Consumers want ethical sourcing, labeling on manmade fibers: report

Dive Brief:

• Clothes made from manmade cellulosics, also known as MMCFs, should be sourced from sustainably managed forests, according to 74% of European consumers surveyed in a report released last week by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification.
• The survey, commissioned from YouGov by PEFC International, found that only 13% of respondents felt brands were providing them with a sufficient amount of information on in-store clothing labels regarding the sustainability of MMCFs, which include viscose and lyocell. In addition, only a quarter of respondents said they were confident fashion brands were adequately handling their concerns about how clothing made from MMCFs impacts the environment.
• The survey, titled “Fashion from Sustainable Forests,” was designed to better understand consumer views about sustainability in the fashion industry, and focused in particular on attitudes regarding “the use of forest-derived fibres.”

Dive Insight:

The fashion industry’s sustainability challenges have been the subject of multiple recent legislative initiatives aimed at cleaning up supply chains and curbing greenwashing claims.

At the same time, organizations such as PEFC and nonprofit group Canopy are encouraging brands to eliminate problematic materials from at the production, packaging and manufacturing levels.

“We have seen some brands such as Fendi, Guess, GANT and A.P.C demonstrating good progress by integrating targets for sourcing only from sustainably managed forests and communicating transparently to their customers,” Julia Kozlik, market engagement manager, at PEFC, said in an email. “This strategy helps forests maintain their crucial ecological role while supporting dependent communities.”

Consumer demand may also play a part in pushing fashion brands to make these changes. In the PEFC survey, 59% of respondents said they’d be willing to pay more for clothes made from material certified from organizations such as Organic Cotton, Responsible Wool Standard or PEFC, with 43% indicating they’d be willing to pay an additional 10% or more.

More than 60% of respondents said “the presence of a sustainability label on clothing positively influences their purchasing decisions.”

The origins of those sustainability labels also matter to consumers, according to survey results. Independent certification labels inspire trust in 50% of consumers surveyed, compared to 35% who say they trust a brand’s own sustainability labels.

Kozlik said that while some brands are making good progress in terms of both certification and communicating their sustainability efforts, there’s still more work to be done.

“We definitely see interest from a wider spectrum of brands but we’d like to see more transparency and meaningful action happening at a much faster rate across the industry,” Kozlik said.

The YouGov survey results came from a total sample size of 5,329 adult respondents in the U.K., France, Italy and Spain who were questioned online between April 26 and May 3.

PEFC is an international nonprofit NGO based in Geneva that endorses national forest certification systems. It also provides certification to small and family forest owners, per its website. There are currently 49 endorsed national and regional forest certification systems globally, and the organization says it is the largest forest certification system in the world.