Sustainable fashion: the lack of information, the first obstacle to development before the price #442

2022/05/07

90% of French, Italian, German, British and American consumers want to dress more responsibly. This growing interest is strongly linked to the choice of materials and the proximity of production. However, the main obstacle is not the price but the lack of information among consumers, according to a study conducted by the Première Vision Chair at the French Fashion Institute.

This study was conducted in the five countries via 6,000 consumers interviewed last April. It shows that when it comes to buying clothes, price is still the main criterion in France, the United Kingdom and the United States, while in Italy and Germany, the quality of the product is the most important. In all countries, comfort comes third, ahead of design or even brand.

What about responsible clothing consumption (recycled materials, local production…)? In the United States, 58% of consumers surveyed have purchased a sustainable fashion product for themselves over the last twelve months, compared to 67% for the European countries surveyed, led by Italy (78.4%). In terms of annual budget for responsible fashion, the amounts are 176.8 euros for Americans and 189.4 euros for Europeans, with France coming in last with 160.3 euros.

When asked about the obstacles to responsible purchasing, the most common answer is the lack of information on sustainable fashion. Except in Germany, where it is the price that prevails. Another point related to the lack of information is added: depending on the country, consumers are from 27.1% (Germany) to 48.5% (United Kingdom) not knowing where to buy responsible clothing.

“Obviously, there is a lot of work to be done on educating and informing consumers about responsible fashion,” points out Gilles Lasbordes, Executive Director of Première Vision. “Knowing that this is a problem that has persisted since the previous study, conducted in 2019.”

➔ Read the rest of the article (in French) on Fashion Network