These days some retailers find themselves being unwittingly thrown into the political and human rights arena. If a retailer decides to carry merchandise that is unisex or gender-neutral, regardless of its position on non-binary individuals or a genderless population, it is setting itself up for push-back from some consumers. And if it doesn’t carry this category of merchandise, it is setting itself up for push-back by other consumers. The question is how well do retailers know their customers? And how comfortable are they in playing in a gender-fluid playing field in our increasingly polarized and fractious public discourse.

Gender-fluid trends are not exactly new. Let’s go back over a hundred years to the most inclusive shoe ever made, the good old-fashioned Chuck Taylor All Star canvas shoe. Fast forward to 2023 and Nike, who now owns Converse, recently announced its Sabrina Lonescu unisex line for all hoopers.

Gender Z, Gender Fluid

So, it’s no surprise that gender-fluid fashions are on the rise. From a profit standpoint, retailers might get on the genderless fashion track sooner than later. And there are the eco-friendly benefits of carrying fewer size ranges for brands. The move to genderless styles, also known as, unisex, gender fluid, universal dressing, or non-binary, embraces two core ideas that come from Gen Z consumers:

1. Welcoming styles for all and a “something for everyone” mentality
2. The moves away from gender binary styles as a shopping preference.

In September 2022, a survey of U.S. consumers showed that younger generations are most likely to buy more gender-neutral fashion: 85 percent of Gen Z respondents and 75 percent of millennials say they were thinking about buying more gender-fluid apparel. The TOBE report also references the Gen Z cohort as thinking beyond binary with a gender-fluid approach to life.

There are two shifts accelerating the demand for gender-neutral styles:

1. Casual wear that took off through the pandemic and really stuck, such as hoodies, sweatpants, and track pants, which all play seamlessly into shared non-gender styles.
2. The impact that celebrities, influencers, and athletes have had on the fashion growth of style fluidity. In the past, designers dictated the trends that trickled down to the masses: not anymore.

History Repeating

Gender-fluid trends are not exactly new. Let’s go back over a hundred years to the most inclusive shoe ever made, the good old-fashioned Chuck Taylor All Star canvas shoe. Fast forward to 2023 and Nike, who now owns Converse, recently announced its Sabrina Lonescu unisex line for all hoopers. Lonescu is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty team of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the line is a gender-neutral performance and lifestyle assortment of merchandise. And Vans, of course, is a mega-trendy niche brand whose young shoppers do not shop by gender. Even before gender-fluid fashions became hot, Vans was selling the same type of shoes to consumers regardless of gender. Influencers play a role in the gender-fluid trend (think Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Billy Porter, and Ranveer Singh). Many artists, celebrities, and influencers do not pick styles based on gender labels; rather, they pick styles that define who they in their personal expression. Levi has been at the forefront of this movement understanding that celebrities are forerunners to the masses and positioning Levi for everyone.

Right Sizing

A parallel trend to gender-fluid fashion is the fact that consumers today are focused on styles that appeal to them and sizes that fit right. In one survey by UNiDAYS, 80 percent of Gen Z respondents admit they focus on how clothes look and feel, 55 percent say they don’t mind how clothes are labeled, and 65 percent believe brands should give shoppers the option to search for gender-neutral clothing.

The biggest challenge of course is for brands to get the sizing right. One-size-fits-all is not something with universal appeal. It’s unrealistic for one size to fit all; perhaps the label should read, “one size fits most.” Common sizing across a graded scale is probably one of the larger challenges when producing genderless fashion. When it launched its genderless denim line, it took five prototypes and more than 50 fit models of different sizes to develop the line which Everlane says fits everyone. The company developed its own sizing called “The Everyone” size scale, which ranges from E1 to E11. For example, E1 equates to men’s size 26 and women’s size 24, E2 equates to men’s size 27 and women’s size 25, and so on….

New sizing standards require brands and retailers to train associates (physical and digital) and educate shoppers. Easier said than done. Plus the new sizing has to make sense to target markets. Training associates is a challenge for both physical and digital commerce applications. Salespeople will then have to educate and train shoppers on how to locate the right size based on independent sizing specifications. This can be especially complicated for consumers. A person who is an E3 in Everlane may be a size small in U.S. UNIQLO and a medium in Japan. In short, we do not have universal sizing standards (think of the complex footwear market).

Cost Benefits

Reduced apparel over-production is a cost savings with fewer male and female skus, which can mitigate an already saturated marketplace. Potentially, genderless apparel could cut product assortment essentially in half. Fewer styles mean more chances of hitting trends right, increasing gross margin, and creating a higher turnover.

If you project the trend out longer term, less merchandise means smaller store designs and a unified visual merchandising strategy. And then there are also genderless fitting rooms which means less square footage allocated to these spaces. Clear messaging for genderless fashion marketing programs can appeal to and develop a new customer cohort and resale has a broader market to sell to. The underlying environmental benefits of gender fluid fashion move us along to a more circular economy.

