Research Proposal : Sustainable Fashion Apparels

March 2012

Prepared by: Daksha Chopra M. Des Sem II NIFT

CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE (ROL) 3. OBJECTIVES 4. DESK RESEARCH 4.1 Purpose 4.2 Procedure 5. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 5.1 Purpose 5.2 Population & sampling 5.3 Procedure 6. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH 6.1 Purpose 6.2 Population & sampling 6.3 Procedure 7. REPORTING 8. TIMING 9. FEES 10. CREDENTIALS Appendices Credentials Quality Control Terms of Business

1. INTRODUCTION Sustainable fashion, also called eco fashion, is a part of the growing design philosophy and trend of sustainability, the goal of which is to create a system which can be supported indefinitely in terms of environmentalism and social responsibility. Sustainable fashion is part of the larger trend of sustainable design where a product is created and produced with consideration to the environmental and social impact it may have throughout its total life span, including its "carbon footprint". But, so far the idea of sustainability has not yet been grasped by Indian consumer. There have been many purchase drivers that influence the buying behavior of consumer. This proposal will analyze such buying drivers and the level of awareness among consumers about sustainability. Also, to overcome the barriers for less sales of sustainable fashion apparels. 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Indian domestic textiles and apparel market is one of the fastest growing market in the world and offers huge market potential for textile and apparel manufacturers. It is expected to become one of the major consumption bases in near future. Out of the total market size of US $ 40 Billion, Clothing contributes US $ 30 Billion, while rest US$10 billion is contributed by Textiles (Home textiles, Technical textiles and other textiles end-uses). The domestic market has shown a significant growth in past few years registering a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of ~13%. Despite the recent demand slump, the domestic market is expected to grow at around 9% in the next 5 years. (www.technopak.com/resources/.../TLF-White%20Paper-Final.pdf) With increasing concerns regarding the effect of the textile industry on the environment, at all stages of its chain, i.e. raw material, fiber, fabric, apparel, processing; more and more textile researchers, producers and manufacturers are looking to biodegradable and sustainable fibers as an effective way of reducing the impact textiles have on the environment. More and more people are now focusing on the responsibility of industry and consumer priorities, and introducing new measuring tools for electricity and water usage, carbon footprint and traceability. As consumers in the other countries get aware of sustainability issues, it is going to put tremendous pressure on Indian manufacturers to comply. The young consumer is moving from the industrial economy to the sustainable economy and manufacturers/retailers globally have to build that into our processes. Hence companies need to gear up towards going green and give more weightage to environmental friendliness going forward. There are several important barriers to the sustainable production of fashion. These include cost barriers related to the use of environmentally preferable materials and

ensuring decent work in fashion goods supply chains. They also include design and sourcing practices based on the fast fashion model. As per the researches done so far there are four major barriers which affect the purchase of sustainable fashion goods: 1. Lack of information about impacts 2. Difficulty finding sustainable products 3. Price barriers 4. Style barriers (www.bsr.org/reports/BSR_NICE_Consumer_Discussion_Paper.pdf, Jonas EderHansen, DAFI, Johan Kryger, DAFI, Jonathan Morris, BSR, Cody Sisco, BSR, 23rd Feb 2012) There have been studies conducted to analyze the buying behavior of consumer w r t. sustainable fashion apparels. 3. OBJECTIVES The overall objective is to overcome the four major barriers hampering the popularity of sustainable fashion. This has been broken into the following sub-objectives:
3.1 To examine what affects the buying behavior of a consumer for sustainable

fashion product (apparels).

The objectives are detailed under each sub-objective: 3.1 To examine the awareness of a consumer for sustainable fashion product (apparels). This objective would seek what is the level of awareness of the consumer with respect to sustainability, sustainable fashion apparels. It will establish to what extend do they follow this trend, what are the different socio-cultural and psychological factors affecting the buying behavior of a consumer for sustainable fashion products (apparels) and hence, most importantly it will attempt to identify what should constitute the target audience for a new line of clothing which will overcome the major barriers..

3.2 To identify attitudes towards sustainable fashion (apparels). This objective would seek to go beyond the practical uses. It will be necessary to introduce a sustainable fashion apparel collection and discover which groups of people are most likely to buy it. This should give indications of the quality they are likely to buy and whether they would be prepared to pay more for a product which is labeled as sustainable fashion. It will establish what other kinds and other brands of sustainable products users are aware of. It will look at both spontaneous and prompted awareness.

