The New Green Movement Is Changing the Economy – an essay by Alexandra Hildebrandt.

### Beauty Comes From Within. ###
To a certain degree, the eco-boom came from within: first came the organic foodstuffs, the internal items, before moving to the external shell - the skin. The consumer became increasingly aware of natural cosmetics and their wide range of products. The excellent growth in turnover meant that these niche products suddenly developed into an unstoppable trend. And then came fashion: “Anyone who drives hybrid cars, eats organic products from their own region, and prefers to pay that little bit extra for their coffee in order to guarantee it is morally produced, will probably also select their wardrobe according to the same principles”, writes Nico Stehr, author of the bestseller Die Moralisierung der Märkte (The Moralization of the Market).

From a consumer viewpoint, the fashion and food industries have a lot to do with each other. “The most demanding consumer markets seem to be fundamentally different”, says consumer psychologist Simonetta Carbonaro. “Both are linked to our spirit and our stomach, and both reflect the ideology of the masses”. Food and clothing are the goods that come closest to humans - they eat the food and wear the clothing. So it is no surprise that the ecological movement has also become a trend in the clothing sector – and has become a fashionable theme thanks to the connections between lifestyle and morals. Ecology and fashion are no longer opposing movements.

“We want to prove that ecologically friendly fashion can also be trendy”, says Tony Tonaer, Managing Director of the Kuyichi label. Initially it is the smaller labels that get the ball rolling. Trend and commitment go hand in hand – the typical link that runs through the ecological trend like a green thread through the new ecological trend. “However, we then became involved in the production conditions in the third world”, reports Martin Höfeler from the young German label ‘armedangels’, “and discovered the most disturbing stories: environmental catastrophes, child labor, low wages. It was clear to us that there was no point in competing in 2007 if we did not break fundamental new ground.” This message is now far from an issue solely for smaller avant-garde companies such as Kuyichi or armedangels.

### Fashion as a Social Statement. ###
Green chic, green glamour, fair fashion – ethical consumption is also setting trends in the fashion world. The current trend is a mixture of fashionable style, ecological production and fair trade. Eco-labels can now be found on the catwalks of Paris and Milan. Ecologically and fairly produced fashion has become a serious contender on the market and is exhibited by top models. Lifestyle and attitude, good design and a clear conscience all merge into one. Eco-fashion is becoming a social statement, expresses an attitude and symbolizes the zeitgeist.

However, it only has good opportunities on the market if certain prerequisites, such as transparence and traceability are fulfilled: Under which conditions were the textiles produced? Where were they manufactured? What materials were used? Enlightened consumers are prepared to spend more money in order to get comfort and well-being. However, the product must be able to achieve the promised added value. Sustainable consumption is becoming increasingly important in the world of design and fashion. It is a matter of meeting today’s generations’ needs, whilst ensuring that future generations are not put at risk.

Motivated by the success of smaller eco-labels, a greener lifestyle is far from a seasonal trend, which is also taken seriously by large textile companies. An investigation carried out by the Institute of German Economics in Cologne discovered that one in four Germans is interested in natural fashion. Women in particular are paying more attention to the conditions, under which their clothing is produced. According to Claudia Langer, from the company Utopia AG, the conscious consumer has left the comfort zone of “what can I do as a small fish in the giant pond of globalization”, and is now aware of his sociopolitical power. Today, he not only needs to improve the world (or at least prevent it from deteriorating further), but also needs to feel good about himself with regard to “fair trade” - and he also needs to look good. He desires to be cool, sexy, and politically correct. This was also the motto of the Ethical Fashion Show, which was held in Paris in October 2007. The fashionable city was looking for the link between fair trade and sustainable development in the clothing industry. It showed that lifestyle and mindset are inseparably connected, and that fashion is an enhancement of a person’s own specific point of view. A while ago, Peter Ingwersen from the Danish fair fashion label “Noir” predicted that “ethics will be the next fashion accessory”. This trend has arrived at the center of the market.

### Pure Nature. ###
And so, the design center Norintra House of Fashion in Hong Kong, has just presented the first eco fashion collection for business ladies, targeting the mass market rather than smaller niches. Norintra is proof that the trend has arrived in the world of fashion. The company designs fashion for Karstadt, Quelle and Neckermann. With its new collection Norintra Pure Nature, the company wants to show that fashion and social conscience can go hand in hand. They are focusing on ecological materials and good design, and are aimed at the fashionable and confident businesswoman of today. Norintra uses exclusively natural materials for its collection and, in accordance with the Eco-Tex Standard 100, does not use harmful substances when coloring and bleaching. Bamboo, silk and ecologically cultivated cotton are used. In the coming seasons, the collection will be expanded to include designs incorporating linen, denim and wool – produced biologically, of course. Further research is underway regarding the possible use of soya.

