From Farm to Fashion: The lifecycle of your fabulous frock

If you are reading this blog, you are likely wearing clothes. Well... maybe thats an unfounded assumption, but I feel fairly confident that you likely at least own clothes.

But what do you really know about your clothes (other than they are devilishly stylish and you look awesome in them)?

This post is dedicated to three of the dearest things to my heart: agriculture, human rights and fashion. Odd combo, I know, but a wholesome combination of my education, academic research and professional life.

In Western countries we feel good about ourselves because we've abolished child labor, cracked down on pesticide application methods and created parameters around working conditions. What we often fail to recognize, or choose to ignore, is that the majority of physical things we enjoy- particularly fashion- were constructed in conditions we have outlawed.

As we've seen a purchasing shift to organic, fair-trade and sustainably produced foods, we also must apply these concerns to clothing because realize it or not, our clothing also comes from soil, plants and farmers. Not For Sale analyzed the Apparel Industry Trends from 2012 by grading 300 apparel brands according to their use of child labor, minimum wages, watchdog efforts implemented for workers, training and the traceability of their materials from farm to fashion. Using Free2Work data, grades indicate to what extent companies have traced their materials and established management systems throughout supply chains.

The results are sobering. I won't break down every detail, but here are some high level brands that fall at the top and bottom of the pack.

Photo from Not For Sale

The Good: A's and B's
Good & Fair
Timberland
H&M
prAna
Alta Gracia
Maggie's Organics
adidas
PUMA
Patagonia

The Ugly: D's and F's
Lacoste
Abercrombie & Fitch
American Eagle
Forever 21
Carter's
Express
Sketchers
Walmart
Fruit of the Loom

By and large, the most non-compliance, or bad effort, is located in the traceability, monitoring and worker rights regarding raw materials. This means farmers. And from my research experience with small-scare farmers, I know this likely points to unprotected application of poisonous pesticides, extreme working conditions and minimal compensation. In conditions such as these poisoning is rampant, and often left untreated due to hospital accessibility. Birth defects increase generation to generation as the land and methods become more corrupted and corrosive.

Some of the amazing farmers I worked with in Ecuador

"So what?" you may be thinking, "I can't afford to buy organic" or "I don't like dressing like a hippie". Fair enough. Look, I love my sweater dresses and patent pumps as much as the next girl. All I want to bring to light is the interconnectedness of the things we, as Westerners, take for granted. Next time you go shopping, think twice about purchasing the PUMA instead of the Sketchers that look almost the same. If you love a company, research it. Even if you decide to keep buying from a brand that has a bad ranking, be informed. It's time to stop living in a surreal fantasyland where this season's must have's are born on the runways during New York Fashion Week without questioning its conception.

I'm not trying to give a massive guilt trip- I am guilty of these things too. But rather than being ignorant about how our clothes are made, its time to get informed. Let's make decisions knowing that in the interconnected world we live in, each swatch of fabric and spool of thread has a history, lifecycle and implication that will come around full circle in the environment and humanity.

I think Leila Brillson of Refinery 29 put it best by saying "In 2012, with child labor so exposed and derided, it's both tragic and unsurprising that companies and producers are even a part of this discussion". There is nothing sexy about turning a blind eye to conditions in which we wouldn't allow our family and friends to work.

E-commerce Boom in Wine

A while ago I wrote about the diversification strategies of Amazon and how they are changing the face of e-commerce. Welp, they struck again.

Continuing their growth as one of the most dangerous players to ever hit e-commerce, just in time for the holidays they Amazon is making its third attempt in branching out into the wine business. Amazon Wine will feature 1,000+ wines ranging from $10 -$100+ (plus $9.99 shipping for up to 6 bottles). Thus far  featured wines come from various locations across this great U.S. Nation, and will be shipped to about a dozen states from California to Washington D.C. Amazon hopes to play the role of middle man/discovery center for wineries who provide their wine and are looking to raise their brand awareness and market sales through the online marketplace. Check out this Google+ Hangout on the topic:

Amazon is not the only retailer upping their game in e-commerce. Wine.com is already the nation's leading online wine retailer, but this week they announced the launch of Wine.com Marketplace, catering to domestic and imported wines with limited distribution channels in the U.S. Their soft launch earlier in the year sold thousands of bottles and encouraged the current venture. They might have an initial leg up on Amazon ifor the following reasons: experience navigating the 3 tier distribution and shipping laws, shipping to 20 states, free shipping with their $49 annual Steward-Ship membership, consolidating multiple wineries shipment to only require one adult signature, and the fact that they are the #1 visited wine website. 

This will absolutely be an interesting head to head competition to keep an eye on. 