Social and Political IQ

Although it may make some brand leaders uncomfortable, they need to respond to their customers and embrace a potentially controversial political and cultural stance. Standing up for social justice initiatives, providing more inclusivity for employees and customers, and being more involved in the community and social issues are how brands can make a difference within the broader business scope.

Being neutral on issues or playing it safe with traditionally accepted norms can quickly diminish a brand’s connection and credibility with its target markets. Conversely, creating policies and practices that uphold social values will deepen brand loyalty of core customer segments. Offering genderless fashion and supporting non-binary culture demonstrates a retailer’s values, whether implicitly stated or not. Ultimately, the brand must decide on the right thing to do that is authentic and not just chasing profits. Today’s retail landscape is more challenging for CEOs, and to be successful, they will need to up their political and social IQs. Empathy can never be overestimated.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) recently announced it will be celebrating its upcoming 60^th anniversary by “looking to the future” with a metaverse, Web3, and NFT exhibition in December. While the subjects of the event may be unfamiliar to many, organizers hope to use it to show fashion players the opportunities that are becoming available in the digital world.

“Our vision at 5Crypto and with this partnership is to empower and educate Web2 brands on the limitless opportunities Web3 presents, and create special moments that bridge the gap between consumer and crypto,” said Akbar Hamid, founder and CEO of 5^th Column and 5Crypto, a communications agency for cryptocurrency, metaverse, NFTs, and consumer brands. More on Web2 versus Web3 in a bit.

Confusion currently reigns when it comes to NFTs and Web3, which gives brands the opportunity to be interpreters of this shopping arena. This makes even more sense when one considers that online shoppers turn to retailer and brand websites the most (35 percent) when they’re looking for ideas for online apparel purchases, according to the Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor research

The CFDA event will include a metaverse exhibition (metaverse can mean augmented or virtual reality, or avatar/gaming reality, among other things) of 60 looks from the CFDA’s six decades, as well as exclusive NFTs (non-fungible tokens) that will go up for auction.

The Shape of the Future

Valentino Vettori, founder, Arcadia Earth, a platform that aims to raise awareness about sustainability and circular design, says fashion companies can start creating values and relationships with their clients through Web3, NFTs and crypto currency. During a presentation at the recent Coterie New York show, Vettori described Web2 as a website where the brand sells to others. He then explained Web3 almost like crowdsourcing – where a brand would be owned by whoever buys a piece of the company through non-fungible tokens or crypto. It could be owned by a 100 people or a million people, depending on the value someone creates for their company. The ownership is then distributed through digital assets like NFTs, whose ownership can be tracked through blockchained smart contracts.

“NFTs can remain a simple loyalty program where if you own my NFT, you can participate in my fashion show, or if you own my crypto currency, you may own part of my brand,” Vettori explained. “Let’s say I released shoes and I put beautiful pictures on the digital contract that says if you own the shoes in the physical space, you also own them in the digital space. Once you own the shoes, you also get to resell them. If it was a limited collection, that has value and now you can make money from it. Also, if you’re someone with no money but you have a lot of friends and you want to start a fashion business, you can create a brand and break it into tiny little pieces. And then you create a crypto (Vettori says it’s not hard to do), and you’re technically fundraising really fast. Before you know it, you have raised funds with your investors who are also your consumer and your community — and all the transactions are tracked through their blockchain with this smart contract.”

The Future of Virtual Commerce

This might sound head-spinning. But it also sounds like it could be profitable for both retailers and brands, especially if executed by well-known names that already offer consumers a certain level of comfort. Currently, shoppers purchase most of their clothes at mass merchants like Walmart and Target (22 percent), according to Cotton Incorporated’s 2022 Lifestyle Monitor Survey. That’s followed by Amazon (13 percent), chain stores like Kohl’s (12 percent), department stores such as Macy’s and Dillard’s (11 percent), off-price stores like Ross and TJ Maxx (10 percent), specialty stores such as Gap and American Eagle (9 percent), and fast-fashion specialty stores like Zara and Uniqlo (6.6 percent).

Currently, most consumers prefer to purchase their clothes in a physical store (58 percent) versus online (42 percent), according to the Monitor research. It’s still quite traditional. But GWI, a U.K.-based market research firm, says more than one-fifth of Gen Z and millennial shoppers want retailers to offer AR (augmented reality) so they can digitally try on products. The company says there has been a 29 percent increase in the number of VR (virtual reality) headset owners since 2020.

GWI also says brands are in a position to help consumers understand and navigate the digital fashion world. The firm says “confusion currently reigns” when it comes to NFTs and Web3, which gives brands the opportunity to be interpreters of this shopping arena. This makes even more sense when one considers that online shoppers turn to retailer and brand websites the most (35 percent) when they’re looking for ideas for online apparel purchases, according to the Monitor research. That’s followed by social media sites (30 percent), ecommerce-only sites such as Amazon and Net-A-Porter (28 percent), ecommerce-only apps (27 percent), emails from retailers and brands (24 percent), retailer and brand apps (22 percent), fashion or fashion trend sites (20 percent), and emails from ecommerce-only sites.

