MKT3x : Buyer Behaviour & Analysis

INDUSTRY ISSUE - TEXTILE WASTE

Clothing is one of the most basic necessi es and over the years the way we clothe has evolved
with society and technology. In recent years, fashion in uence has changed the industry standards
as well as the clothing standards among masses. As a result of this we saw what we now call as
Fast Fashion. In the ar cle, What is Fast Fashion anyway? (Stanton, 2023), author explains “Fast
fashion is a design, manufacturing, and marke ng method focused on rapidly producing high
volumes of clothing. Fast fashion garment produc on leverages trend replica on and low-quality
materials (like synthe c fabrics) in order to bring inexpensive styles to the end consumer.” She
also adds that access to cheap clothing leads to over-whelming consump ons that impacts the
industry and the consumer.

As a reason of fast fashion, Tex le Waste has emerged as a cause of concern on a global level. In
2018, 17 million tons of tex le waste ended up in land lls, according to data from
the Environmental Protec on Agency, making up 5.8 percent of the total Municipal Solid Waste
genera on that year. In an online ar cle, The Environmental Crisis Caused By Tex le Waste (2021),
author Rachel Brown men ons that, tex les can take upto 200+ years to decompose in land lls.
Cheaper fabric will take much longer and some synthe c fabric doesn’t even decompose.

These facts have a ected the consump on behaviour of consumers. More and more consumers
are looking for sustainable clothing brands and op ons. Even though the change in behaviour
pa ern is debatable but, its impact is signi cant. This has led many companies globally to invest
in ini a ves that counter the concerns regarding produc on, consump on and post-
consump on tex le waste.
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 “The tex le recycling rate is currently one of the lowest compared to other materials. Retailers like
H&M, Madewell, and The North Face make tex le recycling as easy as a trip to the mall by o ering
in-store recycling containers.” (Brown,2021)

Fast Fashion Tex le Waste Pollu on

The 2021 Voice of the Consumer: Lifestyles Survey, published by Euromonitor Interna onal,
further demonstrates the extent to which changing consumer preferences are global, and not
restricted to Western or developed markets. It found, for instance, that almost 35% of those polled
in emerging or developing markets reported that they buy sustainably produced goods.

Source: Euromonitor Interna onal, 20-Aug-21, Ethical Claim Poten al Index Iden es Top Market. Source: Voice of the Consumer: Lifestyles Survey, 2020 n=26,321; 2021 n=26,222
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 FOCUS BRAND - H&M

H&M Group, the Swedish company that pioneered fast fashion, currently churns out 3
billion garments a year and, as of 2019, was si ng on $4.1 billion worth of unsold clothes, some of
which are used as fuel for a power plant in Sweden (New York Times, 2018). The Persson family,
which founded the company and s ll owns the largest share of it, wants to help combat this
enormous waste. In 2014, the family launched the H&M Founda on, inves ng $180 million of the
family’s private fortune to fund projects that solve humanitarian and environmental problems in
the fashion industry. The Founda on is now pouring $100 million of this money into a promising
new technology called the Green Machine that could allow consumers to recycle clothes we way
we recycle Coke cans. It’s the latest step in a broader e ort to recast H&M from one of fashion’s
biggest polluters into a problem-solver.

Today, H&M Group is a major player in the industry, genera ng $22 billion in revenue by selling 3
billion garments across its nine brands. But over the past decade, under Karl-Johan’s leadership,
the company has begun to focus more on sustainability, partly because younger consumers care
about the environmental impact of their apparel purchases. The company pledged to become
climate posi ve by 2040. H&M Group also vowed to switch to en rely “sustainable fabrics” by
2030, but the company has go en into hot water for being vague about what quali es as
“sustainable.” Separately, it has set up bins in stores, collec ng tens of thousands of tons of old
fabrics, ready to be recycled when the technology becomes available, and it has poured millions
of dollars into technologies like the co on recovery startup Renewcell and supply chain sharing
pla orm Treadler. (Segran, 2021)

In 2020, in a yet another sign of its commitment to the planet, H&M Group promoted its head of
sustainability, Helena Helmersson, to CEO. Karl-Johan stepped down to become chairman of the
company and is a board member of the H&M Founda on, where he’s kept a close eye on the
development of the Green Machine. As per its 2018 annual report, the H&M Founda on is
projected to invest 5.8 million euro with HKRITA (The Hong Kong Research Ins tute of Tex les and
Apparel) over four years. The investment is made possible by the surplus from the H&M group’s in-
store garment collec ng programs, which is donated to the H&M Founda on. The H&M
Founda on allocates 50 percent of the total surplus to research on tex le recycling, and the other
50 percent to projects focusing on equality and inclusion of marginalized groups. “A er
successfully developing revolu onary recycling technologies, we have devoted sustained e ort to
put them into prac ce. They not only revitalize a decades old major industry, but also do it most
sustainably for the bene t of our community and as a responsible global ci zen,” says Edwin Keh,
Chief Execu ve O cer of HKRITA.
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 EVALUATION

