35 y.o
18-25 y.o only buy fast fashion
18-25 y.o 3/3 answered that they follow trends/wear a lot of different clothes often.
All answered that they care mildly about the eco-friendliness of the product.
The participant, answered that they like to follow fashion trends turned out to be the only one not caring about the long lasting factor and the only one not recognizing any of the third party labels
All 4 recognized popular labels, 3/4 specified.
1/4 chose a definite social reason to support a shop
Orange Tier: aware of 1/3 (3 total)
1/3 25-35 y.o, 2/3 18-25 y.o.
2/3 18-25 y.o, both buy clothes once a week, both buy fast fashion, both do it because they like to wear different clothes often, both care mildly/ neutral to environmentally friendly products
2/3 care about long-lasting pieces
none chose a definite social reason to support a shop
The participant, answering that they care a lot about eco-friendly products explained that doing so makes them feel like they are helping
The participant, answering that they care a mildly about eco-friendly products, however checking sometimes for third-party third party labels was the only one recognizing some of them
2/3 recognized popular labels
The most eco conscious participant still said that they buy clothes for the good feeling factor
1/3 shared their shopping tactic.
Yellow Tier: aware of 2/3 (7 total)
5/7 18-25 y.o . 1/7 25-35 y.o., 1/7 35-45 y.o.
2/7 buy clothes once a week, 1/2 buys fast fashion
4/7 buy fast fashion
3/7 follow current fashion trends, 5/7 answered that they like to wear different clothes often
5/7 care about the clothes being long lasting
3/7 recognized eco-labels, 1/3 shared an opinion
Even the participant who does not actively look for third party labels recognize some of them.
All recognized popular labels, 5/7 had an opinion about them
Is the only group where none of the participants had any additional comments.
Green Tier: aware of all 3 (8 total)
3/8 18-25 y.o, 5/8 25-35 y.o
2/8 buy clothes once a week, 1/2 buys fast fashion.
4/8 buy fast fashion
2/8 follow current fashion trends
5/8 care a lot when they find out the product is eco-friendly, 5/8 shared their opinion
6/8 sometimes look for third party certification while shopping, 5/6 recognized some of the third party labels, 4/5 shared their opinion
All recognized popular labels, 6/8 shared positive opinion
2/8 shared a personal tactic towards shopping/wardrobe creation.
2 of the participants cannot be categorized as they did not answer whether they did/didn’t know given facts. However, both are 18-25 y.o, both buy clothes at least once a month, both buy fast fashion, both like to wear different clothes often but don’t follow fashion trends, both care about the long lasting factor, do not care a lot about eco friendliness of the products, 1/2 recognized an third party label and shared an opinion, both recognized popular labels and shared an opinion about them.
Additionally, this survey has been filled by an circular economy specialist, who I believe is the target audience for a project like mine. Top Green Tier.
Their answers:
25-35 y.o
Buy every 6 months, only used sector of clothing, does not do it for enjoyment
Supports social issues as well
She is the only one, who said “Yes” looking for third party labels on products
She says that she trusts them but still takes them with a pinch of salt.
Here are her comments:
I feel very strongly that everyone needs to minimize consumption to reduce waste. We are taught that buying new clothing brings us joy but I think we can equally love our reuse/timeless options just as much. I don’t want my clothing to end up in a landfill in Ghana.
I do trust them but I think Greenwashing is hard to navigate. I would rather just buy something on vinted than purchase something new.
Discussion:
Overall:
Despite the level of awareness all groups have participants, all buy fast fashion products. For many it is a source of enjoyment or a hobby.
Green Tier participants have a tendency towards creating their own tactics to shopping, which can mean that the more informed the person is/the more they care – the more they are willing to twitch their behavioral patterns.
62% are aware of most of the facts (more than 3/5). 83% aware at least of one of the facts (more than 4/5). From this it is possible to conclude that regardless of the choices people are making during shopping, at least 4/5 are aware of the issues.
it is possible to notice that on average the more informed about the ecological issues the participant is, the more they care about other social issues/activisms.