GWI adds that brands should also get into the gaming world, as it predicts gamers will be among the metaverse’s first adopters. To wit, GWI relates, 22 percent of consumers interested in taking part in the metaverse already play Minecraft.

While some of fashion’s digital future might sound too futuristic, retailers and brands should note that most consumers (58 percent) say the past few years have changed the way they will shop for apparel in the years to come, according to the Monitor research. Nearly half of these shoppers (47 percent) say they will shop for more apparel online. And 41 percent say they will be more purposeful with the clothes they do buy.

For its part, the CFDA is using its 60^th anniversary to help the industry move forward. “The CFDA has always pioneered creative and innovative thinking,” said the CFDA’s Steven Kolb, CEO. “And with our first metaverse exhibition and NFTs, we are embracing this new era of digital transformation.”

Note: Cotton Incorporated is a Robin Report Collaborative Partner.

The slogan “reduce, reuse, recycle” has been around for decades. But it’s only more recently that the fashion industry has begun examining how such actions could improve their sustainability efforts while giving their clothing a second life. America Recycles Day is taking place today, November 15 with the aim of raising awareness about how to recycle, repurpose materials, and reduce landfill waste. So, whether it’s reselling preowned fashion, using deadstock rather than new textiles or recycling existing fibers, there are plenty of options available to the fashion industry.

Seven For All Mankind

Take Seven For All Mankind, which recently established an online resale shop called 7 Revival that is accessed from its website’s home page. In this ecommerce shop, customers can buy certified, preowned Seven denim with the confidence that comes with buying new from the brand — but at a price that may be more within reach. Seven For All Mankind’s Heather Mee, chief merchandising officer, recently spoke in New York at a circular fashion panel hosted by Shopify and moderated by Karin Dillie, vice president of partnerships at Recurate, a service that helps brands establish resale platforms on their own ecommerce sites. Mee said Seven started the resale shop for sustainability reasons, but it’s provided more opportunities from there.

Nearly half of all consumers expect to purchase more second-hand apparel in the future, according to the Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor research. That number significantly increases to 53 percent among millennials. Additionally, 74 percent of consumers are interested in circular fashion as a sustainability initiative, and 76 percent are interested in clothing recycling.

“This creates a new entry way for consumers who want a more affordable option or who just want to try the product,” Mee said. “And then for sellers who maybe have older, skinny jeans but want to try new, looser fits or boot cuts, they can list their jeans and get a credit new Sevens while someone else enjoys their pre-owned denim.”

American Second-Hand Surge

Consumers have already been showing enthusiasm for buying used apparel. In the past year, a little over half of consumers (57 percent) have purchased pre-owned/second-hand clothing in-person from a thrift shop, consignment store or yard sale, or online from sites like thredUP, Poshmark, and The RealReal, according to the Monitor survey. That figure increases significantly to 71 percent among Gen Z shoppers.

Further, nearly half of all consumers (46 percent) expect to purchase more second-hand apparel in the future, according to the Monitor research. That number significantly increases to 53 percent among millennials. Additionally, 74 percent of consumers are interested in circular fashion as a sustainability initiative, and 76 percent are interested in clothing recycling.

Field Reports

• Maurices, the women’s fashion retailer, is introducing its Fit Freedom Jean Exchange – a program that falls under the “reuse” aspect of recycling. The initiative allows customers to exchange M Jeans by Maurices for a new size within one year of purchase, for free. The returned jeans are then donated to local organizations to benefit and be reused by women in need in the hometowns of Maurices stores.
• Arrive, a new Los Angeles-based venture from Rachelle Snyder, CEO, is a nod to the “renew” facet of recycling. The company gives new life to retailers’ apparel returns. Normally, Snyder says, 80 percent of retail returns can go back to stock. But 20 percent are defective, with problems like deodorant marks, embedded perfume smells or holes. Usually, she says, those items end up in a landfill. But her company is refurbishing such garments so brands can resell them on the resale sections of their websites.

“We currently do this right now with Eddie Bauer,” she says. “They have a resale site called (Re)Adventure. Eddie Bauer ships us all their non-new returns. Arrive then refurbishes them and brings them back to a saleable condition. We grade them to say it’s like new, excellent, or good. And then we hold the product and fulfill the order when it’s purchased on their resale site.”

Like Seven For All Mankind’s resale shop, Snyder says the brands she works with use their own photography and images from their product catalog, giving users a “very premium, certified branded experience.” Brands also get to control the pricing. Both factors are very different from, say, Poshmark, which features photographs and prices set by users. Snyder says brand-owned resale sites offer the ability to control one’s own brand while addressing existing returns issues. She adds that if a garment isn’t salvageable, Arrive will also help brands ship them to channels that make sense, like a fabric recycling center.

Recycling Has Value

About one-third of consumers (34 percent) say they are interested in clothing recycling programs that recycle old garments into new clothes, according to Monitor research. Of note, 34 percent of shoppers say they’re willing to pay more for clothes that are produced via clothing recycling. Another 32 percent of consumers say they’re more interested in programs that recycle old clothes into new products other than apparel.

