Sustainable Fashion Is Here To Stay, But Where’s The Demand?
Many trends become just that, a passing mode, the only reminder of which is photos you perhaps prefer you hadn’t taken. Yet, the global movement towards sustainability has made slow fashion fundamental, with ethical shopping very in vogue.
Though ethical shopping may have more humble origins in small and independent companies, the movement has propelled itself to high street and high end fashion, with household names now taking on sustainability promises.
Every week, brands are creating new eco-friendly collections, while at the same rate, media exposé pieces make headline news, revealing the damaging results of fast fashion.
We want to take a closer look at how eco-conscious shopping is evolving, starting by revealing where the most green-savvy shoppers live. Using data from online searches around environmentally-friendly fashion, we took our study worldwide, reviewing 64 countries to uncover the top territories for sustainable shopping.
We looked at monthly searches for eight terms:
The Best Countries For Sustainable Shopping
In first place is the United States, bringing in a total of 29,700 online searches every month. Out of the eight search terms we reviewed, over half the queries Americans are searching are for ‘sustainable fashion’ and ‘sustainable clothing’, totaling 17,800 a month.
Meanwhile the UK falls just behind the US at 24,500 monthly searches and India sees the third most searches a month for sustainable clothing at 7,090.
The Best Continent For Sustainable Shopping
Although the US is the top country for sustainable shopping, North America only comes in second for overall monthly searches by continent.
Totaling 74,130 searches every month for queries ranging from ‘eco fashion’ to ‘second hand clothes’, Europe is home to the most sustainably-orientated shoppers.
Not only do Europe take first place, but ten of the top 20 countries around the world for sustainable shopping are in Europe. The UK and Ireland are first and second, respectively, while forward-thinking Scandinavian countries Denmark and Sweden also feature, though lower down the list than we may have first thought.
The Most Popular Ways To Shop Sustainably
While there are a myriad of ways to describe environmentally-friendly shopping, monthly searches containing ‘sustainable’ total 47,520. This includes 28,360 searches for ‘sustainable fashion’ and 19,160 searches for ‘sustainable clothing’. With sustainability certainly one of this zeitgeist’s buzzwords, it’s not surprising to see that globally, searches containing ‘sustainable’ are the most common.
Sustainability is an all-inclusive term that aims to ensure we maintain the planet’s resources for future generations. Ethical shopping, however, focuses mainly on social altruism and the rights of workers - for example, companies may provide ethical assurances without offering a sustainability promise. Searches containing ‘ethical’ were the second most popular, at 17,480 while in third place is searches for ‘second hand clothes’.
Top Global Search Themes For Sustainable Shopping
At N.Peal, we’ve always put the focus on quality textiles in timeless silhouettes to create pieces that last year in, year out. Cashmere is natural, renewable and biodegradable, as well as being a hypoallergenic material that offers longevity.
Sourcing our cashmere from the native herders of Inner Mongolia, we work directly with locals to support and preserve their traditional methods. Experts in their craft, these herders work in synergy with the seasons so that the cashmere fibres collected are those shed naturally by their goats in the springtime.
Explore our women’s cashmere collection as well as our cashmere clothing for men online for timeless styles in a material design to last.
