It is easier to change consumer behaviour than the fashion industry, believes Cally Russell, CEO, This is Unfolded. The fashion brand, which was set up initially to reduce waste in the industry, is pioneering new ways to bring garments to market including consulting with customers at the design stage and producing to order.
Just under 10% of the brand’s customers actively engage in the collaborative design process for new collections. This includes voting on social media on different styles, such as the waistline on a dress or length of sleeves, the colour of fabric and pattern. Each garment goes through a number of consultations before going live and customers being able to place an order. It is only at this stage that the garments are made, thus reducing any unwanted waste through overstocking.
By designing garments in this way, This is Unfolded has had to analyse a lot of data from customers, as well as eliminate white noise and understand what customers are likely to buy.
It also enables the company to sell at a lower cost since it is not producing extra garments or having to account for potential discounts at the end of a season. This means value for customers, and higher wages in the factories producing the garments together with available funding for positive impact projects near the factories. The brand uses four, inspected and audited factories in India.
One of the challenges for This is Unfolded has been in educating customers about product delivery as part of the acquisition process as orders are delivered in six weeks rather than the usual two days due to being made to order. It also means any delays in the supply chain are felt more acutely as customers are awaiting their order.
Giving consumers options
Another way the brand is changing the usual model is in how returns are handled. Its conscious customers are given the option to return items in the traditional way for resale but also encouraged to swap with other customers. For example, a private Facebook group enables peer-to-peer swaps to take place with This is Unfolded paying both parties’ postage. Secondhand sales are also encouraged on the platform.
The brand wants to convince consumers, and everyone involved in fashion, to look at things in a different way and try new processes that are beneficial to consumers, the business, the people making clothes and the planet. “That’s when really interesting things can happen,” says Russell. He encourages the whole industry to think about how to flex and change fashion, a sector that he believes to be broken. “We think that the idea that if you just change to sustainable fabrics that makes everything OK. That’s not it. You have to actually question every part of this. How do we flex this, how do we change it?” he asks. “It won’t be for everyone.”
This originally appeared in the RetailX Global Sustainability 2024 report.
The Sustainability 2024 market report brings together the information from RetailX’s ecommerce market reports and performance-based ranking reports with consumer sentiment and behaviour data from ConsumerX to give a rounded view of the current state of sustainability communications and services in retail and ecommerce globally.
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