Cotton Incorporated created the Blue Jeans Go Green denim recycling program in 2006 to encourage denim recycling, create awareness for cotton sustainability, and create opportunities to help those in need. The program has collected more than 4.2 million pieces of denim, thus diverting over 2,100 tons of textile waste from landfills. The old denim is then transformed into new, useful products such as building insulation, thermal packaging insulation, pet bed inserts, and more.

Finally, the use of deadstock fabrics works toward recycling, as it reduces the number of new fabrics that need to be manufactured while extending the life of existing textiles. Recently, Mango, the Spanish fashion retailer, teamed with Recovo, a deadstock fabrics marketplace to support development of more sustainable clothing. The brand Handmade Stories is using deadstock fabrics for its entire Spring ’23 collection. And designer Collina Strada employed deadstock chiffons, velvets, and overdyed lace in her Spring/Summer 2023 collection.

“I think brands must be responsible for their product all the way to the end-of-life,” Snyder says. “But you can’t just expect a brand to do that on its own. You have to give them the tools, the support and the channels to actually do that. That’s our goal.”

As the top editor of Women’s Wear Daily and W magazine, and CEO of Fairchild Publications, Michael Coady had a front row seat at the collections in Paris, Milan, Rome, London, and New York for 30 years and his book is filled with personal observations and edgy anecdotes.

The Robin Report is exclusively bringing you a series of five excerpts from Fashion Madness. Read on, and order Coady’s e-book to get the complete inside story.

Fashion Madness

Fashion was turned upside down and inside out in the 70s and 80s by the greatest collection of the most talented fashion designers. With genius bursting from their brains, they blurred the lines between men and women’s styles, creating a new metaphor for the times. They became major celebrities and stars transcending the fashion world. What was it that enabled them to capture this attention? Sure, they were creative and had terrific taste, but it took a lot more to change the landscape of fashion forever. Never before or since has there been such a happening.

High fashion designers lived in a most advanced visual world. I went to their collections mostly by day, had business luncheons and dinners and played with them at night. I was talking to an old friend, Harry Benson, one of the great Time and Life  photojournalists of the period who said, “there was not a greater time to be alive and you and I were in it right up to our eyeballs.”

Out of the Blue

In 1970, out of the blue, John Fairchild, chairman and CEO of Fairchild Publications, plucked me out of its Chicago bureau where I was covering nuts and bolts business news for all twelve company publications and made me Editor in Chief of Women’s Wear Daily, the company’s flagship. I didn’t have a clue about what its fashion, high society, and  café society coverage was all about.

Shortly after joining WWD, I was sent to cover a black tie ball in Newport, Rhode Island. A waiter spilled a carafe of wine over my trousers. He insisted I take my pants off and he would rush them into the kitchen to clean them up. As I sat at my table, Mrs. Janet Auchincloss, Jackie Kennedy’s mother, came over and asked me to dance. Having had a fair bit of wine, pants less as I was, I accepted!

I had just gotten to WWD and almost got fired.

The next day, John Fairchild asked me if I danced with Jackie Kennedy’s mother without my pants and I said I did. He said he got a call from Lee Radziwill, Jackie’s sister, telling him he had to fire me. John looked at me for a minute and then started laughing as he walked away. Well, I didn’t get fired.

This was me, and the time I lived in.

I was thirty-one years old, and for six years had been a business reporter for the Boston Herald and one year was bureau chief of Fairchild’s Chicago Bureau when I was named Editor in Chief of WWD. I had no idea what made the fashion business tick, let alone the powerful position it held in New York City. Fairchild, had a dozen publications but spent virtually all his time on WWD and W Magazine. He had already become a significant disruptive force in the media coverage of the fashion world by the time I arrived on the scene.

WWD under John didn’t pull any punches in its fashion coverage and in spotlighting fashion personalities. In person, he was incredibly amusing and loved to gossip. He always had a new story about someone in the industry. The problem was trying to determine if they were factual.

Once, John and I were being interviewed by Stuart Elliot, then the Media section reporter of The New York Times. He asked us how we worked together? I said we had a pilot–co-pilot relationship. John usually set the course, but sometimes I flew the plane and sometimes he did. John said, “Oh, that is so boring.” He then told the Times reporter, “We are two mad monks stirring up a witches’ brew!”

After the reporter left, he started laughing. He said his description was better. I said, “Yes, but I hope they use mine.” In fact, they didn’t use either.

It is this silly side of Fairchild that got written about. The power of WWD and W Magazine, its consumer counterpart, however, came from the fact he knew how clothes should be made. He understood fabrics, cut, and color and had impeccable taste. Designers feared him because they knew he knew. He knew what a well-cut dress or suit should be, what colors worked, and whether the result was the best collection of the season. Designers wanted, and even needed, his blessings. The worst thing John could say about someone was, “The poor thing just doesn’t have any taste.”