E-commerce wine sales are not only taking off in the U.S. UK supermarket Morrisons has launched Morrisons Cellar, the online wine store aimed to boost the supermarket's wine sales by £100 million. The site will feature around 1,000 wines, doubling their in-store lot. Their goal is to help consumers choose wines they will like by using Taste Test technology. Taste Test technology builds personal wine suggestions through profiling which wines customers will like after answering a series of questions (ex: do you prefer black coffee or salty foods). Incorporating short videos helps consumers decide what category they fall into: sweet, fresh, smooth or intense. They've incorporated with social networks by allowing users to share their profile. They hope to use Taste Test in-store starting in 2013. 

So what does this mean for the wine industry?

Well, clearly the way wine is being sold is changing. Shipping & distribution laws will likely slow down the transition to e-commerce for many, as these pioneers sort it all out. Additionally, wine--- specifically nicer wine-- is a sensory experience that relies greatly on the knowledge of sommeliers. The influx of wine resources, reviews and profiles online and in apps, a new age of learning about wine is budding. Technological assessments like Taste Test, have the opportunity to democratize wine knowledge by giving access to information and personal profiles, which can be intimidating to some in-person and only available at specific locations. 

Along with democratizing wine knowledge, e-commerce sales could help democratize wine accessibility.  The rise in e-commerce sales of wines could enhance both the ease of trying varietals from various regions and wines from small wineries that used to not be accessible, which would be awesome for Millennial wine drinkers who are curious about experiencing many different brands and varietals they've never heard of, and do much of their wine research online. 

Beauty Boxes: All the Rage

I recently wrote about Birchbox as an awesome KIO program, as I am sure you all read, but now they are facing some serious competition. 

POPSUGAR and Pinterest competitor The Fancy have released their own beauty box services. POPSUGAR is called a monthly must have- it is $35 for full-sized products and premium items work $100. This differs from the $10 Birchbox that only offers sample sizes.

 The Fancy is becoming well known as the Pinterest for shopping. For $30/month subscribers are promised $60 worth of goods in a category of their choice (men, women, gadget, kid, home, media, etc). The bonus of The Fancy is that they let you customize the box and are broadening out of the beauty space. 

Why are these boxes popping up everywhere? It works. Bottom line: its not just a bunch of crap in a box, its discovery commerce & marketing that women actually pay for. It makes money thought selling of actual goods, and is awesome marketing because it has a seamless transition from trying to buying. Plus, its analytics show its seriously targeted. Really, Birchbox has figured out a way to get women to pay home to be marketed to. To prove its loyalty to its 400 partner brands the Brichbox company actually buys inventory wholesale and operates it own shipping department. 

These subscription services are not just a fad, but something consumers and brands alike should pay attention to. 

High-tech High-fashion

New York Fashion Week provided us with some high fashion, and high tech interactions. 

A cool digital story coming out of last weeks NYFW is the Google high-tech googles documentary with Dianne Von Furstenburg. Famed designer Dianne Von Furstenburg gives us a short backstage glimpse of fashion week AND the much awaited Google Glasses. The specs are set to release next year, but Dianne incorporated them into her show- wearing them herself and sending her models down the runway in the futuristic frames. DVF then produced a short documentary video of the event shot entirely with Glass. 

Google glass will reportedly offer a number of augmented reality features, pulling data up before your eyes, for example. From this look at it, they will be high tech and high fashion- my favorite combo. 

Tech highlights didn't just come from storytelling about the experience, though. Some were actually part of the clothing. Rebecca Minkoff featured an audio clutch that cross-functions as a wireless stereo for your bluetooth enabled device. 

This may be the first of many wearable technologies to hit the store front. Another really cool innovation comes from technology product design group Artefact. They have developed Meme, a wearable and shareable camera that allows users to take and post photos in an instant. Another awesome fashion technology associated with Artefact is Move. This awesome athletic wear is actually a sensor-packing clothing with associated mobile app and cloud storage. It outputs your body positioning and muscle movement to help you enhance technique and provide real time work-out feedback. 

The best part about all of these is they are allowing it to be sexy to be a tech geek. Watch out world!

Amazon Diversification: Changing eCommerce or Stretching Too Thin?

