Many brands and corporations will use personification to give themselves specific values so their customer can imagine themselves within the brand to give a certain lifestyle image. However what many seem to argue is if corporation values are truly values or just a marketing strategy. Do companies deeply care about sustainability or do they just love the money the sustainability line is bringing into the company? 

With capitalism appearing in the 16th century it is a main focus for companies to make the most money possible and to take advantage of the consumers in as many ways possible. Whether it’s taking advantage of their ignorance or their lack of common sense, the business mentality has taken over the beautiful arts of the fashion industry. It is rare that society, the government and educational institutions will accept that fashion is art, however with the capitalist values that the fashion industry has taken, their distinctive values are to simply accommodate their targeted consumer. For many things big brands play with the customer’s mind to make them want and need to buy more and the newest collection to be popular or even to be relevant. As in the song by Macklemore, Wings, the song is basically talking about capitalism and how it plays with our brain to buy more yet never use it. Are you stupid, don’t crease ’em, just leave ’em in that box. Strangled by these laces, laces I can barely talk. That’s my air bubble and I’m lost, if it pops. In these lines the artist is talking about his new Nike shoes, the brand makes him want to buy so much to be relevant, yet he never took the shoes out of the box to not damage his “investment piece”. For a hundred dollars and some change, consumption is in the veins. This line from the song really shows how easy it truly is for consumers to be influenced by big corporations to become and overall materialistic value. 

Even though these corporations run on capitalism they still have distinguished values that still are relevant and genuine.  

There are real factors that many brands stand by because they are ethically responsible and want to make a change within the industry and the world. Many companies will pay the price to be made in Canada to not encourage child exploitation in the factory mills. Even though it is a demand many consumers have been seeking, it is the most common real value Canadian companies have been changing.

In essence, many brands and corporations use values to encourage their clientele to shop or buy their products, even if it’s not genuine and for the wrong reasons. Capitalism is real in the fashion industry and whether the companies have good values for the wrong reasons or not the importance is having a positive impact on these companies to make a change to become less capitalist. 

For the longest time, big corporations from various industries have been unethical and were untruthful about what they were doing. However as consumers being more aware of what these companies have been doing, they must be more transparent to keep their clients loyal to the company. As many industries have evolved, still to this day many brands and companies in the fashion industry are hiding their unethical truths such as pollution and the terrible labour conditions. This article will be axed on how consumers have changed the fashion industry from a social and ethical point of view rather than a business point of view. 

To commence, it’s not that long ago since the fashion industry has been abolishing child slavery. Even though it is still going on, there has been a 30% decrease since 2010. Although there is still 10%of the world’s children whom are used to work in dangerous textile factories and sow garments in very low working conditions, all because of the fast fashion era which is happening, well, now. It is inevitable that from now to a couple of ears consumers and the government will be demanding a complete abolishment of child labour which in other words equalize to child slavery. Considering consumers only know about child slavery since 1997, there are many programs and volunteers who have helped non profits to make a change even if it is small. 

To continue on a different note, consumers will have an impact on the fashion industry by buying wholesome products from companies who market made locally or will go for smaller businesses who show where their clothing and products are made and to show if it’s ethical or not kind of like the beauty company Lush. They show on all their products who packaged it and made the product by sticking a sticker on the package or the product’s bottle. So by consumers being socially responsible, it makes a huge difference for fashion companies who have that many less clients. So they will start being more sustainable and ethical for business reasons. 

Consumers like the millennials have a little more disposable income then before so they are not afraid to spend more for a garment or product if it is socially responsible or ethical compared to fast fashion companies such as forever 21 and Zara. 

To finalize many companies to appear sustainable will go all out with the made in Canada rather than offshore whether that is China, India, Pakistan or others, just because the assembling of the garment are made in Canada so consumers encourage the labour being fair paid compared to under developed countries. However what many consumers seem to forget is that the textile mules and factories are terrible for working conditions and child slavery. 

Overall there is still a lot to be done when looking at the unethical actions major fast fashion companies are executing. However consumers and the public have been making social responsible actions such as volunteering, funding non profits and purchasing from local businesses. Transforming the fashion industry one consumer at a time is the goal. 

As the fashion industry has changed the way they promote and get their desired message out to the public, social media has been around and used for quite some time now. Even though social media is not new to the newest generation in the workforce, how businesses and brands use social media has definitely taken a turn compared to a more traditional way like advertising or just the word of mouth from family and friends.  

On that note, as many already know social media has many platforms some more obvious than others. As though they were originally conceived for the public, businesses saw this opportunity as something with a low cost and touches a wide range of people and can be easily customizable for their target market. Generally when someone says social media we often think about Instagram, Facebook, twitter and Snapchat. However the social media platforms are much larger such as Youtube and Pinterest which have a huge impact on B to C (business to consumer). In the fashion industry appearance is everything, hence the reason many brands sell their products by creating a certain lifestyle the consumer can relate to and will purchase said product. So you’re probably wondering how social media ties into everything? Well, its pretty simple, on the businesses page, let’s take Instagram as an example, the company can control the aesthetic of the page with the choice of images which creates easy access to all consumers with a tap on the screen or clic on the trackpad. This aesthetic which the marketing team decided on will attract the consumers to whom this specific lifestyle appeals to and drive sales like never before. So as a fashion brand or company, their visuals on their social platforms will help them give out a clear message of how they want to be perceived to the consumer and if done correctly, the consumer will clearly see the brand’s image and to whom they cater or want to cater to. 