WWD was also the major herald of what was happening in café society. Major designers were integrated in the social fabric of New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Rome, and Milan. John Fairchild, when he took the helm of Women’s Wear in the mid 1960s, started a daily gossip column in WWD and called it The Eye. The column wrote about the fashion industry, designers, and socialites. The Eye was the most-read section of the daily newspaper.

As if not knowing about the fashion industry weren’t enough, I had to also understand how it was integrated into New York City’s social world and beyond. All of a sudden, I was getting invited to major social events, getting some of the best tables in the best restaurants, and flying around the world first class. I was feted by world-famous designers in Paris, Rome, Milan, and Tokyo. I was invited to lunch at the United Nations by then-Israeli ambassador Benjamin Netanyahu, at City Hall by New York City’s mayor, Ed Koch, by Margaret Trudeau, then wife of the prime minister of Canada, and by Estee Lauder and many more, all looking for favourable coverage.

It was a bit overwhelming.

The Eye was also influential in publishing circles. A former publisher of WWD, James Brady, went to the New York Post and started Page Six based on The Eye. Henry Grunwald, editor in chief of Time Inc. told me, “The Eye had a lot to do with Time Inc. starting People Magazine. WWD, with a relatively small circulation of just less than 100,000, was read by all the important designers, retailers, and fashion press. Its reach and power was extended in its syndication to every major newspaper in the country. About 20,000 of the circulation went to non-industry society readers which provided the basis for a new consumer publication. That happened a year after I arrived and Fairchild christened it W.

While remaining editor of WWD, I was also named to the same position at W, which came out every two weeks. We packaged all of the fashion and gossip coverage of WWD and inserted it into W. We added major features about designers’ luxurious lifestyles. W was meant to inform and amuse readers about the fashion world. It was the first publication to run In and Out lists of people, places, and things. Café society wanted to know what the fashions were going to be at the same time the retailers knew, and, of course, who was In or Out. W was an instant success, becoming profitable in its second year. Within three years, it had a paid circulation of just under 500,000.

To be continued!  To order Fashion Madness, click here.

Now that New York Fashion Week has wrapped, the city is experiencing Climate Week NYC. And while the former event is full of glamor and glitz, the latter – taking place September 19-to-25 – will be calling on government officials, industry leaders, CEOs, and international decision-makers to address and rethink the actions to be taken regarding climate initiatives.

Fashion and Climate Change

In a DHL webinar earlier this year titled “Delivering on Circularity, Pathways for Fashion,” DHL’s Mirella Muller, president, global eRetail and fashion sector, detailed the part the fashion industry has played in the climate crisis. “So, 6 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are coming from fashion and consumer electronics,” Muller said. “And to be honest, this full percent of fashion (4 percent) is a very conservative estimate. If you compare it to the 3 percent of aviation, that’s a big number. If we continue like this, fashion and consumer electronics will be at 20 percent by 2030. There’s a clear call for action to take here.”

Six percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are coming from fashion and consumer electronics. If you compare it to the 3 percent of aviation, that’s a big number. If we continue like this, fashion and consumer electronics will be at 20 percent by 2030.

Heating Up

Climate Week comes as the Western U.S. has seen unprecedented September temperatures that have soared over 110 degrees and threatened California’s power grid. Flash floods have inundated state after state across America. Yet, nearly half of the lower 48 states (46 percent) are experiencing drought as of this writing. On top of that, hurricane season is just getting started. And experts warn that warmer ocean temperatures and higher sea levels due to climate change will intensify each hurricane’s force and impact.

Muller went on to say the main emissions from the fashion industry are coming from production. “It shows how important it is to start talking about longer life and the second life of fashion products,” Muller said. “We could probably save 55 percent to 75 percent of these emissions. The second life models involve the five Rs: reduce overproduction; repair damaged products; resell products that are still of value for another owner; refurbish products with signs of usage for re-sale; and recycle products.”

Circularity in the Closet

One hurdle for the “circularity” movement lies at the consumer level: The majority of consumers (68 percent) have never heard of circular fashion, identified as clothing that can be reused or recycled to new clothing, according to the Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor Survey. In fact, 11 percent of shoppers believe circular fashion means “styles that go in and out of fashion.” Just 9 percent consider it to be fashion that has multiple uses/is recycled/is reused.

Recycling Sustainably

On the other hand, 75 percent of consumers say they are interested in apparel recycling as a sustainability initiative for the fashion industry, according to Monitor data. Further, 34 percent of consumers say they’re willing to pay more for apparel that is produced via clothing recycling. And about a third (34 percent) say they are interested in programs that recycle old clothes into new garments or recycle old clothes into new products other than apparel (32 percent).

To Muller’s point regarding “longer life fashion,” brands might consider that most consumers (59 percent) say cotton clothes last longest, especially when compared to apparel made of petroleum-based fibers like polyester, nylon, and acrylic, according to the Monitor research. They also feel cotton clothes are the highest quality (71 percent) and the most sustainable (78 percent).

