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Zhang Yu first learned about sustainable fashion early this year, when she was studying for a master's degree in Hong Kong. On a Youtube video, she saw a blogger talking about a pair of Nike shoes. Part of the material for the shoes came from used plastic bottles. Seeing the shoes in person, she decided not to buy them. While they sounded cool, Zhang thought the design looked cheap.
Sustainable fashion is still a relatively new concept in a Chinese society that has relentlessly embraced “the new”. It’s an uphill struggle to convince consumers that things like recycled materials might have premium value.
However, signs of change are emerging on social media, such as the Xiaohongshu platform, on which the number of "sustainable" related notes has approached 300,000. The platform has also seen an increase in video bloggers promoting sustainable lifestyles, such as Su Yige, a minimalist who runs her own channel, One Bag, with more than 40,000 followers. Su Yige shares environmental habits and sustainability tips for daily life on the channel, such as how to transform old clothes and customise a wardrobe. In October 2020, she launched a group advocating sustainable living on Douban, titled No Trace Life, which has more than 20,000 members.
Now, in China, the secondhand market is on the rise, as well as eco-friendly brands looking to tap into a younger generation of customers who believe in sustainability, but haven’t yet adopted the purchasing habits to match.
Sustainable living is cool
The secondhand market hit a new high in China last year, with secondhand e-commerce platforms such as Xianyu, Zhuanzhuan and Catch Fish becoming popular. In 2020 alone, secondhand transactions topped 1.25 trillion yuan, according to the MobData Research Institute. Most consumers active on these secondhand trading platforms born in the 1990s: according to iiMedia Consulting, users from this demographic account for more than 60 per cent of all users of Xianyu.
In addition, thanks to the popularity of retro styles, more consumers are exploring the potential of vintage clothing, a trend noted in a report by Vogue Business in China. The trend shows signs of spreading beyond first-tier cities to second-tier locations.
The sustainable fashion trend of remaking clothes is also growing, as noted by Vogue Business. Adrian Peh, general manager of fashion and beauty at Gusto Luxe, an integrated marketing agency for luxury brands, says young consumers are “creating their own personal style” through transformation and DIY craft. On Xiaohongshu, many users share their reinvented clothing. The platform launched a used clothing transformation competition in August last year to encourage creations from users.
For some, wearing vintage is now becoming a symbol of good taste. Aslada Gu, director of product and innovation at Gusto Luxe, notes that some young people see sustainability as a desirable lifestyle. “The rise of fitness methods like yoga and the popularity of vegetarianism and other lifestyles all reflect young people’s pursuit of natural and organic-related healthy consumption, and the change in these values is sustainable. For fashion, it’s just the beginning."
A lack of awareness
Sustainable consumption has potential in China, according to the China findings in the Global Consumer Insights Survey 2021 by PwC. The report found that 74 per cent of Chinese consumers tend to choose brands with traceable sources and transparent origin, while the proportion of global consumers is only 56 per cent.
The Chinese government is playing some part — it released a Sustainable Development Goals 2030 agenda back in 2016, which emphasised sustainable consumption and production. The initiatives are building, from the small to the significant. The city of Shanghai began to promote waste sorting in 2019. During the Double Eleven shopping festival this year, major e-commerce platforms featured "green" as a theme. However, many Chinese remain sceptical about companies’ intentions, and Su Yige highlights consumer suspicion of greenwashing.
Some consumers also remain prejudiced against secondhand clothing. Su Yige points out that even among her followers, there are many who consider secondhand clothes as unhygienic or unhealthy. "Some mind that old clothes may be dead people's clothes," as she puts it. However, she remains optimistic of a change in attitude.
Four secondhand trading platforms have received Series B funding in 2021 — Fat Tiger, Zhier, Feiyu and Value Yao — which all have a focus on secondhand luxury goods in particular.
Sustainability: A complex concept
For many Chinese consumers, as in the West, "sustainable" remains a complex or elusive term. “I don't really understand what sustainable fashion is,” admits Zhang Yu. The China Sustainable Fashion Consumer Behaviour Atlas, recently released by sustainable fashion laboratory Rise, shows that up to 73 per cent of consumers treat the term "product life cycle" seriously but don’t really understand the implications.
Pioneering international brands such as Freitag and Patagonia are helping to inform consumers. Freitag removed all products from its Tmall flagship store during Singles’ Day and called on consumers to not participate. Patagonia offered no discounts and promotions during the 618 shopping festival this year, telling customers instead to "Buy less and think more."
Some Chinese brands are beginning to follow their lead. Eco-friendly womenswear brand Icicle emphasises sustainable values by embracing natural dyeing processes, including undyed or plant-dyed pieces, such as a capsule that uses yam juice and mud to create the black and brown hues of Guangdong gauze silk. Cashmere specialist Erdos has launched a sustainable product series, Shan, which is endorsed by singer Hua Chenyu. It includes six categories of products, all produced in a more sustainable way: recycled cashmere, yak cashmere, undyed cashmere, fully formed knitted sweaters, and the new traceable cashmere and self-cleaning cashmere sweaters.
However, Chinese brands will do it their own way, says Aslada Gu of Gusto Luxe. "Chinese brands do not need to imitate international brands and make a Chinese version of Patagonia. Our brands can be combined with the realities of Chinese society, starting from the perspective of the environment and community support."
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