In addition because basically everyone has at least one social media account it can be a lot to deal with when trying to advertise for a specific demographic so many fashion brands started hiring or sending free goods to what we like to call influencers. Influencers changed the game for late millennials and gen-zers because they are just like the popular kid who is super cool and many aspire to be or crave their acceptance. They will post an “instagramable” worthy picture by tagging the brands which will make a bigger impact on the consumer than a blast email or a basic ad. This works the best with vloggers on youtube because they will be able to talk about the product and the overall experience which today’s young adult and teen consumers crave and expect. 

In essence, social media has changed the way the fashion industry markets towards their consumers by creating a more personal and psychological link rather than the more traditional build board on the side of the highway. By customizing their posts, creating a brand aesthetic, hiring influencers and vloggers who knows what new trend the fashion industry will use for further marketing towards their consumer? 

When looking into many concepts such as fashion, health, education, lifestyle, family and many more we love to compare the Baby Boomers to the Millennials. For many reasons, one being the vast difference in  lifestyle and values.  The Millennials have now outnumbered the Baby Boomers, which now means they are the largest American generation. For that reason both generations are easily comparable in statistics and factual information. In the fashion industry when looking at consumer behaviours, Millennials are different in the way they purchase compared to past generations, more specifically Baby Boomers.

Firstly, one of the most dramatic changes in the fashion industry is the interest in fast fashion and lack of for brands and luxury items. Where big companies such as the Bay and Sears hold many brands, the decrease in interest when looking at millennials is remarkably high.  Most of the millennial consumers will look for the style that many influencers were seen in or a specific accessory that is hot and trending based off of celebrities. On that note the preference to shop online is remarkably higher for this generation than any other.

Secondly, as briefly introduced, the online market is a huge game changer for marketing towards the millennials specifically because it is not even a question whether your brand and or store has a good online presence. To be able to purchase online increases the competitor’s presence to have the best price for the product, the consumer is looking for. In addition, social media has a huge impact on the brand and or store’s image. The reasoning being if it’s in the loop for trends and having what the targeted consumer needs and wants they will more likely have a good reputation when looking into the Millennial generation. Finally, Millennials being more educated than any previous generation, they are more socially conscious when making a purchase. In essence  companies must be more and more transparent on their ethics when looking into the fabrication of the garment and the labor conditions. On top of this factor, it is easier than ever to be able to find information on a company or brand on their wrong doing because of all the information available to the public. This impacted many companies who were already socially responsible when looking into labor conditions and much more, which let them grow in popularity and have the possibility to compete towards big fast fashion companies whom’s ethics are questionable.

In essence, marketing towards a different type of generation can be difficult, however it must be done. When comparing the difference between Millennials and Baby-Boomers from a marketing aspect or point of view, one is not more challenging than the other, but rather different in their own ways.

With all the talk about the drastic change between the Baby Boomers and the Millenials, big corporations seem to be forgetting that gen-Z is going to be the biggest upcoming generation. While most businesses have their main focus on the Millenials, their marketing strategies might be passé. With that in mind many believe that both Millenials and Gen-Z are very similar, which, compared to past generations are. However there are many different factors that must be taken under consideration when doing future business with this  generation.

To commence, when looking at the Gen-Z habits and values, quality over quantity is  very important for social and economic factors. By simply comparing social media, the past trend with the millenials was to have the most followers and the most friends on social media. When looking into Gen-Z, they care more about the quality of followers and their activity ratio towards likes, comments and number of followers. In addition, Gen-Z are looking for more niche connections within niche groups and social clubs. In essence, Gen-Z preffers conversation over mass communication.  With that information, we now know that these consumers will be wanting more personalized services when shopping online or in store compared to the millenials or the baby boomers. In addition these consumers are not afraid to vocalize their opinions about the quality of service or product online for others to see and make a smarter purchase decision.

To continue marketers now must be more creative with apps never used before to target directly the consumer in a non ad or an obvious publicity way. One of the most frequently used apps for the Gen-Z is youtube. Youtube is a completely different approach towards the consumers compared to facebook or instagram who simply have a page and pay for ads or the typical influencer.  Youtube has people posting genuine opinions about the brand or company and why they like or dislike the product or service.

To finalize the Gen-Z is very much aware of what’s going on with injustices and take many causes at heart like racism, homophobia, gender roles and many more. The brands and companies must keep everything updated to conform this now intensive awareness to offend as little people as possible. In essence any corporation wanting to target the upcoming biggest generation, Gen-Z, must change their business plan for many social factors. Since this generation is all about connectivity and social justice in a total different way compared to past generations, marketing and business plans must adapt to the innovating population which we like to call Gen-Z.