Going a step further, consumers say the term “sustainable clothing” means it lasts the longest (35 percent), followed by environmentally friendly (21 percent), renewable/reusable (18 percent), and is good quality (6 percent), according to the Monitor research.

Reaching Targets

Shailja Dubé, an Institute of Positive Fashion lead from the British Fashion Council, discussed during the DHL webinar a Council report that has 10 priority action areas and 30 recommendations for the fashion industry to meet sustainability targets.

“This is really a discussion about policy and legislation change,” Dubé said. “It is about innovation, investment and making sure we have the demand for recycled and renewable fibers. The financial case for circularity is really high and very clear. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation found that the potential for this industry by 2030 could amount to $700 billion U.S. That represents about 23 percent of the global fashion market. So, these are not insignificant numbers.”

Cotton Circularity

Brands that make cotton part of their collections can feel good about their contribution to circularity. Virgin cotton is already natural, sustainable and biodegradable, and it can be reused and recycled in a variety of ways, ultimately decomposing when it is returned to the earth.

A beneficial side point: The cotton ginning process creates 2.5 million tons of biomass each year, which can be used to produce energy, aka, fuel. And cotton cycles carbon out of the atmosphere through the natural process of photosynthesis, during which carbon dioxide is absorbed and carbon is then stored in the plant. When crop residues are left on the ground and returned to earth, the stored carbon in the plant residue can increase carbon in the soil, acting as a carbon sink – which is vital to the ecosystem.

Cotton fabric can also be recycled as either pre- or post-consumer waste. Recycled cotton can find new life in products such as insulation, mop heads, rags, and stuffing. And this process contributes to an estimated annual diversion of 3.8 billion pounds of post-consumer textile waste from landfills.

Being Part of the Solution

Dubé pointed out that consumers need to be part of the climate solution, as well. There’s really no point, she said, in making a perfectly circular product if the user does not know how to care for it, prolong its life through care and repair, or how to deal with it correctly at the end-of-life phase. She advises brands to empower consumers by making sure their businesses are transparent.

“We have an obligation to do business better, resolve inequality and really hand over a future fit world where everything is made in the right way,” Dubé said. “Circularity is something that is absolutely going to be part of that future proofing when it comes to business, and we can address the challenges of climate change.”

Walmart is making fashion a priority. The strategy is to pursue niche DTC brands, and primarily those that have appeal for younger, higher-income consumers. According to an Insider article, DTC brands like Harry’s, Casper, Olly, and Quip all chose to debut in big-box retail at Target. Even though Target has a smaller footprint, their customer base is wealthier, and Target focuses on design with dedicated teams for emerging brands.

Image Reset

Unlike Target, Walmart’s image has always been the quintessential everyday lower price model. Because of its focus on products and categories that fit the strategy of high turn, high-volume basics, its systems can only accommodate vendors’ goods that could service that model. And, of course, the young DTC brands cannot. Walmart intends to work with up-and-coming brands to accommodate their size and distribution barriers. And according to Insider, “Walmart is emerging as the go-to retailer for DTC brands expanding into big-box stores.” With those barriers eliminated, emerging brands envision Walmart as “ride rocket ride.” Just a reminder, NRF data shows that Walmart is the largest retailer in the U.S. with sales last year of $459.5 billion, while runner-up Amazon delivered $217.8 billion in sales, and Target clocked in at $93.5 billion.

According to Incandela, “We know that the Walmart customer is looking for fashion brands; she’s willing to spend more and we want to make sure we have what she’s looking for.” She then noted, “We should be her preferred fashion destination, especially in these inflationary times when it’s critical that Walmart be focused on the customer and our ability to offer high quality, stylish apparel, and accessories at incredible prices.”

The Walmart Start program was created as a beauty brand accelerator program that sets smaller brands up for success by giving them a chance to launch at Walmart. The program also gives these brands access to invaluable tools like virtual classes, professional mentorships, and activation support. Walmart’s strategy is that on-trend emerging beauty brands will compel younger and higher-income customers to shop in its stores or online. In its launch even though there may be a limited selection, the promise is that these new customers will also spend time shopping around the rest of the store.

The Next-Gen Shopper

Co-founder and managing partner of Selva Ventures, Kiva Dickinson, says, “The reason Walmart is making this concerted effort is to make sure that younger people are in the store and, once they’re in, are incentivized to browse. They have so much more to gain from spending more time in that box. We’ve seen brands do more than $5 million in sales in their first year at Walmart or more than double their DTC sales.”

The race to get on Walmart’s rocket (apologies to Blue Origin) is just beginning. New upscale food, beauty and personal-care brands are entering or expanding. Bubble, a Gen Z skincare brand and DTC razor brand Billie recently entered. Owyn, a vegan-protein shake brand expanded its presence from 1500 stores to 4500 in August. There’s a rush to the Walmart Start program; the 2022 program plans to get five “buzzy” young beauty brands into 1000 to 3500 stores by next year.

