Textile Insight

T extile Insight has long been interested in how consumers shop for, perceive, and prioritize performance textiles worn in their every- day life. To find out, we team with MESH01's Insight Platform to produce Trend Insight, a compendium of research on purchasing decisions by today's active outdoorists. Consumer feedback is based on questions we craft from industry trends, cultural influences, textile innovation, and shop- ping habits in general. Here, top takeaways culled from recent editions of Trend Insight consumer market research: On Performance Breathability and "wicking" are year round must haves. However, "Comfort/fit" was the mostly highly rated factor in response to the question, "What performance feature(s) in your apparel or footwear are essential no matter what the weather? Respondents acknowledge "temperature regulation" as a worthy functional feature. However, when asked, "Have you bought any apparel or footwear in the past year that features "temperature regulating" per- formance, 62 percent said "NO." Base layer is now recognized as a critical element of winter wardrobe; fleece remains the go-to fabric preference overall. When asked what factor(s) influences your purchasing decision when buying garments for outdoor sports? "Fabric" is the number one response given, with anti- microbial ranked second. Similarly, when asked, "When purchas- ing active apparel for travel purposes," respondents gave wicking the top spot, with anti-odor, water resistance and UV protection also making the list. Pack-ability and stain resistance are also mentioned favorably. This level of performance savvy bodes well for textile suppliers looking at the burgeoning travel market. W o o l i s i n c r e a s i n g l y b e c o m i n g a warm-weather option, with 40 percent of consumers surveyed saying they wear wool in summer. On Sustainability Slowly but surely sustainability is influ- encing not only what shoppers buy but see value in. 77 percent of consumers surveyed said they are willing to pay more for a sustainable/eco-friendly product. Another indicator of strides in eco purchasing pat- terns is that footwear as well as apparel is increasingly appreciated when eco materi- als are featured. More good news: today's consumers are looking for ways to integrate sustainability into their active lifestyles. For instance, it is encouraging that shop- pers surveyed believe it is an individual's responsibility to recycle used clothing and footwear, and don't depend on brands and retailers taking on that task. 78 percent of consumers surveyed replied that purchasing a garment described as eco-friendly makes them "feel good." 95 percent of consumers told us that brands that are working to be sustainable should advertise it. The industry has done a good job in terms of consumers understanding what "made responsibly" means; that phrase now resonates most clearly with respondents. Yet, 44 percent said they place "very little" consideration on the eco impact of the packaging and shipping of products they buy online. CONSUMERS WHAT SAY to industry forecasters. Afdel Aziz drove this point home in his keynote address to a standing room only audience during the recent Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show in Denver. Aziz, author of the book, "Good is the New Cool," advocates purpose-driven marketing as an effective tactic in today's business. Aziz advises brands to layer on "cut- ting edge storytelling aesthetics," and to "think transformational, not transactional." Additionally, Aziz cites social activism as a strong driver of brand growth. He noted that Millennials and Gen Zers have higher expectations of brands. Specifically, nearly 64 percent of this demographic won't take a job if a poten- tial employer does not have strong social responsibility practices, and 85 percent of Gen Z employees believe companies have an obligation to help solve social problems. Aziz presented this statistic: Millennials have a global annual spending power of $2.5 Trillion; 95 percent would switch a purchasing decision for a cause. Regarding how environmental awareness fits with purpose-driven marketing, Aziz urged the outdoor industry crowd to take a big picture point of view and to "think beyond sustainability to abundance." l "Any way you can help the brands, and the mills, with marketing language is useful. Then if consumers are interested, they can look it up." Hoi Kwan Lam, HeiQ textileinsight.com 28 • Textile Insight ~ July/August 2019

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