Textile Insight

S arah Schlenger remembers as a four-year old wearing her favorite Jelly shoes around the farm, and Connie Huffa recalls the hand sewn moccasins that she wore everywhere as a kid. More than likely all of us have a shoe memory to share, which goes to show the powerful emotional pull of footwear starting at a very young age and continuing throughout our adulthood. The question is, if shoes evoke a high level of emotion, how much of that response can be attributed to the material featured in the footwear? Wool is a natural for creating an emotional connection and is a material individuals can relate to in terms of design and functionality. "Wool works because it has lots of inherent features and fits with contemporary desires," says Huffa, co-owner of Fabdesigns, Inc., based in Los Angeles. Schlenger, R&D commercial- ization manager for The Woolmark Company, points out that consumers are familiar with wool from sweaters, socks and linens and feel open to wool in footwear. And Stefan Schoeffel, a sales manager with Suedwolle Group adds, "Consumers can be emotional about purchases and it all starts with the material. Wool stands out for utility and function." The three wool experts weighed in on real- time data sourced from Quartr's mobile insights platform during a recent online panel discus- sion on trends within the U.S. footwear market moderated by Denine Pezone, CEO, of Charlotte, NC-based Ardent Associates. It turns out that material plays a large role in the emotional element associated with footwear. Quartr's survey revealed that a majority of people do think about the materials their shoes are made from, and a majority of survey participants report looking for a specific material when shopping for footwear. Further, according to Quartr's survey, "Material" ranked in the top five of important footwear features. Quartr is a mobile app that presents brand content directly to consumers and collects their thoughts, feelings and preference in exchange for a quarter. It's a transparent and efficient way to collect zero party data used to measure the impact of a brand's communications and content. The Quartr community members build and own their profile of thoughts, feelings and preferences. Data is protected and only shared with a member's permission. Opportunity Knocks Now is an opportune time for wool in the footwear market, asserts Tim Rich, co-founder of The Convergence Collective and advisor to Quartr He explains that the unique tactility of wool is a big benefit, citing survey takers' descriptions of wool with words such as, "soft," "warm", "lightweight" and like "walking on a cloud." Says Ricj, "These tactile responses explain what we love about wool and are very important in selling emotion. Wool has a very positive value story that those in the wool busi- ness should seize on and sell it." Huffa agrees: "The materiality of shoe compo- nents should be consumer facing. The material is a powerful factor." Since 1988, Fabdesigns has disrupted manufacturing through smart design, customized on-demand manufacturing, and 3D knit additive manufacturing with nearly zero waste. According to the Quartr survey featured during the virtual seminar, the consumer perception of the wool shoe market is limited, thus leaving room for wool to make inroads. For example, the survey showed that a vast majority of consumers cannot name a shoe brand that sells shoes. "There is a lot of open space to expand wool," Rich says, recommend- ing that companies claim the material, and lead with a material-first approach in wool promotions and storytelling. Huffa and the other panelists concur. They believe that to inspire consumer engagement with wool footwear, and build on wool's pres- ence in the footwear marketplace, brands should prioritize the material. That way in the future when individuals are asked about an early shoe memory, wool sneakers or wool sandals or wool loafers will come to mind. l The Wool Advantage How the Power of Material Triggers Emotional Connection with Shoes. FOOTWEAR | WOOL textileinsight.com March/April 2021 ~ Textile Insight • 29 "The materiality of shoe components should be consumer facing. The material is a powerful factor." Connie Huffa, co-owner, Fabdesigns The vast majority of people can't name a shoe brand that sells wool shoes. The highest ranked brand is UGGs with just 7% recognition. 80% 7% DON'T KNOW UGG ALLBIRDS NIKE TOMS 5% 1% 1%

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