Textile Insight

TRENDINSIGHT CONSUMER THIS MONTH'S SURVEY results reflect the opinions of 100 sports enthusiasts, with an average age of 36, who participate in a range of fitness activities. While eco-awareness is clearly on consumers' minds these days, in everything from food purchases, to home cleaning products, and social responsibility initiatives, decision-making when it comes to buying apparel and footwear made with eco-friendly materials remains inconsistent. In fact, the responses to our survey questions are somewhat surprising. On one hand, the majority of respondents say they are willing to pay more for goods that feature eco-attributes, yet they also report that eco is not a major influencing factor when considering an activewear or performance footwear purchase – outranked by performance, price, comfort, and style. Similarly, while terms such as "chemical- free," and "sustainably-sourced" are starting to resonate with shoppers, our respondents are hard pressed to name a textile eco certification off the top of their heads. However, there are a couple of bright spots. Take back programs and eco labeling drew significant interest and generated thoughtful feedback. One respondent summed up take back programs nicely stating, "Just makes good earth sense." (Details on specific feedback appear on the following pages.) Q 13% 12% 22% 27% 65% 61% 7% 4% 12% 16% 17% 13% 15% 17% 20% 26% 22% 33% 32% 31% 22% 11% 12% 11% 13% 9% 15% 30% 32% 14% 19% 34% 30% 22% 25% Not important at all Not important at all Very important Very important Somewhat important Somewhat important 36 • Textile Insight ~ September/October 2017 textileinsight.com How important is the use of Eco-friendly material in purchasing decision-making? ACTIVEWEAR SUSTAINABLY-SOURCED BIODEGRADABLE CHEMICAL-FREE ORGANIC RECYCLED GREEN FOOTWEAR Rank these Eco-descriptions in order of importance influencing your purchasing decision (1 = not important, 5= very important) 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 33% Not Important Not Important Very Important Very Important

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