8/10/2018
Does Sustainability Have a Millennial Problem? – Sourcing Journal
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AUGUST 7, 2018 9:41AM ET
Does Sustainability Have a Millennial Problem?
By Jasmin Malik Chua
Sorry, Planet Earth, but don’t count on millennials to save you.
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Despite a reputation for being socially, politically and environmentally “woke”—to the point of
caricature by their curmudgeonly forebears—the demographic born between 1982 and 2000, per the
U.S. Census Bureau (and 1981 and 1996, according to the Pew Research Center) isn’t about to martyr
themselves on the altar of the greater good.
This might go against everything we think we know about the avocado-toast-loving, safe-spacedemanding, ownership-averse group. An oft-quoted 2015 Nielsen Global Corporate Survey, after all,
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found that 73 percent of millennials, versus 66 percent of the general population, are willing to pay
extra for items that dovetail with their progressive values.
But intent and action can be very different animals. And when it comes to triggering an actual
purchase, recent research shows that sustainability isn’t the foremost consideration you might think.
A study conducted last month by a pair of University of Cambridge MBA students and ethical e-tailer
Mamoq, for instance, found that sustainability came in a distant fourth to t, price and style as the top
criteria shoppers use. In the survey of 123 respondents, 84 percent proclaimed t as their No. 1 priority.
Perhaps most tellingly, 67 percent of them were unwilling to sacri ce t, price or style to buy a
product that bettered society or the environment in some way.
A larger sample size bore this out, too. In February, New York City’s LIM College revealed that only 34
percent of the 685 millennials it surveyed said they were driven to buy a garment or accessory
because it was eco-friendly and sustainably produced. In comparison, 95 percent were motivated by
ease of purchase, 95 percent by price and value and 92 percent by the uniqueness of the item (nobody
wants to be caught on “the ‘gram” wearing the same thing as everyone else).
Et tu, millennials?
For Robert Conrad and Kenneth M. Kambara, the marketing and nance professors who conducted the
study, the results weren’t wholly unexpected.
“We knew that uniqueness and value for the money have been the key purchase drivers, so it isn’t a
stretch that sustainability isn’t top of mind for fashion purchases,” Kambara said. “The social awareness
attitudes are there, but when it comes down to spending, other things matter more.”
It’s not that millennials don’t want to put their money where their hearts are. Nearly 90 percent of
those surveyed agreed that millennials and Gen Z will help create more sustainably produced products
by convincing businesses and governments to change existing practices. And an equal percentage
af rmed they would ditch a product or brand for overtly damaging the environment.
But there simply aren’t enough brands that can check off all of millennials’ desired boxes, Conrad and
Kambara said. Even “eco-friendly youth-oriented brands” such as Anek, Everlane, Nudie Jeans,
Patagonia, People Tree, Reformation and K.O.I don’t have the scale or variety of offerings to meet
millennials’ requirements for ease, price and uniqueness.
“It is one thing to like something— ‘thumbs up’—and another to be willing to pay for it— ‘wallet out,’”
Conrad said. “That is true for all of us at some level. This is simply one way it applies to millennials.”
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These numbers aside, sustainable apparel, by and large, is on an upward trajectory, according to Katie
Smith, director of analysis and insights at Edited, a retail-technology rm based in London, New York
and San Francisco. But millennials also came of age at a time when you can make price comparisons
online in seconds, so they’re at once “exceptionally price savvy and sensitive,” she added.
It should come as no surprise that millennials are watching their wallets. Many entered the workforce
during the economic downturn. With traditional full-time employment disappearing in favor of the socalled “gig economy,” nancial stability has become an abiding concern.
Faced with “rising costs of education, property and city living, one way millennials are approaching
sustainability is buying less clothing, full stop,” Smith said. “[They’re] opting to not just wear and throw
away but are shifting their spend to experiential pursuits instead.”
Another study from Ohio State University claimed consumers can “willfully misremember” facts about
products that were made less than sustainably or ethically. After they were asked to memorize the
attributes of a list of made-up brands of desks, for instance, participants were able to accurately recall
their size and quality but faltered when it came to remembering if they were made of tree-farm or
rainforest wood. A similar pattern emerged when they were asked to differentiate between jeans made
from adult or child labor.
Memory, it turns out, is a tricky thing, especially when it threatens to make us feel poorly about a
potential purchase, according to Rebecca Reczek, associate professor of marketing at The Ohio State
University’s Fisher College of Business and co-author of the study, which was published in December
2017 in the Journal of Consumer Research.
“It’s not necessarily a conscious decision by consumers to forget what they don’t want to know,” Reczek
said in a statement. “It is a learned coping mechanism to tune out uncomfortable information because
it makes their lives easier.”
Indeed brands and retailers that hone in on sustainability to the exclusion of everything else are
essentially asking their customers to set aside their own interests for some nebulous act of charity
they’ll never see the fruits of, said Alden Wicker, a blogger, in uencer and yes, millennial, who writes
extensively about ethical fashion.
The most successful of the “conscious” brands are those that don’t prioritize sustainability or ethics
over t, value and style. Instead their virtuousness feel more like perks, Wicker said. Take Allbirds, the
footwear phenomenon that’s taken over Silicon Valley by storm, for example.
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“I think most people who buy Allbirds aren’t doing it because they use nontoxic glues and wool,”
Wicker said. “I think they’re doing it because they get a lot of value out of them as a direct-toconsumer brand that looks cool and is comfortable.”
