Our business model, access to clothes as opposed to ownership, is disruptive of current ownership norms of clothing in mainstream western society.
Clothing has always been a personally owned artefact in Western society. From the 1800’s to 1960’s there was made to measure couture for the wealthy or handmade at home for those less well off. Industrialisation gave birth to fast fashion in the 1960’s and the ready to wear retail industry was born (Idacavage). Despite garments being made in set standard sizing, individual ownership is still the norm today.
Because our model is disrupting current societal norms there are barriers that need to be addressed in order to get companies and consumers alike on board. We have researched potential barriers and came to the following conclusions and potential solutions:
- The first being the personal nature of clothing. Because clothing sits so close to our skin, absorbs our smell and our experiences there is often negative perception of second hand clothes as being ‘contaminated’ by their previous wearers (Pederson et al).
Other collaborative consumption businesses has shown that this barrier can easily be overcome with the promise of a good deal and secure damage policies. For example, Airbnb demonstrates that under the right circumstances people are willing to share one of their most intimate possessions – their pillow. Therefore, they’d almost certainly be willing to wear worn but well laundered fashionable clothing.
Furthermore, studies have shown that this contagion effect can actually work in a positive way if the previous wearer of the clothing was seen in a positive, desirable way this transfers to the clothing (Pederson et al). Therefore a potential strategy to turn this barrier into a strength would be sponsoring and collaborating with influencers who resonate with our target market and the sustainable/ethical values of Refresh would transfer this respect and admiration to the clothes – people want to wear what they see people they admire in, imagine if there was a chance this was the exact same item, people would desire it even more
- The second being the mainstream norm of clothing ownership in Western society.
We buy the same H&M top everyone else has but own it ourselves… There seems to be a confusion of wants and needs. If you want to wear something, you generally have to own it. Sudies have shown that ownership is a means to an end, not the end itself. (Pederson et al) Meaning that consumers are often buying and buying new clothing to be on trend, fit in or stand out but often aren’t buying the clothes to wear them out, they’re buying them to be seen in them. This is a problem as it leads to overconsumption when things are brought for a small number of wears and then discarded. In our view if we could enable an access model we could better meet the needs of consumers while solving many of the core issues in the industry.
The success of special occasion rental platforms targeting our market suggests that the ownership barrier is already becoming less of an issue. The main way to combat it will be through communicating the benefits of the service to consumers. This can be done through our marketing campaigns.
Campaigns such as encouraging users to spread a #Borrowdontbuy or #Buylesswearmore on social media posts could help spread awareness. Furthermore, Refresh enables a more fulfilling experience than traditional fashion retail as it’s an ongoing service, an experience. People can share their experiences and stories of borrowing a garment. They can connect on this platform like sisters borrowing clothes. This is something that could also be emphasised in other aspects of our social media plan.
- The third being a lack of education – why should we do anything differently?
Our survey results suggested that a large majority of our target market did not even know what ‘ethical/sustainable’ clothing was. Educating consumers on the problems with the current system and enabling them with the knowledge and tools to change their habits easily should effectively combat this barrier.
It is important for our advertising campaigns to educate on the importance of buying less and wearing more from an environmental and ethical perspective. This could be achieved through videos on Youtube ‘exposing’ the horrible nature of the fashion industry, demonstrating the importance of transparency. Sharing statistics on social media of the devastating environmental and ethical statistics of clothing consumption. Calling brands out who aren’t being transparent in their supply chains, or who have damaging practices. And also the important role of the consumer, voting with their wallet. Buying only what they love, borrowing the rest to avoid waste. Supporting circular fashion brands and organisations.
Sources:
Idacavage, Sara. “Fashion History Lesson: The Origins of Fast Fashion.” Fashionista, 8 June 2016, fashionista.com/2016/06/what-is-fast-fashion.
Pedersen, Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum, and Sarah Netter. “Collaborative Consumption: Business Model Opportunities and Barriers for Fashion Libraries.” Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. 19, no. 3, 2015, pp. 258–273., doi:10.1108/jfmm-05-2013-0073.
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