INDUSTRY EXPERT Q+A WITH THIMO SCHWENZFEIER, SHOW DIRECTOR OF NEONYT ON THE FUTURE OF FASHION AND SUSTAINABILITY

“To make the most of future opportunities, companies not only need to invest more in existing digital capabilities but also find pioneering new ways of engaging with consumers online”- Thimo Schwenzfeier, NEONYT

INDUSTRY Q+A: Thimo Schwenzfeier, Show Director Neonyt and Director Marketing-Communications, Messe Frankfurt.

As the pandemic plays out, we caught up with Thimo to ask his opinion of the Future of Fashion, Sustainability and how the messe frankfurt team are realigning the NeoNyt event in the current pandemic:

When was NEONYT founded and why?

Early on, Messe Frankfurt recognised the need for a suitable platform for all topics concerning sustainability, a topic of the future. Following the launch of the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris in 2004, Messe Frankfurt France took over the event in 2010. In January 2012, Messe Frankfurt founded the Ethical Fashion Show Berlin in Germany and, with the move to Berlin, found the right location for the coming years. Messe Frankfurt combined the already existing Greenshowroom with the Ethical Fashion Show and since January 2015, the two fairs have been held at a joint venue. Neonyt replaced the trade fair duo Greenshowroom and Ethical Fashion Show Berlin in January 2019 with a new hub concept. The trade fair was supplemented by the conference format Fashonsustain and a showcase, among others, in order to progressively bring together the topic of sustainability with the topics of technology and innovation.

The hub concept combines the most important elements in the fashion industry - style, business, inspiration, innovation, knowledge, fun and community.

Do you think that COVID-19 will accelerate or delay sustainable practice?

For more than half of the world's purchasing managers in the fashion industry sustainability has become one of the most important aspects of their future business strategies. Fashion buyers can now choose from a significantly increased range of sustainable clothing. Most recently, the range has increased fivefold each year. This means that sustainability has finally arrived in the conventional retail.

Even the current global health and economic crisis will not be able to stop this development - on the contrary: people around the world are experiencing moments of pause and mindfulness in times of the coronavirus pandemic.

The spread of Covid-19 is the most massive disruption to public life in recent decades. Despite all the shadows cast by the pandemic, it also offers an opportunity to recall important values. In our case, this means solidarity between producers and consumers, climate protection and sustainability. The potential of the sustainability community is undisputed. We hope and believe that in the long term the entire fair (fashion) industry will emerge stronger from this health and economic crisis.

What are the main barriers to the wider adoption of sustainability?

Increasing consumers’ awareness about clothing sustainability issues can subsequently alter their behaviour, meaning the biggest barrier to a wider adoption of sustainability is people’s mind-set.

While clothing has been classified as a basic human need, for many people clothing choices are motivated by their need for identity and esteem. Consumers construct their social definition through the meanings encoded in their clothing choices. Changes in technology have further fuelled ‘fast fashion’ – the short availability of clothing items elicits a loss aversion reaction in consumers and stimulates buying. Another big issue is the consumer uncertainty about knowledge, evaluation and choice. A number of suggestions have been put forward for overcoming such barriers, including: better information about the sustainable clothing and their availability, compulsory eco-labelling and improved design and marketing to meet consumers’ needs. However, the evidence suggests that labelling may offer a supplementary, rather than leading communication mechanism for sustainability information.

However, key barriers to the mainstreaming of sustainable clothing are the stigma and stereotypes associated with its design.

Unfortunately, a lot of people still have the perception of ethical clothing as not looking like normal fashion or looking ‘hippyish’. Just being environmentally friendly will not make people buy sustainable clothing, because that’s not a primary purchasing motivation, and it shouldn’t be. Motivations focus on the consumer wanting to feel good in the product, the product being the right fit, hand feel and colour. People are going to buy a product because they want it, they’re not going to buy a product because it’s got a green message. If you’ve got a shirt that isn’t the right colour or isn’t the right fit or hasn’t got the right hand feel, people aren’t going to buy it, no matter how green it is. Normalising the design of sustainable clothing and making it easier for consumers to buy it will help to mainstream sustainable clothing and tackle the stigma and stereotypes that hinder its uptake, which is exactly what Neonyt and its exhibitors are doing!