Green Tier had the biggest percentage of 25+ y.o. participants, from which it is possible to conclude that age can play a role in this scenario.
Yellow Tier are some of the most informed participants and they have some of the biggest percentage of people saying that they feel neutral to ecological issues. From this it is possible to conclude, that this tier of shoppers are truly neutral towards the ecological factor, as what they are making is an educated personal choice.
The participant, who is the most educated and active about these issues and does look for third party accreditation still choses a “safer” option of second hand shopping.
Despite the lack of education, in 3/4 tiers there are people who care a lot or have the potential to care more about the eco- issues, therefore for the matter of this project limiting the target audience by how much they know seems inefficient. Grouping by how much they care seems more reasonable.
The limitations of this research must be mentioned. I could have asked more in-depth questions, however I was worried that if the survey will be too long people might stop half way through. Also, it is entirely possible that due to the nature of the questionnaire participants would start questioning themselves and thus giving not such honest answers by the end of the survey. Additionally, the survey, the information and the labels are targeted towards a more Western/ open-to-Western-thinking people, who live in places where products with such labels are more accessible.
Possible future research:
A more in-depth survey with the questions that would determine with the “I care a lot/I care mildly” groups: how many eco-friendly, third party certified shops do they know?; Would they try other shops if they knew there were those around their area?; Would they care if the shops suggested were all local?
Try out a demo-version of a website or an app that would help with looking for particular shops by the consumer’s causes of choice and collect feedback.
Reflection:
Based on the fact that this was my first ever survey I’m satisfied with the result. Though, I had a difficulty with the format and the type of questions at first, I have realized a way to make it better by comparing it to (possibly) one of my peer’s surveys. I have asked in the group chat who’s survey it was to give credit, however the creator is yet to be found.
According to (1), the socio-demographic variables are becoming less and less important when it comes to Green Marketing Strategy. Therefore, the only way to categorize target audience would be by looking at their behavioral patterns. Using the bad/better questions slide I have created my first version of the survey in a pdf format. I also have filled in a consent template, as for pdf files had to be send over by email/messages, thus could not be anonymous.
The format of consent form + questionnaire notably slowed down the process.
I have discovered someone (presumably from our group) have posted a survey with a meme picture of Will Smith and a QR code on it around CSM building. From completing that survey I have realized how I could do mine better.
Additionally, after comparing the other survey to mine, some of the questions have been changed as well. I noticed, that though I tried to create my survey close to the examples given in the presentation, only after seeing another questionnaire as an example I’ve realized what other ways and potential questions I could have asked as well.
What changed since I discovered the other survey:
I’ve put it in Google forms for easier completion
I added a “Please share why you care about third party certification?”,
I added “Would you like to add anything else?” at the end of the survey in case there was something they would like to specify about anything.
I changed to Google Forms and I got feedback from most people, that it is a much more easy form to use for answering questions.
Demographic, Geographic variables:
Age, country of residence, occupation
Psychographic Variables
How often do you shop for new clothes ?
Why do you buy new clothes ?
Do you support any of these causes/factors while choosing clothes / clothing shops?
How much do you care, when you find out that the product/brand is environmentally friendly? Could you share why?
What clothing shops do you prefer?
What did you think/feel the last time you saw a product/business with a label like those? (eco-labels/other)
Do you have any additional things you would like to mention?
A list of findings, ranging in their freshness to see which of the interviewees was more up to date.
Did you know that: Due to poor-quality materials, most fast-fashion items are created to survive only up to 10 washes, after which it is expected to be thrown out. (Annamma Joy, John F. Sherry, Jr, Alladi Venkatesh, Jeff Wang and Ricky Chan; 2012)
Did you know that: Due to apparel companies relocating manufacturing of the garments outside of its country of origin, it creates a heavy effect on local economy, job market and global environment due to big transportation milage (Duygu Turker, Ceren Altuntas; 2014)
Did you know that: Despite the efforts both from the fashion industry and from separate individuals to reduce textile waste, apparel waste continues to increase (Lauren M. Degenstein, Rachel H. McQueen, Lisa S. McNeill, Robert P. Hamlin, Sarah J. Wakes, Linda A. Dunn; 2020)
Behavioral variables:
How often do you shop for new clothes ?