The trigger for this development was the observations of the market and trends made by the design center. “The demand for biological cotton wool was enormous”, recalls Annett Koeman, the head of the design center. And so the global supply of biological cotton wool increased from about 6,500 tons in the 2001/02 crop year to 58,000 tons in the 2006/07 crop year. Cotton from Africa, the couture collections Noir and Idun, and others were marketed – however, according to Koeman, “in a price range that was inaccessible to the mass consumer market”. Chains like Zara, who launched its own T-shirt collections in its range, reacted to this trend. Norintra distances itself from this: ”We are taking a different approach, as a demanding business woman, who wants to buy environmentally friendly products, and wants a piece of clothing with a corresponding message, is left with no choice. For this reason we have decided to offer precisely this woman a business collection that makes a statement, and is also in an acceptable price range”, says Annett Koeman, describing the strategy. It is about “exclusiveness and excellence for everyone, and about affordable products”.

All the items in the collection bear the "Norintra Pure Nature" label, which is worked into the articles of clothing. Peter Hahn is the first multichannel company to offer Norintra Pure Nature products. Since 2007, Norintra has been cooperating on the MADE-BY initiative, which is working toward ensuring that clothing is manufactured under fair working conditions, and that minimal environmental damage occurs. Koeman emphasizes that the concept suits Norintra’s approach perfectly: “This includes working together with suppliers from the Chinese market. Previously, most organic labels manufactured their products in Peru, Turkey or Africa. In Hong Kong we are very close to the Chinese market. For this reason, it is very much up to us to promote this topic together with Chinese suppliers.” By the end of 2007, all affected factories had been visited and checked - including China Silk. Before and during the production of the Norintra Pure Nature collection, CSR teams and local employees of MADE-BY regularly visited the production sites and checked that standards were being adhered to. In addition, the company also ensured that China Silk participated in a program to promote the awareness of HIV and AIDS. “It is particularly well suited to improving dialog between employees and management in the factory, and getting a deeper insight into the health and safety situation. In addition, we are taking steps to encourage China Silk to certify their production in accordance with the Global Organic Textile Standard”, says Esther Tse, Division Manager CSR Asia. The Norintra Pure Nature collection, which combines modern elegance and timeless design with a refined statement, is functional, urban and attractive. It does not only want to be sensual, aesthetically pleasing and competitive, but also wants to be ecologically acceptable. As Jana Kern writes in the TextilWirtschaft magazine, “the value of innovation lies not in its newness, but in its use”. And precisely this use is defined differently today.

#### Shopping as a Political Act. ###
Shopping has taken on a political dimension. “Nowadays, shopping is a political act”, said Anita Roddick, the legendary founder of The Body Shop. She was one of the first to realize: if money makes the world go round, then so do those who spend that money. The sum of their purchasing decisions determines the market. “It is sexy to want to change the world”, U2 singer Bono once said. He went on to implement the philosophy of “looking good, and doing good”: he first put his name to the label “Edun”, helping it to achieve cult status. He then created an environmentally and socially aware, but also good looking, collection to continue in another market with the eco-label “Red”. Bono is not an isolated case; although not every star immediately creates their own brand, many stars lend their voice to a sustainable economic situation. Hollywood’s VIPs are proof that this philosophy has reached society. “It is not just about energy-saving lamps at home. It is about the DNA of our economic system” says Leonardo Di Caprio, for example. And Cameron Diaz agrees: “I don’t want to return to the Stone Age. I just want to keep what we have, for a long time.” Or singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow: “Nobody can do it all. But everyone can do their bit.” Do your bit - this statement sums up the new ethic of responsibility, which puts individuals’ trade and consumer behavior at the center of the issue. Julia Roberts has also joined the movement: “It may be funny to talk about compost. However, that is something that even I can really manage”. There can be no doubt: Being green and focusing on new values are currently in vogue. Green is no longer a market niche, but rather a global and universal trend. The topic is currently permeating into all areas of life, as the awareness of consumers, who have consciously opted for “sustainable” consumption, has changed dramatically. The “fun generation” of the 90s has been displaced by a change in values, which is all about getting “back to the roots”. People are also looking for fulfillment of meaning when consuming. The price is no longer at the center of their perception, but good quality enhanced with ecosocial dimensions. In English, the term “Neo Greens” describes an environmentally conscious consumer group, which uses the “Neo” to distance itself from the idea of the existing ecological clichés of the 70s and 80s, in which eco meant consumer waiving. For the American market researcher Tom Spencer, “prosperity and suburbanites” are the two main characteristics of the Neo Green consumer group in the USA. They think that this group has sufficient finances to live sustainably. As a rule, Neo Greens leave the big cities to live in a less urban environment with municipal links in the sense of a sustainable lifestyle.

