Fast fashion is finally on its way out and the cost-per-wear value metric is making a comeback. Companies that were forced to reduce the quality of the materials to manufacture clothing just to stay alive in the race-to-the-bottom can finally pull their heads out of the sand, count their dead (brands) and take a look around at the new retail landscape that's emerged from the ashes. The resale market will soon eat up a chunk of the demand for off-price goods. Environmental analysts for some time have been pleading with consumers to choose …
Cotton Incorporated
Cotton Goes To Montauk
Montauk lies 118 miles east of midtown Manhattan, at the eastern tip of Long Island. Purchased in 1648 by British settlers from the Montaukett Indians, Montauk served as grazing land for settlers' cattle herds for over a century. George Washington commissioned the Montauk Lighthouse in 1797, where it stands today, to warn ships off the rocky coast. In 1882, Stanford White built seven shingle style houses along the coast, also still standing. The Long Island railroad reached Montauk in 1895 making it accessible for Metro types. In the 1920s, …
A Fitting Future
In spite of easy, 24/7 access to brands and retailers online, most consumers prefer making their apparel purchases in an actual store. Perhaps as an unexpected consequence of e-commerce ease, previously minor in-store inconveniences are becoming pain points for some consumers. The fitting room and checkout experiences are two such aspects. Some retailers are looking to make the job easier, courtesy of some high-tech help. When the ecommerce intimates brand Adore Me was looking to open brick-and- mortar locations, the company saw both …
Cotton Incorporated
Cotton Incorporated, funded by U.S. growers of upland cotton and importers of cotton and cotton textile products, is the research and marketing company representing upland cotton. The Program is designed and operated to improve the demand for and profitability of cotton. Company History In 1960, cotton apparel and home fabrics accounted for about 78% of all textile products sold at retail. By 1975, that share had plummeted to an all-time low of 34%, due to the successful incursion of synthetic fibers in the marketplace, threatening the …
The Importance (Or Not) Of Fashion Influencers
As attendees fill the rows at New York Fashion Week, many of the seats will be filled with "influencers," both real and self-identified. As brands try to weed out who sits where, the issue with influencers goes deeper. A lot of time, money, and energy are spent trying to get product promoted through the perfect Instagram personality. But as with any business model, the "buyer beware" motto needs to be heeded. Instagram isn't the only social network to peddle influence in the fashion world. Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter rate, as …
Digital and Physical Customer Service Vital for In-Store Sales
It's no secret that retailers feel an ever-present threat from Amazon. No one feels it more than brick-and-mortar stores, who are bearing the costs of expensive real estate while watching steady increases in e-commerce sales. But experts say this is not a losing battle, as long as stores commit to high-level customer service along with helpful technology, which, when both combined, give customers the personalized selections they're looking for as conveniently as possible. Cynics might say all of that is easier said than done. But those who …
Digital and Physical Customer Service Vital for In-Store SalesRead More
Online vs Brick and Mortar
Keeping consumers happy is easy: just give them what they want, when they want it. Yet discovering the what and the when is not always so easy. For apparel purchases, consumers appear to want to research online and buy in store. The trick for retailers, then, is balancing the convenience of the one, with the tactile and experiential opportunities of the other. For more than 20 years, Cotton Incorporated has kept its finger on the pulse of consumer habits and attitudes. Recent responses to Cotton Incorporated’s Lifestyle Monitor™ survey provide …
High(Tech) Cotton
From the Cotton Gin to Field Robots and Mobile Fashion Shows, Cotton Keeps Current Today, technology is advancing more rapidly than at any time in history. We see examples of this every day, literally in the palms of our hands: in mobile devices and their accompanying apps. Our perception of technology is largely personal, our frame of reference based upon how devices and software connect us to friends and family, entertain us, and improve our professional productivity. What may be less apparent to the average consumer is how technology, writ …