H&M faced the industry issue with a lot of investment and analysis. The fact that H&M has vowed
to become sustainable and has already taken ini a ve both in form of research and in-store
programs has strung a posi ve note with the consumers. In its annual report H&M men ons
mul ple areas related to humanitarian and environmental causes, where its interven on has
impacted thousands. This move is highly relevant because not only is this informa on available in
public domain but H&M has proac vely launched full-length videos on its website and You Tube
channel to inform masses about its contribu on. (H&M Group, 2023) With these highly engaging
and informa ve videos H&M uses the consumer online behaviour to spread its message and
establish itself as a sustainability focus brand.

Consumers o en share material such as videos and posts with their friends and their online
community. This may or may not directly re ect in their purchase pa ern but, because they
iden fy with a cause hence suppor ng brands and ini a ves that is working towards such a cause
gives them a sense of sa sfac on. Also, this may in uence people in their closed network and
eventually add to the digital audience of the brand. H&M has e ec vely used digital presence and
created an emo onal connect through these videos. What’s even more interes ng is that none of
these videos talk about H&M products or sales, only their contribu on to the cause.

Through its global research ini a ves consumers are well aware about the old clothes recycling
and H&M’s cu ng edge technology. Not just this, from emission reduc ons to health and safety in
the garment industry H&M has contributed and impacted lives across all segments in the industry.
And they have e ec vely used it to built their message but keep it o the track. All the material
regarding H&M’s ini a ve is available on H&M group website, the videos are also available on
their You Tube page but never adver sed. But these materials reach their consumers through
other media sources. What’s even more interes ng is how H&M converts this a ec on into long
term rela onships.

In 2013, H&M launched an in-store program where consumers can drop their old clothes in
exchange for a discount coupon. (H&M, n.d) Now, that the consumers are already aware of H&M’s
commitment and contribu on the reward is like icing on the cake. Here’s a brand that has great
clothes and does a lot of good work to make the world a be er place and they are giving you a
discount in exchange of your old clothes! In 2020, they collected 18,800 tonnes of unwanted
clothes and tex les through their Garment Collec ng programme. Also, in 2019 they launched a
rental service in their Stockholm store where consumers can rent the garment for a one me use
without owning the garment. (H&M, n.d)

In this instance, consumer decision making process is a mix of habitual and a ec ve. Most H&M
consumers love to shop clothes that are trending but, they are aware that the overwhelming
purchase could eventually harm the planet and also a ect them nancially. Through this
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programme H&M counters consumer fears where it is not only taking away the load of their old
clothes but also give them rewards for doing so. In India, this can also be looked at from a cultural
point of view. Everywhere in the country old clothes are either passed on to younger siblings or to
someone who is in need. Also, there are communi es who trade in used clothes, every summer
members of these communi es move from areas to areas and barter utensils and homewares for
old clothes. These clothes are further sorted, s tched, darned, patched up and ironed. The sor ng
spaces are either the narrow alleyways of their slums or are under railway bridges, yovers or
footpaths. They further sell their collec on in the slum markets o en held at odd hours in the
city. These clothes are sold to people who can’t a ord rst hand clothes such as construc on
workers, rickshaw pullers, and women and their children from slums. (Bapat, 2016)
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 RECOMMENDATION

H&M has made a smart move by keeping its ini a ves separate from its brand value chain. This
ensures that the brand focuses solely on consumer sa sfac on through their products while they
contribute to their societal commitments in the background. However, to make the campaign more
e ec ve and relatable the brand can create awareness campaigns through interac ve tools such
as their shopping app to inculcate healthy purchase habits in a consumer. H&M o en issue
coupons, loyalty points and exclusive o ers to its customers on the app to reward their purchase.
H&M can ask the customer to create a purchase rule or database on the app that will curb their
overwhelming purchase. For example, while adding a product to the cart the app can suggest that
the customer had bought something similar a few months ago and ask whether they would like to
go ahead with the purchase or not. Also, the consumer can themselves set up a rule to not shop
for anything over their budget, quan ty etc. just like the screen me reminder. This will give the
consumers a sense of authen city from the brand, the brand not only cares for the planet but is
also consciously helping their consumer become a part of their sustainability ini a ve. This way
the rela onship between the brand, the ini a ve and the consumer will be balanced (Balance
Theory).

