This post is re-published with kind permission of the author.
Author: Himmy, Twitter: @himmy0730.
I hope this post will be somehow useful as insight into how to market ethical fashion in Japan.
Many people have asked me if the market for ethical fashion is ready in Japan. So far, I haven’t been quite sure. Only recently, and now after my conversation with Mrs. H., I feel that we are probably not.
Why? In summary, here the points …
- The Japanese fashion scene is not equally original as in other countries. In addition, a strict hierarchy prevails. Here in Japan, not the fashion consumers on the streets, but trends setters, such as fashion editors and buyers, publicists for major luxury brands etc. create trends. Hence, in order to spread ‘ethical’ as a fashion trend, we need to concentrate on the ‘big boys’ (and girls) in the industry, those who are really making up the rules.
It really cannot be stressed sufficiently: There is indeed a very strict, strictly enforced hierarchy in the Japanese fashion industry and also in retail, and only very few people would dare and try something on their own. - Why is the fashion hierarchy in Japan becoming stronger and stronger with every year that passes? Since the burst of the bubble economy 20 years ago, our economy as remained in quite fragile conditions. We still do not know when this will come to an end. In this time, fashion consumers chose to follow the leaders and their trends, arguably in return for a certain sense of security. One by one, we are filled with a scare, that once we snap, go ‘crazy’, we would never get back to normal. Fashion in that sense, is used increasingly to signal the achievement of social security.
- The majority of fashion consumers in Japan are craving for a better society and want the world to change. What they look for is a chance to actually DO something, by using their skill or time. However, a mere ‘story’ behind their clothes is worthless to them.
As proven by our history, Japanese are not the nation for creating something totally new. We have to be shown examples. THEN we give our all, become creative, make innovations. However, there’s such a small number of examples in the present, that the Japanese cannot truly imagine what acting ‘ethically’ means – how can we then give our best? - Mrs. H is trying to suggest to her customers a style of purchasing whereby they use their imagination: Imagining how it is overseas, the producers, the places where the clothes are made … right to the point when clothes are thrown away [in the future]. She tries to instill a sense into her customers of how one decision influences it all.
BUT, many of us will agree when saying that there’s a tendency among the younger generation to detach themselves from the world that surrounds them. They stop using their imagination – we have become too lazy, too wealthy, have access to too much ‘factual’ information and own too many gadgets that command our attention. - There are at the present enough fingers on a single hand to enumerate Japanese ethical brands: Mother House, Love and Sense, HASUNA. More recently, Michi-Corp has attracted considerable attention.
We already got a lot of organic brands. But, the large ‘eco’ boom in the last couple of years has cause an ‘eco-tiredness’. By now, the boom is over, and when hearing ‘eco, everyone assumes that a product is just for “eco” /”lohas” (short for ‘Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability’) fashion consumers.
Or for those that are ‘green’, hence people deeply concerned with the environment and human health.
Unfortunately, this misunderstanding applies equally to fashion designers, too. Rather than being concerned with the production process and supply chain of their garments as a whole, their main focus is on [the beauty of] nature.
Finally, a recommendation: If you’re in Tokyo, one good store to shop for real ‘eco’ (i.e. ethical) fashion is definitely KAGURE. The store focuses on offering a high quality range of cutting edge brands found at Paris Ethical Fashion Show.