While shopping for products, do you check for labels of eco / ethical 3rd party verification or certification (exp. B Corporation)?
Do you recognize any of these labels? (eco labels)
Do you recognize any of these labels? (Michelin, Tripadvisor, LGBTQ+ friendly)
References
(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)
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.)
‘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’.
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
‘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?
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.
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
PartnersPartners in different locations
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
Google Maps search “eco labeled clothing shops”
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?
Source: Thind 2018, SFM
“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
Team members: Ranjit Thind, Indzhi Razakyazam, Juan Wong, Tang Tang & Anna Ilishkina
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.
Gibbs’ Reflective learning cycle was used for this exercise.
Based on the Lean Business Model Canvas, I have started with the first point: finding problems I would like to work on for the assignment. I have chosen to focus on the issue of ethical consumption of clothes as I have dabbed into the process of producing clothes myself. However, the overflow of fast-fashion and it’s production, waste and many other issues are the problems I cannot overlook.
Findings from the book:
Capitalism makes you believe that wearing certain pieces will make you feel like you belong, however if you will start playing in this game the chances are you will always feel behind because the style is always changing
The problem of invisibility of the process creates a detached feeling about its affect on the world.
Often CEO doesn’t even have any idea where their product pieces come from and what’s the working environment is like for the employees.
SustainabilityTM = Greenwashing and is as big of a problem, as much as fashion consumption
“So long, as what’s in and what’s out is chosen for us, we’ll always be buying more than we need.”
“Personal style holds the greater reward.”
Brainstorming
During the first steps I listed my interests again: communication, international communities, psychology, behavioral psychology, education, pop-culture, art, culture. I wanted to combine behavioral psychology, communication, education and pop-culture and apply them to the problem. During the first stages I was mostly thinking about creating an educational platform, a channel or a journal that would contradict the approach of fashion magazines. Focus on personal styling vs. trends, promote secondhand, locally made, vintage. Aka promoting parts of a sustainable lifestyle, giving a platform to less known brands. By this point, my idea formed into a platform, that would give the audience an accessible way to learn and find out ways to make more educated decisions.
Team Brainstorming:
Teammembers: Kyriakos Chrisostomou, Juan Wong, Sophie Amono, Mackenzie Walchuk & Cristina O’Hanlon. Later on: Ranjit Thind
As for my participation in the ideas of the others, I saw that most of the ideas were already thought quite through, to the point where I had to admit, my knowledge in their topics ended. Therefore, I took an approach of mostly asking leading questions and showing a supportive approach, which I found sometimes was vital to the process of pitching.
During the pitching of my idea Ranjit Thind has joined the discussion. When I mentioned the sustainability in fashion, Ranjit said, jokingly, “Oh no, where do I hide?”. When you hear something like that from a person who comes from fashion world it is hard to ignore. I also noticed that most in my group, though active during previous discussions, became more silent during my pitch and had a hard time thinking of suggestions. At the time, I connected it to the fact, that all-through the last unit we were discussing big brands and their attempts at greenwashing. It does leave you with a negative residue and finding more solutions when the industry as a whole is seen as a problem is trying. However, I believe a step away from it is better than a step towards it, so that’s what I went with. The main point for my project was to educate.
After the discussion I had multiple vectors to develop further: a game, an eco-focused PR company, a journal or a blog. I realized that for most people learning about sustainable options meant that they must have already taken interest in the matter. Intuitively, I felt like these business ideas would have to a) be new, unique, thus competitive, b) their aim would have to be not only answering to the needs of the existing market but also expanding the existing market (or creating a new market), which would mean that for a part of the target audience c) it would require high behavioral change in addition to full creation of the new product = very high risk of failure. My feelings were confirmed by the Market Matrix and Innovation Matrix, shown in further lectures.
