Frequently Asked Questions

3. The market for ethical fashion

3.1. Is there a market for ethically sourced fashion?

3.2. Will consumers pay more for ethical fashion?

DEFINITIONS:
For the purpose of this section, and throughout Ethical Fashion Forum website, we define ethical and sustainable as socially and environmentally responsible. See Fashion:Ethics for further information


3.1. Is there a market for ethically sourced fashion?

According to the Co-operative banks 2005 Ethical Consumerism report, the sales of ethical products and services in the UK increased by over 15 per cent during 2004, to total £25.8 billion.

The 2005 report includes ethical fashion for the first time, valuing the sector at £680 million.
Consumer spend on ethical clothing was recorded at £43 million, a 33.3% increase from 2003.
In addition, consumers were motivated by ethical concerns to spend £341 million on second hand clothing and £296 million resulted from boycotts of clothing and footwear brands.

According to a 2006 report from global market information company, TNS Worldpanel Fashion, over half (23.1 million) of Britain’s consumers think ethical production of the clothes they buy is important. 76 per cent of people surveyed feel an end to child labour and sweat shops is a very important driver of ethical production, closely followed by offering producers a fair price (60 per cent) and damage caused to the environment (50 per cent).

The TNS Worldpanel report was based on the opinions of 7,000 demographically representative British individuals. Conducted in May 2006, this was the first TNS Worldpanel Fashion study of ethical trends in the clothing and footwear market.


3.2. Will consumers pay more for ethical fashion?

According to a 2006 report by TNS Worldpanel Fashion, over a quarter (27 per cent) of all people said they would pay more for ethically produced clothing, compared to 53 percent who would choose ethical if they didn’t have to pay more.

The report was based on the opinions of 7,000 demographically representative British individuals. Conducted in May 2006, this was the first TNS Worldpanel Fashion study of ethical trends in the clothing and footwear market.