Will the mega brands lose market share to green micro brands?

This in not very likely on a larger scale, no.

But: Big fashion brands do no longer have to be convinced that sustainability is key.

Indeed, Inditex, H&M, C&A and many more are amongst the speakers at our international Neonyt conference Fashionsustain. And big fashion retailers such as Zalando or Asos are visiting our sustainable fashion trade show. There is a need and willingness for more sustainability among big players. We think, that collaboration is the key. This is why Messe Frankfurt brings together stakeholders from the industry in order to provide a platform for exchange along the entire textile production and supply chain.

How is digitisation disrupting the fashion industry?

The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating digitalisation in the fashion industry: while online channels were previously seen as a complement to bricks-and-mortar retail, they are now moving more to the fore.

This is causing companies to rethink the way they operate – and provides opportunities to really bring home the topic of sustainability.

In times of corona, lockdowns, contact restrictions and stores that have temporarily closed or are limiting access have become part of everyday life all around the globe. At the same time, a lot of people are spending more hours in front of their screens – and that is in addition to the time spent working online from home. Which means that, in a matter of weeks, digital sales channels, also for the global fashion industry, have become more relevant than ever before. This is not a new phenomenon, of course: even before the outbreak of the coronavirus, e-commerce, social media and digital solutions at the point of sale had been shaking up traditional retail structures. This development should now pick up speed considerably as the retail sector needs to focus more on online channels to even reach consumers in the first place. At the moment, no one can say how long the pandemic will last. Even though the situation is easing somewhat, it will take time to get used to a ‘new normal’: social distancing could remain in place and consumers might even continue avoiding large gatherings in city centres.

The digital transformation in the fashion industry is demanding that companies change their mind-set and begin to operate like purely digital players and rather than asking what benefits online can offer offline channels, players should ask how their brick-and-mortar presence can support e-commerce sales.

To make the most of future opportunities, companies not only need to invest more in existing digital capabilities but also find pioneering new ways of engaging with consumers online. A lot of Neonyt exhibitors have already found new solutions for retail platforms or the validation and verification process of sustainable brands and manufactures.

Do you think COVID-19 will lead to the reshoring of supply chains?

Companies across the entire globe are forced to examine the cracks in their supply chains in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and a lot are likely to have to reassess where they locate their on-the-ground operations. It also isn’t the first time a crisis has caused companies to rethink their efficiency. There have been many disruptions in the past decade like earthquakes, nuclear disasters, cyberattacks and of course the rising concerns about carbon dioxide emissions.

But Covid-19 does indeed seem to accelerate the need for new or alternative supply chains. However, reshoring is a massive undertaking with many variables to consider, the biggest one probably poses cost efficacy vs. close proximity to the consumer.

A lot of times, reshoring wouldn’t even work because of supply shortages and missing (raw) materials. Scaling back on globalisation to move towards glocalisation and having two sources for something instead of one seems to be the smartest option here. Together we can use our impact as local consumers and choose glocal value chains over global supply chains. We can encourage more awareness and responsibility, while sharing a mind-set of global and local values.

The industry needs its event platforms, how is NEONYT adapting in the short term?

We are already taking many other approaches to adapting the trade fair concept to this special situation, including considerations of a virtual event with various formats. We are continuing to work closely with other market participants and the responsible authorities in Berlin – our aim is to offer industry participants a safe, upbeat and forward-looking setting as a valuable incentive for doing business once the dust settle. We are therefore making every effort to create a business platform in the second half of the year - in whatever form and on whatever date – and we will be keeping everyone well informed of our further plans in good time. In the meantime, we are keeping our audience engaged during social distancing with a stream of newsletters including interviews, videos and podcasts featuring members of the sustainable fashion community and ask for solidarity in the fair fashion industry.

Special thanks to Thimo Schwenzfeier, and the team at NEONYT.

Collaboration is the vital component for the future of the entire supply chain, and all of us that participate in the journey to sustainable best practice.

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