Thus, I believed, that choosing an existing market as the main focus (with possible but not crucial market development) would be a easier way to go. Main point was still to educate but make it more practical.
Pitching
During my classmates’ pitches I have suggested:
Mollie: to use active service providers of her platform to review newcomers.
Pavel: Suggested couple of movies he could use inspiration from, like the cartoon FRU-89, a Soviet cartoon about what frustration feels like.
To Tang: Check out Saatchi Art and ArtFinder websites as reference.
My Pitch
Business-to-Consumer/Customer
Problem: oversized product consumption based on emotionally detached and kind of uneducated approach to shopping.
Idea: Search Engine Platform / market place for shopping enterprises and businesses which focuses on conscious approach to creation, creativity and design. It will offer an engine for shopping, based on key words of the customer’s activism movements and values of interest.First it would group shops into types such as clothes, accessories, shoes, furniture, etc. Or it would be also possible to insert key words such as leggings and the businesses with appropriate product would show up.Within those types, the customer would be able to filter the search by using keywords such as union made, up cycle, locally made, transparent production, green technology, long lasting and so on. From that point the customer can chose a company, based on their needs, budget and the list of issues they support. There would be ratings and reviews section as well. Overall the system would work something like trip advisor .The platform would also have an additional service, a news feed, focused on those businesses current work and latest inventions in the industry.
It’s main focus: engine would be solving is creating more transparency during the shopping process.
The pain points
Funding. Possible solutions: paid “featured”section; newsletter subscription; collaborations with appropriate press and brands.
Ethics. Not all brands can support all of the issues described on the website so the consumer would have to choose one thing over the other however I think this platform would let them make a more educated guess.
Reviewing the companies registering on the platform and their integrity.
Suggestions I got:
Check out and use: fashion transparency index
BCOP
It would be great as an mobile app
See what AI could do for this search engine
Further research:
Learn about the suggestions given by my peers
Create a survey to find out more about the possible consumer for my app
Research about eco-labels and third party certification
List of References:
Leach A., (2021), THE WORLD IS ON FIRE BUT WE’RE STILL BUYING SHOES, Published by Alec Leach in partnership with Casimir Books.
Contemporary art market. ( #3 “Art Market in XXI Century – Anna Arutiunova” )
These are the books that have started my journey into the “industry” part of fine contemporary fine art.
Findings and possible research:
The low transparency of the art market adds to its complexity
Fine art – is an irrational investment, thus making it hard to study from the human behavior point of view.
Art market is becoming more and more democratic, which affects the quality and quantity of art pieces. It changes the artist’s approach to creating art.
Contemporary Art World (from the point of view of art researchers and artists)
Findings and possible research:
3-tear approach to categorizing artists: low-brow, middle-brow and high-brow. Each has it’s own market.
Due to the high subjectivity of art and it’s form today it is impossible to categorize it by “quality”. Most of it is PR.
Art is often an inspiration to many modern inventions.
Though democritized, art pieces are still seen as high status luxury objects.
Textiles ( established and experimental)
Findings and possible research:
It is possible to create textiles using local material and technologies, without transporting it far. However, the quality of the material can be affected due to the climate. (exp. cotton: best grown in souther hemisphere, best woven and dyed in northern hemisphere).
Another point of exploitation of the Global South, as the cotton becomes high quality cotton fabric, due to the “north” price it cannot be afforded to be bought in the South by the bigger percent of the population.
Reference List:
Thompson D., (2017) The Orange Balloon Dog: Bubbles, Turmoil and Avarice in the Contemporary Art Market. Canada, Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.