Denise Incandela Takes Walmart Fashion to a New Level

I wrote in July Walmart Fashion: No Longer An Oxymoron Walmart Fashion: No Longer an Oxymoron (therobinreport.com) that “As recently as five years ago, I would have said that Walmart fashion is an oxymoron. Denise Incandela joined the value behemoth in 2017 and is now Executive Vice President, Apparel and General Merchandise Private Brands, Walmart U.S. From that moment on, I knew it was the beginning of fashion’s ascendance for Walmart. She has made a remarkable impact on Walmart fashion over the past five years.”

I just interviewed Denise an hour ago in Alvanon’s Tech Fest, an annual conference attended by thousands of fashion industry retailers and brands around the world, along with senior and C-level speakers from each of those industries. My interview with Denise ended the Tech Fest program, and the following is a distillation of our conversation. As you will read, Denise and Walmart Fashion are on the move.

I opened with an overview of Denise’s career and Walmart’s fashion business. She has been widely quoted and in the past, she said three things that really stand out:

1. She has always considered herself a “transformational change agent.”
2. She felt she had “a keen sense of what was coming down the pike.”
3. About joining Walmart, she said it was “an extraordinary opportunity to do something that hadn’t been done before.”

She went into more detail in our conversation: “I’ve always been excited to lead transformational and even innovative opportunities, starting when I joined Saks Fifth Avenue to lead its digital business – when luxury wasn’t yet online – then Ralph to lead its global digital business – to transform an American brand – and now Walmart.” She added, “Walmart has a significant apparel business but was focused on basics and opening price point. There is substantial opportunity for Walmart to expand beyond its core assortment of opening price point to higher AURs – and even fashion – to obtain more of our customers share of closet.”

The Walmart customer is very different than the customer Denise served in prior positions at Ralph Lauren and Saks Fifth Avenue. I asked her how she went from building customer relationships with premium brands to reaching a mass market customer that is price conscious. She responded, “I loved working in luxury, but we only served and impacted the top 1% of this country. The Walmart customer represents America. Millions and millions of people go through our doors every week. It’s an extraordinary privilege and honor to impact America and how it dresses. It’s a completely different scale and feels like a ‘change the world’ opportunity, which is incredibly motivating.” She added, “All women (and men) want to look and feel great, no matter their style or budget. We know that the Walmart customer is looking for fashion brands; she’s willing to spend more and we want to make sure we have what she’s looking for.” She then noted, “We should be her preferred fashion destination, especially in these inflationary times when it’s critical that Walmart be focused on the customer and our ability to offer high quality, stylish apparel, and accessories at incredible prices. This all feels like the culmination of my career.”

Denise’s promotion to EVP of Apparel and Private Brands at Walmart broadened her responsibility beyond eCommerce to include the elevation of fashion in stores as well. I asked her how she brought an overall fashion perspective to Walmart and what are some of the major initiatives that have been part of her strategy.

She responded with an extensive list of initiatives. Here are the highlights:

• Assortment transformation. Walmart added more than 1,000 brands across Walmart.com and physical stores, which includes national and exclusive elevated brands. The national brands include Reebok, Celebrity Pink, Justice, US Polo Assn., Kendall + Kylie, Levi Strauss, Champion, and Jordache. And the elevated brands include Scoop, Free Assembly, Sofia Jeans by Sofia Vergara, Eloquii Elements, Bonobos Fielder, Love & Sports, and Moosejaw.
• Design talent. This includes exclusive partnerships, that advance Walmart’s assortment fashion credibility, featuring Brandon Maxwell (Free Assembly and Scoop), Michelle Smith and Stacey Griffith, (Love & Sports), and Sofia Vergara (Sophia Jeans).
• Shopping experience transformation. Walmart is re-imagining in-store, online, and omni services to improve traffic and conversion
• The store experience. Walmart’s Store of the Future will change the way customers experience fashion in stores. Everything is being reimagined: branded shops, mannequins, new lighting, fixtures, visual merchandisers. In-store creative will showcase national brands and RFID technology in stores will deliver better on-hand accuracy.
• Online experience. The overhauled online experience includes 360 Spin and Fit Predictor technology, and the game-changing virtual try-on technology, Choose My Model. And today during our conversation, Walmart announced the next phase of their personalized virtual try-on technology with Be Your Own Model, an industry leading technology that brings the in-store fitting room experience to online shoppers.
• Omni experience. Customers can buy online and pick up or ship from store.
• Marketing and creative transformation. Shoppers will experience new imagery, be advised by influencers, and Walmart will run ads in Vogue.

So, although Denise entered Walmart prior to the Walmart Start program, her initiatives are designed to amplify the appeal to younger and higher-income consumers. She has already made her mark on this venerable retail giant convincing the C-suite that they could, in fact, up their game and elevate their image. She said in a CNBC interview, “We’re at the beginning of the journey, we have a lot of work to do.” And I’m sure she will not only do the work but exceed our expectations.