3.3 To determine promotional platforms that can be used to increase the reach. This objective is far more exploratory and will help to discover what appeals to the most promising segments for the brand.

The proposed research will have three stages. The first stage will be to inspect existing sources to uncover usage figures and any useful information. The second stage will involve qualitative research to provide in-depth information on ethical buying (buying behavior of consumers for sustainable fashion apparels), difficulties in getting such products, factors affecting their buying behavior and the cost they are ready to pay. This will help to design the questionnaire to be used in the third stage.

4. DESK RESEARCH 4.1 Purpose Search of secondary sources will be carried out to refine the objectives and provide lines of enquiry for the next stages. Specifically, the desk research phase will gather information on country/region wise usage of sustainable fashion apparels over the last ten/five years. This trend data should give a useful indication about the status of the marketplace. At this point, I must also generate a list of brand names and uncover any pertinent information on competing brands that may be useful in the next parts of the research. The desk research will attempt to establish the following: How much is the market for sustainable fashion apparels?

What is the level of awareness of consumers towards sustainable fashion apparels? What is the trend currently going on in terms of clothing? What prices are charged for sustainable fashion apparels and the regular ones? What is the frequency of buying? What are the difficulties faced while finding sustainable fashion apparels? What promotions are currently used? Who should be the target audience? What affects the consumers buying behavior for sustainable fashion apparels?

4.2 Procedure The search will begin talking to different brands selling sustainable fashion apparels. Would brief them on the requirements of this research. The sales team would be an essential part of this. Reports and information on the domestic marketplace for sustainable fashion apparel brands, information on distribution to retail outlets, correspondence with customers, regional buying patterns, any complaints. This will be indicative of the likely domestic marketplace and will indicate strengths and weaknesses that will help in segmentation. An external search will also take place. Will obtain and analyze existing market assessments. Will inspect published research for any indications of sustainable fashion apparels use. Will intend to create a portfolio of advertising and promotional materials used by companies dealing with sustainable fashion apparels. This will give materials that will allow exploring likely promotional platforms.

5. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 5.1 Purpose Given the exploratory nature of some aspects of the objectives, will provide with detailed qualitative information. Focused research will be used to explore and understand the attitudes of potential customers towards the new product and subsequent quantitative research will be used to measure how widespread these attitudes are. The location will be Mumbai.

The qualitative phase will probe the following:

What affects the consumers buying behavior for sustainable fashion apparels? Types and brands of sustainable fashion apparels of which the users are aware What brand do they currently buy from and why? What are the difficulties faced while finding sustainable fashion apparels? Which groups of people are most likely to buy sustainable fashion apparels? Whether they would be prepared to pay more for the products labeled as sustainable fashion apparel What is the level of awareness of consumers towards sustainable fashion apparels?

5.2 Population and sampling The proposal will have 3 groups with the following profiles: Group 1 Aware of sustainability and buy ethically. These will include: Occasional buyers Regular buyers Group 2 Group 3 Aware of Unaware of sustainability but, do sustainability and not buy ethically. dont buy ethically.

5.3 Procedure Will need to introduce the product, I intend to describe, and then show, the product along with the likely competitors. Few issues here are that of material, cost and aesthetics, which are important variables. The skilled moderator will ensure that this does not become a distraction. 6. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH I propose to carry out a telephone and online study using a questionnaire in Mumbai. This has been chosen as a cost-effective way of contracting relevant respondents.

Personal interviewing would go outside the budget but, can be opted too. I have not proposed a postal study because I feel that the telephone and interactive sites gives us the opportunity to select people accurately and swiftly. This gives an assurance of achieving the desired number and type of respondents.

6.1 Purpose This stage aims to quantify the type of handbag and the kinds of handbags used. It will also give percentages of handbag brand names of which users are aware. I will provide percentages for both spontaneous and prompted awareness. By establishing classification data, I will know what type of people buy and use, and the prices they are prepared to pay. I do not think the negative name association will need to be probed at this phase, but I can add a question on that too.