Kagge E., (2015) A POOR COLLECTOR’S GUIDE TO BUYING GREAT ART. Germany, Berlin: Die Gestalten Verlag
Арутюнова А., (2015) Арт-рынок в XXI веке. Россия, Москва: Издательский Дом ВШЭ [ Arutyunova A., (2015) Art Market in XXI century. Russia, Moscow: Izdatelsky Dom HSE]
An K. & Cerasi J., (2017) Who’s Afraid of Contemporary Art?: An a to Z Guide to the Art World. England, London: Thames and Hudson Ltd
Perry G., (2014) Playing to the Gallery: Helping Contemporary Art in its Struggle to Be Understood. England, London: Particular Books
Fox A., (2022) Wild Textiles: Grown, Foraged, Found. England, London: Batsford Books
Gillow J., (2016) African Textiles: Colour and Creativity Across a Continent. England, London: Thames and Hudson Ltd
Source of the image: https://kyriunit4reflections.myblog.arts.ac.uk/ Taken by: Chrisostomou, K.
For the entrepreneurial value proposition statement I have paired with Kyri to make it more distinct. Reflecting on the the David Kolb’s learning cycle (1984) I think I would fall into “abstract conceptualization”. It is easy for me to learn and reflect on the secondary research + convert it into a structured proposition. But I do feel like most of these styles would work for me.
Key words : environmentalism, green, Enviropreneurial, ethical and green consumerism, humanistic economics, green credibility seeking, green procurement and presumption, and green whispers, Accreditation
The category of this idea by Ansoff (1988) is: Existing market (customers of the companies and businesses, who value ecological and/or ethical agendas) – new product (search engine that provides greater transparency during shopping process) – Product Development
The initial version of it was :
For modern conscious shoppers who desire to live a sustainable lifestyle, our website “Sourced”, is the only independent search engine among all browsers and e-market spaces for shopping which provides commercial transparency for the buyer, because it categorizes businesses by consumers’ supported values.
We felt like the proposition felt a bit long, so our main goal was to shorten it while capturing the essence of it.
For the target market there were such suggestions as:
Ethical consumers; For shoppers who prefer ethical consumerism ; Ethically conscious shoppers
Another part that needed a slightly bigger change was the Single Most Important Factor, as “supported values” seemed a bit vague. It needed specification and referencing towards other companies with the same goal.
Final version of it is:
For ethically conscious shoppers, “Sourced” is the only independent and transparent e-market space and search engine amongst all other similar platforms, because it categorizes businesses by social, ethical and environmental preferences and accreditation.
Kyri Chrisostomou’s EVPS
First version of EVPS:
For flourishing local community groups, Patchworks talks and workshops are the most the most accessible, holistic and educational therapeutic arts for wellbeing service amongst all community arts providers as they are informed by the art therapies, neuro arts and logotherapy, delivered by non-clinical facilitators.
“Flourishing local community groups”:
For local community groups
For people struggling with isolation
For people in need of connection, creative outlet and support within their local community ( A desire of creativity, Psychological support)
For underserved community groups
Local residents
“For people in need of connection, a creative outlet and support in their local community” – Sounded right, but still a bit too long.
Final: For people in need of creative support in their local community
talks and workshops – already insinuated further in the EVPS
Final version of EVPS:
For people in need of creative support in their local community, Patchworks are the most accessible, holistic, and therapeutic ‘arts for wellbeing’ workshops, amongst all community arts providers, because they are informed by the art therapies, neuro arts and logotherapy, delivered by non-clinical facilitators.
The idea I have pitched over the intensive weekend was a website / search engine / platform which would help more conscious and ethically conscious costumers to shop with more transparency. Especially, when it comes to clothes shopping. I have been looking up some studies that talk about the group of people that do participate in the vintage/secondhand shopping and the reasons behind it was to understand what they are looking for in the experience and the product.
Some of the findings noted that (1) among young people who part-take in these activities there is a higher percentage of environmentally conscious individuals, however the factors of lower cost and a feeling of uniqueness and personal higher moral ground are also present. (U.S.A) Another source (2) additionally supports that claim, however it specifies that vintage shopping and secondhand shopping carry slightly different aims, as vintage shopping is more driven with by the feeling similar to treasure hunting, while second-hand is more likely to be driven by frugality. All the while, eco-consciousness plays an indirect role.
