No Tree Harmed in Writing This Article 07/06/07

It used to be that only patchouli-scented, tofu-chomping granolas were the only people who cared where their food, makeup, or clothes came from. Such people shunned Estée Lauder and bought their lipstick at the natural foods shop. No Cheerios for them; they crunched on hemp cereal from the local co-op. Mainstream consumers made fun of these people.

While a McMansion full of imported goods was once the mark of wealthy sophistication, today’s consumer recognizes the impact of buying items from out of state, out of the country, and outside of U.S. government restrictions.

Trendwatching.com’s June/July trend briefing, “(Still) Made Here,” highlights the latest in consumer concerns, chronicling how formerly fringe buying behavior is catching on with the mainstream consumer. The trend briefing examines “the power of all products that have a sense of place, coveted by consumers for a variety of reasons: from environmental concerns to shifting perceptions of what constitutes status.”

Additionally, “In a world that is seemingly ruled by globalization, mass production and ‘cheapest of the cheapest’, a growing number of consumers are seeking out the local, and thereby the authentic, the storied, the eco-friendly and the obscure.” Three factors affect the latest consumer trend. They are: 1) eco and ethics, 2) story and status, and 3) support.

Eco and ethics are concerns that have been addressed by companies that manufacture shoes and clothes, to those that produce food. A few examples are Timberland, Dole, and No Sweat Apparel. Timberland footwear asks its consumers “What kind of footprint will you leave?” and includes a “nutritional label” on the box describing where the product was manufactured, how it was produced and what impact it will have on the environment. Dole Organic invites the public to “travel to the origin of each organic product” via its website, which provides background information on product origins and photos of the farm where the produce is grown. No Sweat Apparel prides itself on its “100% union-made apparel,” calling itself the “pioneer of fair trade fashion and footwear.”

Regarding eco and ethics, “expect consumers' desire to find out about the origins of a product to become a given. Questions no one ever asked a few years ago will become an integral part of the purchasing process. How was the product made? By whom? How did it get to its point of sale? What effects on the environment will it have after purchasing?”

Story and status, the second sub-trend in this new consumerism, involves the shift from materialism (“I bought this watch with my huge bonus”) to storytelling (“Rescued British sheep wool made this sweater”).

Case in point: Izzy Lane, a new British clothing company owned by fashionable vegetarians who “rescue sheep from being sent to slaughter for being male, missing a pregnancy, being a little lame, being too small, being too old or having imperfections in their fleece. The ones that are bought by Izzy Lane live happily ever after in their Sheep Sanctuary: last year the company saved 400 lucky sheep…Now what will beget the wearers of Izzy Lane's clothes more status: the (obscure) label, or telling the heartwarming story behind their sweater?” In addition, the line employs local craftsmen to create the cloth on 100-year-old Victorian equipment.

Speaking of local craftsmen, the third element, support, describes the new surge toward buying locally. While consumers, when they can, have always enjoyed buying produce locally (farm fresh produce at the farmers’ market), and like to support local businesses, there has been a backlash against globalization. The natural response would be localization. Support, in this sense, is an example of consumers’ focus on “the importance of community…‘global’ has come to represent faceless, rootless mega-corporations and supranational bodies, headed up by money grabbing executives… [This sub-trend] will be about supporting one’s neighborhood, one’s city, one’s region, to regain a sense of place and belonging and to safeguard future access to the special and original, versus the bland, the global and the commoditized.”

As small business owners lament the rise of the big chain (the way a local bookshop keeper may loathe a nearby Barnes & Noble), one enterprising U.K. website has developed a win-win arrangement for consumers and local business owners. Poptotheshops.net, whose slogan is “Bought locally, ordered online, and delivered to your door,” fights the big chain juggernaut. Small stores are rarely open the late hours that large superstores are; this way shoppers can shop the specialty stores for their everyday and hard-to-get items, save time, and have them delivered right to them.

In America, one U.S. auto company, Saturn, has already embraced the overall trend by pushing consumers to place a new focus on values. A new ad campaign for the Saturn hybrid advises consumers to “rethink” several concepts, including what defines “bling,” “strength,” and “status.” To rethink “bling,” the viewer is confronted with an in-your-face image of a hand decked out in enormous gold rings (rapper-style), replaced with another hand, one adorned with a simple wedding band. To “rethink strength” the viewer is presented with the image of an outrageously overbuilt body builder, which is replaced with a visual of Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France champion and cancer survivor. (These are only two examples from the campaign; other ads ask viewers to “rethink beauty,” “power,” and other concepts). Asking consumers to “rethink status,” the ad promotes its AURA Green Line of cars as the most affordable hybrid on the market.

The message is clear: status no longer comes with spending more money, but with spending less, responsibly.