Amazon has announced a plan to sell high-end fashion on its website. It could be really cool, or really problematic for amazon for a couple of reasons. First, high-end fashion purchases are specific- they are unique, they fit perfectly, or have some intangible that gives people the moral permission to spend the money. Thus, when brought into an eCommerce space there tend to be a lot of returns because people buy 4 items knowing they are going to return 3 and keep the best 1. Returns are expensive. And likely more than the $79 flat shipping fee offered by Amazon Prime if this happens a few times throughout the year. Secondly, there are already some really great outlets for high-end retail. Sacks, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Bloomingdales all have well-funtioning websites, established discount campaigns, audience research and ways to pique interest when shopping might not be top of mind. Third, high-end fashion is already a crowded ball game. Online competition, discount sites and hubs have been around for years. Plus, how do you really compete with the feeling of spending an afternoon trying on clothes, feeling amazing materials and finding jeans that really fit your thighs? Amazon is going all out, though, hiring models, creating photography, and negotiating contracts.

On the up side, if this endeavor works it could change designer fashion sales forever. Some companies are already worried that their brick and mortar stores will become just a showroom for Amazon orders. Their fears are not unfounded. A recent ComScore report determined that leading mobile retail activities look like this: find a store, compare prices, look for a deal. This idea is called showrooming, and it is very real. Go to the store, find the pieces you like, and order them online for a better deal. 

This is not the only endeavor for Amazon. They have recently developed Amazon Supply to challenge tool suppliers like Grainger, ACME and Fastenal. However, their lack of experience in the category may not do them justice in a category that is firmly based in first hand knowledge and shared trade advice. 

Who knows how it will all turn out but one thing is for sure: these diversification efforts from Amazon may change eCommerce forever, or run them dry. 

Cider: Don't Call it a Comeback!

Hard cider is not just for pilgrims anymore.

Originally brought over by the pilgrims, much cider tradition was lost during prohibition, but in the last 10 or so years its being revitalized and becoming a burgeoning market, particularly for Autumn. Sure, hard cider is only a small part of the overall alcoholic beverage market, but its a rapidly growing niche. According to SymphonyIRI data, hard cider sales at supermarkets and other stores totaled about $71.5 million for the 52 weeks ending Aug. 5. This is more than an 50% increase over the same time last year. Brands are taking notice, with ciders now out from Anheuser-Busch (Mich Ultra Cider) and Boston Beer Co. (Angry Orchard Cider). 

Cider also is appealing to young drinkers because it avoided the extra tax introduced in 2010 because its a fruit-based drink. Millennial drinkers are also said to be the most adventurous with their selections from wine to beer, so cider's boom is likely to resonate well with them. I know I'll be having one this fall!

Ecommerce Rewrites Luxury and Beauty Market

Undoubtedly, e-commerce increases in importance for all industries - from power tools to books, medical supplies to toys, e-commerce is a source of sales like never before. With advancements in technology, proliferation of portable internet devices and increased functionality of social networks, it is safe to assume this retail channel will continue to grow with force.

But two of the most important spaces for online retail are beauty and luxury. Take Estee Lauder Companies for example. In 2012 web sales increased worldwide, reporting 20% growth in the US, 34% in the UK, 40% in China and a whopping 55% in Germany. They've cultivated about 340 marketing and e-commerce sites in 50 countries since 2001. Total sales climbing 10.2% to $9.7 billion earned them the No. 58 spot on Top 500 list of internet retailers. Where those numbers only make up 5% of their total sales for the year, there is no question that web presence is becoming continually important for the sector.

This focus on e-commerce, however, could mean something quite different for luxury clothing brands. Online retail funding for custom-made clothes doubled last year to $328.7 million. Why are venture capitalists investing so much in this market? Because its booming. Custom clothing startups like J.Hilburn Inc., American Giant and Bonobos Inc. are gaining share in the US e-commerce market- winning customers because cutting stores from the supply chain allows for lower price points than department stores who often marked up 3x from factory to store. Putting it in perspective: a men's dress shirt from J.Hilburn sells around $125, the same shirt from Zegna on Neiman Marcus website sells for $325-$435, even though the fabric is sourced from the same Italian mill.

Lesson: Zegna and other lux brands need to differentiate themselves from this market to give (particularly Millennials) consumers a reason to spend the extra money since they are providing extremely similar services at fractions of the price. I say this is important particularly for the Millennial audience because, where they may be in school debt, they are the largest group purchasing apparel, spending 8% more than those ages 35-44. Millennials are willing to spend, sure, but are also aware of their debt and happy to find a deal, which is why sites like Gilt and Rue la la are so popular with this demographic.

Additionally, online sales are not limited to a computer. 41% of Millennials have made a purchase using their smartphone. We are seeing an influx of purchasing from tablets and smartphones across all demographics, and if companies aren't optimizing they are losing sales. And this is not just in the US- growing mobile device usage in emerging markets like China, India and South Africa create excellent opportunities for cutting edge luxury and beauty brands to increase sales and develop prefernce from Millennials, a fiercely loyal group.