Similarly, it can mark a use-life for clothes bought from H&M, where the consumer receives a
prompt about their purchase from a year ago and then based on the consumer response the app
can suggest a follow-up ac on.

Example 1 -

Prompt on app - Hi there! You bought this white shirt from H&M a year ago. Shall we take a look at
it?
Consumer - Yes
App - How many mes have you worn it?
Consumers - 24
App - That’s approximately twice every month. Do you know our AI stylist Hera can help you style
this shirt in 30 di erent ways? Would like to take a tour?
Consumer - Yes

Example 2 -

Prompt on app - Hi there! You bought this white shirt from H&M a year ago. Shall we take a look at
it?
Consumer - Yes
App - How many mes have you worn it?
Consumers - 80
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 App - Wow! That’s approximately 1.5 mes a week. You bought the shirt for $36 that makes it
$0.45 per use. I think you have worn it enough would you like to drop it at our store and get a 15%
o coupon for you next purchase?
Consumer - Yes

The will enhance the A tude-to-object of the customer towards H&M and its products. Also, it will
remove the hassle of recording and accoun ng every cloth that the customer purchases because the brand
is already taking care of it.
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 References

Bapat, Dip . 2016. “The Waghri Community: Urban India's Invisible Recyclers”. Accessed 23 May
2023: h ps://thewire.in/poli cs/waghri-and-chindhiwaali-workers

Brown, Rachel. 2021. “The Environmental Crisis Caused By Tex le Waste”. Road Runner. Accessed
23 May 2023: h ps://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/tex le-waste-environmental-crisis

Elkayal, Omar. 2021. “Consumer trends and the demand for sustainable products”. Info Mineo.
Accessed 23 May 2023: h ps://infomineo.com/consumer-trends-and-the-demand-for-sustainable-
products/

Fashion For Good. n.d. “Fashion for Good Launches The Sor ng for Circularity India Project”.
Fashion For Good. Accessed 23 May 2023: h ps://fashionforgood.com/our_news/fashion-for-
good-launches-the-sor ng-for-circularity-india-project/

Gosh, Subir. 2022. “The Report on India's Tex le Waste Needs a Closer Look and an Update”.
Texfash. Accessed 23 May 2023: h ps://texfash.com/column/the-report-on-indias-tex le-waste-
needs-a-closer-look-and-an-
update#:~:text=*%20The%20report%20states%3A%20%227793,accumulated%20in%20India%20e
very%20year%22.

H&M Founda on. 2018. “A CATALYST FOR CHANGE”. H&M Founda on. Accessed 23 May 2023:
h ps://hmfounda on.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2018_Annual_Report_FINAL.pdf

H&M Founda on. 2013. “H&M Founda on: All for Children collec on in partnership with UNICEF”.
YouTube. Accessed 23 May 2023: Video link

H&M Founda on. 2015. “H&M in Bangladesh”. YouTube. Accessed 23 May 2023: Video link

H&M Group. 2022. “Sustainability Disclosure”. H&M Group. Accessed 23 May 2023: h ps://
hmgroup.com/sustainability/

H&M. n.d. “Let’s close the loop”. H&M. Accessed 23 May 2023: h ps://www2.hm.com/en_in/
sustainability-at-hm/our-work/close-the-loop.html

Jane. 2016. “The numbers on tex le waste”. Tex le Beat. Accessed 23 May 2023: h ps://
tex lebeat.com/the-numbers-on-tex le-waste/

Stanton, Audrey. 2023. “What Is Fast Fashion, Anyway?”. The Good Trade. Accessed 23 May 2023:
h ps://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/what-is-fast-fashion/
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Segran, Elizabeth. 2021. “H&M is one of fashion’s biggest polluters. Now its founda on is on a $100
million quest to save the planet”. Fast Company. Accessed 23 May 2023: h ps://
www.fastcompany.com/90596456/hm-is-one-of-fashions-biggest-polluters-now-its-on-a-100-
million-quest-to-save-the-planet

The New York Times. 2018. “H&M, a Fashion Giant, Has a Problem: $4.3 Billion in Unsold Clothes”.
The New York Times. Accessed 23 May 2023: h ps://www.ny mes.com/2018/03/27/business/hm-
clothes-stock-sales.html
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