Although numerous residents of New Jersey are still openly bemoaning the plastic bag ban that took effect in May, millions of people around the globe are participating in Plastic Free July, an initiative of the Plastic Free Foundation, an organization whose vision is “seeing a world free of plastic waste.” Included in that waste is microplastic ocean pollution, more than a third of which stems from apparel-made synthetic fibers.

Critical Microplastic Mass

At this point, the majority of all apparel is made from polyester and other petroleum-based fibers. And their microfibers contribute to microplastic pollution as every time consumers launder their clothes, millions of tiny particles wash out with the wastewater and enter rivers, oceans, drinking water, and the food chain. Experts say it’s high time for the fashion industry to start listening to not just environmental authorities, but consumers themselves.

The majority of all apparel is made from polyester and other petroleum-based fibers. And their microfibers contribute to microplastic pollution as every time consumers launder their clothes, millions of tiny particles wash out with the wastewater and enter rivers, oceans, drinking water, and the food chain.

“The planet cannot afford an industry that’s not making progress,” said McKinsey’s Achim Berg, senior partner, in an episode of The McKinsey Podcast. “Consumers have become more demanding in that respect. A lot of people have been at home throughout the pandemic. They have had more time to think about their consumption patterns. We’ve seen a big change – in particular, in Western Europe and North America – in how consumers think about sustainability and what they demand from brands. Therefore, brands will have to do it all. It’s not going to get any easier for brands in the whole industry in the next 18-to-24 months.”

Sustainable Solutions

The majority of consumers say cotton clothing is the most sustainable (76 percent), according to the 2022 Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor^TM Survey. Further, 40 percent of shoppers say sustainability is very important when looking at the apparel they plan to purchase.

The Plastic Soup Foundation, a non-profit marine conservation organization, has a goal of reducing synthetic fiber pollution by 80 percent in the coming years. It intends to do this by, among other things, exerting pressure on clothing manufacturers.

Specious Sustainability Claims

Separately, another institution says the “unsustainable trajectory of the modern fashion industry is alarming.” The Changing Markets Foundation, a London-based organization formed to accelerate solutions to sustainability challenges, released a report earlier this year that claims 10 major certifications, labels, and voluntary industry initiatives add up to nothing more than meaningless talk.

“It seems that instead of taking precautionary measures with regard to limiting microfibre [sic] release, a majority of brands are relying on TMC (The Microfibre Consortium), which, although tasked with developing a universal measuring method, has – after years of work – only released this to paying members and not to the public,” the Changing Markets Foundation states in its “License to Greenwash” report. “Additionally, TMC seems to have a concerning bias in favour [sic] of synthetics, conspicuously ignoring the science suggesting that plastic microfibres are more persistent in the environment and cause more harm to health.”

The Public Speaks

Beyond general sustainability, the majority of consumers (66 percent) say it’s important/very important that the clothes they buy be made from materials that can biodegrade or decompose when the garment reaches the end of its life, according to Monitor^TM data. A growing number of consumers (40 percent, up from 35 percent in 2021) are aware that microfibers from clothing are polluting the planet’s oceans and waters. The majority of consumers (66 percent) who are aware of microplastic pollution know that much of this is caused by washing apparel made from synthetic fibers. And nearly two-thirds (65 percent) who are aware of microfiber pollution say this awareness will affect their future clothing purchasing decisions.

Coresight Research says sustainability is a key trend to watch in retail. “Consumers are increasingly demanding that the brands and retailers they buy from improve sustainability and transparency; employees want to work for sustainable companies; and investors screen for ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) to limit exposure to risks related to unsustainable businesses,” Coresight states in a recent report.

Companies looking to be transparent with consumers while avoiding adding to the microplastic pollution in Earth’s waters can turn to plant-based products like cotton fiber. While cotton garments also shed microfibers into waterways during laundry cycles, research indicates that cotton disintegrates dramatically in fresh and salt water, and degrades 76 percent after 243 days in wastewater. That compares to polyester, which degrades just 6 percent. This translates into cotton degrading 95 percent more than synthetic fibers in the same timeframe.

Since cotton fibers are naturally occurring and biodegradable, 100 percent cotton fabrics can help reduce a brand’s contribution to the growing microplastic pollution in oceans and waterways.

Eco-conscious consumers also say cotton apparel is the highest quality (71 percent) and longest-lasting (59 percent) when compared to synthetic clothes, according to the Monitor^TM research. Additionally, fashion designers and brands should consider most consumers are willing to pay more money to keep cotton from being substituted with lower-priced manmade fibers in a variety of apparel categories, including underwear and intimates (63 percent), T-shirts (60 percent), casual clothing (56 percent), denim jeans (54 percent), children’s wear (51 percent), and activewear (51 percent).

Plastic Free July

The theme of this year’s Plastic Free July challenge is ‘Turn the Tide, one choice at a time’ and celebrates the collective impact of millions across the world choosing to refuse plastics. The Plastic Free organization states: “From governments and brands committing to design for a circular economy to individuals making choices in their daily lives, we know this groundswell of action is driving regulation and legislation at a global level.”