### Healthy and Sustainable. ###
One group of purchasers, who lead a sustainable lifestyle and distinguish themselves due to their spending power and attempts to reduce the damage caused by consumption, is the “Lohas” - also known as Neo Greens, Mainstream Greens, Lifestyle Greens, and “do-gooder capitalists”. The acronym, which was applied by US sociologists Paul Ray and Ruther Anderson means “Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability”. Lohas are often seen to be ecochic and superficial, but the opposite is true. A Lohas asks what consequences its way of consuming and living has for itself and the environment. The spending power of this group, which spans all classes and levels of education, makes the Lohas an interesting target group for marketing strategies. The market for Lohas amounts to about 500 billion US dollars globally. In Germany, about 30 million people belong to this group. In the USA this figure is 62 million. China is regarded as one of the key future markets for Lohas.

Lohas are always represented by the And: health and enjoyment, lifestyle and conservation, individual welfare and the fate of mankind, family and career: according to cultural sociologist Eike Wenzel, the Lohas lead the lifestyle of a “both-and generation”: “the lifestyle is based on enjoyment, while the Lohas also have certain values, and want to live in harmony with their environment”, he writes. He continues: “They enjoy themselves hedonistically, but this enjoyment must also – where at all possible – fit in with the environmental picture. I want fair trade, I want to protect nature, I do not want child labor.”
These consumer-happy, style-conscious, and often wealthy people want to use their purchasing decisions to put over a message regarding fair production conditions and the preservation of the environment. “Whether in New York, Berlin or Tokyo – the mainstream greens are convinced that consumer power can change the world for the better”, remarked the magazine ‘senses’ in 2007. Lohas yearn for a holistic lifestyle, comprehensible qualities and concrete values. They want to know where their food, clothing and other consumer goods come from. Green is no longer an alternative lifestyle for these people, but is the only option. This is connected to the need to redefine the terms ‘luxury’ and ‘excellence’. The trend is definitely toward a “responsible, green luxury”, says Dagmar Bagnoli. It is also toward exclusivity for everyone.
Globalization and its added value chain puts the focus on the question of which ecological, economical and social challenges we must face in the future. In addition, companies listed on the stock exchange are nowadays judged more critically on how successfully their products, goods and services are produced with regard to social, economic and environmental responsibility. Investors increasingly prefer funds that invest in companies that trade responsibly. Studies suggest that companies failing to take this on board in time will no longer be competitive in the future. “Great changes lie ahead for corporate development, product development and marketing”, says Martina Hoffhaus, owner of the messagepool agency.

Changing the world may be an ambitious goal – the new greens have already started to change the economic world.

Sources and Links
Dagmar Bagnoli: Auf dem Weg zum öko-Luxus. In: TextilWirtschaft 5 (2008), pg. 222.

“The new quality: good, clean, fair.” Discussion with Simonetta Carbonaro. In: GDI IMPULS.

Magazine for the economy, companies and trade (autumn 2007).

Jana Kern: Innovationen: Die Zukunft hat längst begonnen. In: TextilWirtschaft 52 (2007), pg. 65.

Judith Lembke: Gutes tun und dabei gut aussehen, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 4.2.2008.

senses, issue II, 2007.

Sind wir nicht alle kleine Lohas? In: karriere 3 (2007), pg. 16.

Nico Stehr and Marian Adolf: Die Moralisierung der Märkte, TextilWirtschaft 52 (2007), pg. 73.

Peter Unfried: Wunderbare Welt der Lohas, daily newspaper, dated 22.09.2007.
Eike Wenzel, Christian Rauch, Anja Kirig: Zielgruppe LOHAS: Wie der grüne Lifestyle die Märkte

erobert. Future Institute, Kelkheim 2007.

Links to various green labels
www.americanapparel.net
www.armedangels.de
www.edun.ie
www.elnaturalista.de
www.gant.com
www.kuyichi.com
www.loomstate.org
www.made-by.nl
www.trigema.de
www.true-fashion.com
www.veja.fr

Contact:
Annett Koeman
Norintra. House of Fashion
Room 1203-06, 12/F, One Peking
1 Peking Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Hong Kong (SAR)
Tel.: +852 (3793) 6289
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www.norintra.com

Arcandor AG
Dr. Alexandra Hildebrandt
Head of Communication Social Affairs
Theodor-Althoff-Straße 2
D-45133 Essen
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)201/727-96 62
Fax: +49 (0)201/727-69 96 62
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www.arcandor.com