Carol Spieckerman

Eco Fashion Still Waiting to Go Mainstream

January 26, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Let's call it a case of "deja vu all over again." We're reading a story on how designers admit that eco-friendly fashions were not all that stylish in the past, but all that has changed.... When do you think mainstream consumers will be ready to buy eco-friendly fashions?      [more...]

I'm not so worried about the mainstream just yet. Eco-friendly hasn't been clearly defined among the affinity groups. Can non-vegan still be called eco-friendly? Are imported goods or those that travel more than a few miles automatically unfriendly? Depends on who you ask.

The best attempts at revisiting eco-friendly fashion will address this through tagging and education. Those operating in a specialty store environment or pure-play onliners such as Nau (which closed its stores and moved to online exclusively; cleverly marketed as "Nau off the grid") can write their own narratives; mass retailers and department stores will have a more difficult time with this for the short to mid term. As for the long term, Walmart's multi-phased Sustainability Index initiative was met with some scoffing last year. Giving customers complete visibility into product origin and ecological impact? What the...They saw this coming.