Page 16 - SGG_220316_Teachers_Handbook_Module_4

Popularity and Effect of Labels for Sustainable Clothing

“Making informed purchases also helps. For example, the textile industry today is the second largest
polluter of clean water after agriculture, and many fashion companies exploit textile workers in the
developing world. If you can buy from sustainable and local sources you can make a difference as well
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as exercising pressure on businesses to adopt sustainable practices.”
To take up the German situation, which can also apply in other European countries: 38 percent of the
fashion fans surveyed as part of the Statista Global Consumer Survey stated that sustainable fashion
was too expensive for them. Many also do not know the sustainability labels and their criteria and
standards. The resulting lack of trust in these labels is also a reason for Germans to avoid fair fashion.
23 percent of the participants stated that sustainability is often just a fad and that there are no really
fair conditions behind it. The lack of chic of fairly produced clothing was still a reason for 14 percent of
respondents to forego eco-fashion, while 18 percent preferred to stick with established brands out of
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habit.
According to the Special Eurobarometer from 2019 a large majority of Europeans would like to receive
more informations about sustainable clothes. But as stated above this doesn’t mean that the custom-
ers are actually willing to pay more for clohtes with sustainable aspects.

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Figure 3: Information about sustainable clothes trough labels
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16 https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/12_Why-It-Matters-2020.pdf
17 https://de.statista.com/infografik/26399/gruende-fuer-den-verzicht-auf-nachhaltige-mode-in-deutschland/
18 https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/ebsm/api/public/deliverable/download?doc=true&deliverableId=72616