Is There a Future for Unethical Retail Companies?
During boxing week, I found myself with many others sitting in waiting areas at a local mall; waiting for my 14-year old daughter to try on winter boots and Lululemon pants.
But, this was not a typical boxing week experience. The objective at Lululemon was to try on pants to get sizing but not purchase.
You see, Lululemon has a good track record with the ethical treatment of people and animals. On their site they state that they, “uphold legal, humane, and ethical standards of production,” but their manufacturing practices don’t meet the rigorous scrutiny of my daughter and her friends.
“I don’t like how they handle the by-product of their manufacturing process in Asia,” she said. “The materials that they use are not eco-friendly and their supply chain is damaging the environment.”
She did her homework.
Instead, we were getting sizes so she could purchase from Depop: a crowdsourced online retailer that has gently used, second hand Lululemon pants. “It’s a more ethical practice and doesn’t support fast fashion,” she said. The objective is to keep used clothing out of the landfill and support teens who are selling used clothing online.
It was the same with boots. We found an ethical Canadian company and went to a local shoe retailer to verify the boot size and style.
As we were sizing our potential buys, I began to wonder: do companies see enough of a hit to their bottom line to make a change towards ethical retail practices? And more importantly, do the big retail companies even understand what’s coming for them with the next generation of consumers?
I don’t think most do. There still seems to be a separation between the corporate decision-makers and product consumers.
Personally, I’ve had plenty of conversations with decision-makers about the bottom line, revenues, ROI, deceptive marketing practices, and things that just scream, “we are unethical.”
This is really evident in the meat and agriculture industries, which have received the market equivalent of a “bashing” in 2019. The industry has certainly noticed and now they’re responding with a flurry of meat-alternatives “cancer” claims in an attempt to claw back market share… instead of adopting ethical practices.
But, these “lie-and-deny” marketing tactics don’t work anymore because millennials and teenage influencers are doing their research before making decisions and they want humane, ethical practices that support sustainability and protect the rights of workers.
And, from what I can see, this is more than the “Greta Thunberg effect.” For my daughter and her friends, they’ve been researching corporate responsibility long before Greta marched. It seems to be a part of the DNA of the next-generation.
So, what does this mean for the future of retail?
It means that there’s a wave coming of next-election-voters, next-generation-workers, and prime-retail-targets who all have the power and influence to decide where (and if) they spend their money.
Already there’s a long list of retailers who took a hit during the shopping season or went bankrupt in 2019: Macy’s, Payless Shoes, Dress Barn, Forever 21, Gymboree, J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, Pier 1, Marks & Spencer, and J.C. Penney.
My prediction (and hope) is that retailers that ignore or avoid ethical practices won’t survive in a world where the consumer expects more and can do their research.