Same thing with Reformation, the breezy cool-girl clothing label beloved by celebrities like Karlie
Kloss, Olivia Wilde and Rihanna. Sure, it repurposes deadstock fabrics and offcuts from the
manufacturing process, but that’s hardly its selling point.
“It’s just a sexy-looking brand that people really like. It follows the same lines: the price is right, the t
is great, it’s a great-looking brand and oh yeah, it’s sustainable, awesome,” Wicker said. “This might be
the nal nudge toward pressing the purchase button, but it’s not what initiated the purchase decision.”
This dovetails with recent revelations by Impossible.com’s Lily Cole: The average Jane or Joe doesn’t
want a deep dive into how a garment was made. In fact, Cole found that the more information people
received, the more overwhelmed and alienated they became.
The key is to keep the message simple.
“What we honed in on is storytelling and photographs,” Cole said at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit
in May. “If you see the images of the people making the clothes, if you see the places they come from,
that seems to be a more engaging way for people to understand.”
But ultimately brands—sustainable or not—can’t coast on virtue signaling. Millennials want to feel
good about their purchase, but they won’t go out of their way for that extra dopamine hit.
“[Millennials] care about the women making our clothes. We care about the refugees. We care about
the polar bears,” Wicker said. “But eventually we sort of run out of steam and we can’t care about
everything and everyone. So in the end we’re just thinking, ‘How can I get the style of the clothes that I
want at a price that I can afford?'”
TAGS
MILLENNIALS
SUSTAINABLE APPAREL
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Testing for Antimildew
Antifungal, antimicrobial, and
antimildew are all performance
claims that can be found on products
such as jackets, socks, slippers,
towels, intimates, and more. These
claims are becoming increasingly
more appealing to consumers.
Fungi, bacteria, and mildew thrive
in moist, warm conditions. Fabrics
composed of natural fibers are
potentially at risk for microorganism
growth (cotton, rayon, linen, etc.)
since microorganisms need organic
material to supply nutrients. Soil on
synthetic fibers can also supply food
to microorganisms. Fungi, bacteria,
and mildew can alter the pH of the
fabric, change the color, decrease
the strength, or give an odor to the
fabric. Products consistently
exposed to sweat and moisture are a
concern for the potential growth of
these microorganisms. Treatments
can be applied to products to
prevent these from growing and
spreading. Products that
demonstrate consistent performance
in the subsequent methods could be
claimed as Antifungal,
Antimicrobial, or Antimildew.
Test Method ASTM G21
MMG’s Requirements: No fungal growth
This method tests the ability of a
material to resist the growth of
fungus.
Testing for Antifungal
Test Method AATCC 30
MMG’s Requirements: No fungal growth
This method tests the susceptibility of
textiles to mildew, rot, or grow fungus
as well as the antimicrobial
effectiveness of fungicides on textile.
This is used to test textile materials
intended for outdoor and above ground
use, these products are typically
waterproofed. Treated and untreated
nutrient-saturated fabric strips are
sprayed with a mixed spore suspension
of mildew-causing organisms. They are
then incubated at 90 +/- 2% relative
humidity. Mildew growth is evaluated at
weekly intervals for up to four weeks.
Results are reported based on the
percentage of growth: 0 is No Growth
and a 4 is Greater than 60% Observed
Growth.
Testing for Antimicrobial
Test Method AATCC 100
MMG’s Requirements: 85% Reduction
minimum in original state & after 10
washes
This method tests the antimicrobial
activity on washed and unwashed fabric
against Staphylococcus aureus and
Klebsiella pneumonia over a 24 hour
contact period.
What are the benefits?
➢
➢
➢
ODOR CONTROL
INHIBIT BACTERIA & FUNGI
GROWTH
PROTECT AGAINST PRODUCT
DISCOLORATION &
DEGRADATION
Microbial culture is prepared and
inoculated onto the antimicrobial
treated fabric swatches as well as onto
untreated, control swatches.
Bacteria counts are observed at the
initial stage and then incubated for 24
hours. Bacteria will multiply if the fabric
swatch is not antimicrobial. The percent
reduction of both bacteria is given for
both the treated and untreated test
specimens.
Five fungi (Penicillium, Aspergillus,
Chaetomium, Trichoderma,
Aureobasidium) are sprayed onto test
and control samples. Test samples are
put into Petri dishes. Samples are then
inoculated with a spore suspension
until surface is moist. The dishes are
then sealed to maintain humidity and
incubated for up to 28 days. Pictures
are taken at specified intervals and
evaluated based on fungal growth. The
results show a rating that ranges from
No Growth to Heavy Growth Detected
on Sample.
How can I claim
antifungal, antimicrobial,
or antimildew on my
products?
MMG has an Antimicrobial, Antifungal
& Antimildew product claims policy:
All pesticides used in the U.S. must be
registered by the EPA. This assures
that pesticides will be properly labeled
and, if used in accordance with
specifications, will not cause
unreasonable harm to the
environment. MMG’s policy also does
not allow manufacturing or marketing
products that claim to protect public
health. Only products that meet the
Treated Articles Exemption MMG will
only consider. This includes pesticides
registered with the EPA for use in or
on the article, and if the sole purpose
of the treatment is to protect the
article or substance itself and not the
person using it. The vendor is
responsible for submitting all
appropriate documents and testing
must be conducted to verify the claim
on the product.
QUESTIONS?
REACH OUT TO YOUR PRODUCT
INTEGRITY TESTING ANALYST. THEY
WOULD BE HAPPY TO HELP!
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