6.2 Population and sampling I have made the decision to carry out 300 surveys in the market, nearby locality of different categories. This will give a spread of responses and the opportunity to identify interesting differences. It will be with the person mainly responsible for the apparel purchasing. Interlocking quota is as follows: Total household income group 20,000 to 40,000 41,000 to 50,000 51,000 to 75,000 76,000 to 1,00,000 1,00,000 and above Total 6.3 Procedure The questionnaire will be developed by referring already created ones by me which will be approved by the concerned faculty. The questionnaire will probe the following:

Graduates 30 30 30 30 30 150

Post-Graduates 30 30 30 30 30 150

Total sample 60 60 60 60 60 300

What is the level of awareness do people have about sustainable fashion apparels? What do they look out for in sustainable fashion apparels?

What other products and other brands are the users aware of? What factors affect their buying behavior for sustainable fashion apparels? What are the difficulties faced while searching sustainable fashion apparels? Which groups of people are most likely to buy sustainable fashion apparels? Would they be prepared to pay more for the newly designed handbag?

Where possible, questions will be pre-coded, but, for costing purposes, I have assumed few open-ended questions and a maximum duration of ten minutes. In case of the open-ended questions, code frames will be prepared, based on the response of the first 10 per cent. The analysis will involve computer tabulations, in the form of frequency distributions. Subsequent requirements for statistical analysis will be discussed, once the initial data is evaluated. I intend to weight the data to bring the data in line with the already approved and certified records.

7. REPORTING Following the qualitative section of the research, an interim presentation-report will be submitted. Once this has been approved, there will be a formal presentation of all findings, along with conclusions drawn.

8. TIMMING The table below indicates a suggested timeframe for the project. Week 1-2 2-5 6 7 8 9 10-13 14-15 16-17 18 19 Activity Desk Research Qualitative fieldwork Qualitative/desk research report available Questionnaire development Pilot (n = 15) Pilot debriefing Quantitative stage (n = 100) Coding and data preparation Analysis Presentation Final report submission

9. FEES The fees quoted below are exclusive of VAT and are subject to the standard terms and conditions, which are appended. The fees are subject to the assumptions contained in these proposals and I reserve the right to make adjustments should any assumptions prove to be incorrect.

Phase Desk Research

Description 20 hours Senior Executive 30 hours Junior Executive Some amount to purchase/access relevant reports

Fee Rs. 2000 Rs. 3000 Rs. 2000

Qualitative Research Quantitative Research Total Fee

Three focus groups, 25 interviews No, of respondents - 100

Rs. 5,000 Rs. 5,000 Rs. 17,000

10. CREDENTIALS: The project will be carried out by me, Miss. Daksha Chopra. Under the guidance of Dr. Ajit Khare who has worked for many years in the market research field. He has been a faculty at NIFT Mumbai centre. I will be fulfilling the responsibility of taking the questionnaire to the focus group and completing it. I might require some assistance for conducting the personal interviews.

APPENDICES Sample Questionnaire: 1. What is the importance of buying eco/sustainable product by its category? Rank 1 to 6 where 1 = most preferred and 6 = least preferred. a. Food & Grocery b. Household cleaning supplies c. Personal care (health and beauty care)
d. Baby, childrens products (toys, diapers etc.)

e. Stationery. f. Apparels 2. When buying apparels do you consider it to be eco/sustainable? a. Sometimes b. Rarely c. Regularly d. Dont consider e. Always 3. What is the most important factor in choosing an apparel brand/item? Select only one. a. Comfort b. Price c. Durability d. Availability e. Fun to wear f. Fashion g. 100%cotton h. Green production

i. Brand reputation j. Handmade k. % of purchase donated. 4. What are your buying drivers affecting your purchase of eco/sustainable clothing. a. Better for environment b. Healthier for our body c. Promotes fair trade/ ethical labor practices d. Reflects my personal values / lifestyle 5. What is the reason you dont consider buying eco/sustainable apparels regularly? a. They are costly / too expensive b. Not familiar with eco/sustainable apparel options c. Not enough variety d. Not available where I shop e. Not fashionable f. My favorite apparel brand doesnt offer eco/sustainable apparels.

QUALITY CONTROL The interviewers will be trained and supervised. 10% of the interviews will be checked in one of the three ways: in person, by telephone or by post. All fieldwork will meet the industry standards laid down by my respected faculty.