Episode 47: Why the humble care label can be so important for businesses

Garment care, take-back programs, recycling, responsible design, circular design, sustainability.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:

Welcome to the Fashion Unearthed podcast. If you need help navigating the fashion industry sustainably, you have come to the right place. I'm your host Belinda Humphrey and my hope is to simplify the fashion industry so that businesses can make the best decisions for people, planet and product.

Hello, and welcome to episode 47 of the fashion on Earth podcast. If you've listened to last week's episode, I have to apologise again, as I have to record both last week's and this week's at the same time, which meant my voice will still be a bit Husky for both episodes. But I hope it isn't too annoying for you and I'll keep this week's a little bit shorter. Last week's episode, I'd started earlier and it had so much great information in it that I didn't want to cut it down. But also I didn't plan on getting a head cold. So I hope you persist through the episode. A quick reminder that my newsletter is full of great updates in fashion and sustainability and you can sign up for that at belindahumphrey.com.

So sometimes I think what to write on a care label can be a bit of an afterthought. But it's not enough to just fall in love with the fabric and what it can make. You need to fast forward and think about how your customer is going to care for it. Because it's all well and good to create something beautiful and something the customer loves. But an item could potentially be ruined with one misstep and that ideal scenario of someone keeping your loved item in their wardrobe forever becomes a bit of a pipe dream. When you really consider how the customer is going to care for your garment upfront in the design stage, you can really make sure you're designing it in a way that makes it easier for the customer. Some brands albeit rare these days, have a lifetime returns and some do lifetime repairs. But what this shows is there's a level of confidence not only in the quality of make and material, but also in trusting how the customer will look after the garment.

Another reason this is so important now is because of the take back programmes brands are initiating. You want to make sure as best you can, that the product that comes back to you for resale within your own physical or online store has been looked after, to therefore be able to live on and also to return a better secondhand price. But your aftercare consideration needn't just stop with the care label. Really think about what else the customer might need to help extend the life of their garment? Is it a cute patch or a repair kit, spare buttons, even a quick video that simply explains all the symbols that are on a care label.

Businesses are expanding this idea of customer help because they know it's good for the environment, but it could also offer higher brand loyalty, as well as potentially another revenue stream or chance for collaborations.

So that's it for today. I promised a little shorty due to my husky voice. Thanks for persisting and listening this far. Hopefully my voice will be back properly for the next episode. But in the meantime, a little reminder to sign up to the email list for my monthly newsletter at belindahumphrey.com and you'll find the show notes and any links on the website in the podcast section too. Thanks so much for listening. See you next time.

Thanks for listening to the Fashion Unearthed podcast. If you want to get in touch head over to belindahumphrey.com or you can find me on Instagram @belindahumphrey_

Disclaimer: Whilst every effort is made to ensure that information is accurate at the time of recording, much like the fashion industry itself, this information may change.