“Customer Day”, as well as “Consumer Day”, is presented as an opportunity to “strengthen” the relationship between companies and customers. Between the lines, however, it is a clear strategy to encourage consumption. With visual appeals and terms such as “sustainable”, “nature-friendly” and “green”, many brands play on the backs of their customers. consumers responsibility for environmental impacts. This idea of conscious consumption often serves as a facade for greenwashing in a sector that lacks transparency and true commitment to socio-environmental goals.
A quick search for the term “Customer Day” reveals the true intention behind the date: there is no mention of valuing the relationship between brand and consumer. The first results clearly show: “Customer Day 2024: 20 tips to sell more”; “Customer Day 2024: 46 ideas to increase your sales”; “Customer Day 2024: trends to make more money”. The responsibility for the environmental, social and economic impacts — and yes, they exist — resulting from encouraging excessive consumption is systematically ignored by fashion, the sector what more invoice com sales online.
The “E-commerce Trends 2024” survey, carried out by Octadesk in partnership with Opinion Box, shows that clothes are the most sold products online. The numbers are always positive: a analysis from IEMI – Market Intelligence brought increased sales in autumn-winter fashion. The data refers to all clothing items sold during the season, including underwear, socks, sleepwear, casual wear, jeans, coats, sweaters, among others. “This number represents growth of around 2.8% over the result achieved in 2023”, points out the report.
In the midst of this avalanche of pieces, there are media campaigns such as “more sustainable cotton”, which seek to attach socio-environmental values to products in order to convince consumers that the company is committed to people and the environment. But this is not exactly what the data from the Brazil 2023 Fashion Transparency Index shows.
The transparency progress of the 60 brands operating in Brazil analyzed by the report is still slow. For the first time since the first edition of the survey, six brands scored above 60% of the available points, while 16 scored at zero. A brand committed to socio-environmental goals needs to be transparent about its production chain. “The lack of transparency and traceability makes it difficult to know for sure whether the leather used in a given product, be it a bag, a shoe or a piece of clothing, really came from the Amazon,” the document exemplifies.
By disclosing its information at the policy level, but, mainly, publishing which effective actions were carried out based on these policies, the brand not only recognizes the negative impact of the current production system, but makes commitments to socio-environmental goals. These goals can be: decarbonization of production, end of outsourcing, gender and salary equity, commitment to valuing traditional cultures, use of natural fibers, reduction of production, among others.
Transparency and traceability are fundamental tools in the work of containing deforestation and other environmental damage, such as the contamination of bodies of water, because they are essential information for companies to ensure that their supply chain is free from such impacts. The exercise of mapping and publicly disclosing complete lists of raw material suppliers is essential for carrying out due diligence regarding environmental and human rights issues.
Conscious consumption is a fallacy
The Chamber of Deputies defines “conscious consumption” as “the practice of rethinking consumption habits, promoting a more sustainable and balanced lifestyle” and “consuming responsibly, considering the positive or negative impact that our choices have on the environment, in the economy and society.”
But what happens when we don’t have these options? Where do we find clothes made from organic cotton, whose labor was paid fairly – taking into account electricity costs and current inflation rates – at prices that the Brazilian middle class can afford? This option does not yet exist.
A thesis Conscious consumption and signaling via advertising: an analysis in the light of greenwashing remembers that, although consumers are more aware of the importance of climate change, companies have still blamed them for pollution. “awareness campaigns linked to products do not generate immediate changes”, he highlights, “consumers can only choose between the options offered to them, therefore, even with conscious consumers, the current structures do not allow sustainable choices”.
Therefore, the best thing to do, as a consumer, on Customer Day, is, instead of taking advantage of discounts – they will come back, there are always discount seasons – demand transparency from the brands you like and consume. They need to commit to the impact that their products and services have on the world and on everyone’s lives.
Transparency is the first step towards systemic change in the fashion industry. It leads to accountability and accountability, which in turn leads to changes in practice. Without such commitment from brands, it is not possible to be sure whether they are meaningfully combating global inequality and the climate crisis.
