Sustainability: the cost of being good

While in an April survey of European consumers by McKinsey, more than 60% of respondents said they considered the way brands promote sustainability as a factor in purchasing decisions, it seems like sustainability has reached a tipping point. Sustainability can be an opportunity to better match customers’ shifting expectations, but a quick overview of the different ways the issue is being addressed in the fashion and retail industry shows that sustainable efforts often mean investing more and costing more. Are these the only options for department stores to explore, or can sustainability simply go hands in hands with efficient and good management? In this case, how to make it visible and desirable to the customers?

IADS provides its members with a weekly in-depth analysis on retail-oriented topics. This is an example of the themes the Association regularly addresses, and the topic of an article  from the IADS members-only newsletter date 18 November 2020.