WHAT IS FMCG?

Fast-moving consumer goods are products that sell quickly at relatively low cost.

FAST FASHION

Inexpensive clothing that is produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends.

Though the textile and apparel industry does not come under FMCG, the fast fashion textile apparel industry is operating exactly like the FMCG business.

Strangely, a lot of apparel retailers and brands across the globe as well as in India have a similar approach except for a few. They run this race aggressively with heavy competition along with sales figures and turnover targets within and between them in the name of business and growth. 

What is to be done is a well-known fact. But the billion-dollar question we ask is; are we doing it? 

If not did we start our journey and best possible efforts to consciously minimize the damages created by all of us in the name of fast fashion? 

The above statement may pinch those who manage only for the word's sake and does something like greenwash and try and show themselves differently to the world. It does not apply to those who care for the environment and have already started their journey towards it. 

WEALTH

As the human life cycle progresses everyone is particular about living wealthy life in the form of a house, land, jewels, savings, investments, money, etc., which we believe is the key to success. Is this what wealth is all about? We all know that living in a better environment that supports a healthy & colorful life is the right definition. It can be described as “HEALTH IS WEALTH”. 

Brands and retailers who belong to the apparel/textile industry value chain play a crucial role in managing the living environment and the colorfulness of nature. Considering the environment and leaving a better atmosphere for the people who are involved in the manufacturing cycle is a need of the hour. It’s time for the apparel and textile industry to have a distinguished approach. The approach we are talking about here is all about change.

CHANGE

As we all know change is inevitable, it requires a “PARADIGM SHIFT”. A fundamental

change in approach or underlying assumptions. 

EMCG

Sustainable fashion is one big thing which a large population is talking about in our industry hence I have decided to cover another important aspect which is need of the hour. It is called EMCG. it’s time to move from FMCG to EMCG, we know about FMCG. But what is this EMCG? 

Emcg stands for "Ethically manufactured consumer goods" 

It means supporting the well-being of supply chain workers and their families with decent living wages, respecting human rights, and implementing socially responsible practices.

1. Good Working conditions- better atmosphere 
2. Living Wages- fulfilling as per present basic needs
3. Human and environmental support- better for people and the environment
4. Empowered minorities- diversity and gender equality
5. Giving back to community-empowerment of people
6. Cruelty-free production- avoiding animal products and by-products as much as we can
7. Ethically made certifications- to vouch for the statement of EMCG like fair trade, organic, etc.,

In a nutshell, we can mention EMCG in the above Super 7 points which is easy to understand and self-explanatory. Hope we are clear and understand the importance of EMCG now. In the name of fast fashion and with the low-cost product offering logic basically, we are squeezing some of the others in the apparel/textile supply chain Ecosystem which requires a revamp now.

CONSUMER

When we speak about these changes the immediate reply from the brands and retailers is, that the cost impact of producing such EMCG products and sustainable goods is higher and that kind of increased prices will not be accepted by consumers. The add-on reply would be it is easier said than done. If you genuinely introspect you will find this is not right. 

You take the food industry, for example, post-pandemic the kind of cost changes you could see and the way it is being accommodated by the consumers is the evidence. 

We can quote the cotton price increase due to which the MRP revision happened in our industry & how it is adjusted by the consumers is also another classic example of the buying patterns. 

Most of the time it’s a mental model and myth we all carry about consumers and some of the excuses given by the sales team for not being able to perform as per targeted numbers and we have practiced them by offering more products with low costs and heavier discounts in the name of offers like eoss,eors, etc.,

Consumers are like mirrors, they reflect on what you show and offer to them. In the same world of the environment only there are other plenty of people who offer various products at different prices which they tend to buy as well make use of it routinely. If we make them realize and understand the cost revision is for a good cause of EMCG with strong marketing and customer loyalty approach over a period they will surely continue to support us.

AFFORDABILITY

In the past few decades at an individual and family level, everyone has evolved and their earnings have improved. People started to shift from TVS xl to motorbikes, from Maruti 800 to nexa versions of Maruti. Evidently, affordability levels have risen. 

Even they tend to accommodate the price changes of petrol from what it used to be 20 years before to today. If that is affordable why not on the apparel and textile products ?? so I would say it’s our assumption.

CONCLUSION

FMCG to EMCG is the need of the hour and every retailer and brand should take this up very seriously. It should be their key talking point and key marketing element to their consumers so that they take pride in buying those merchandise of retailers/ brands and have the soul satisfaction that whatever they wear through you is fulfilling the need of the apparel/textile manufacturers through EMCG and they are also not impacting the environment by buying the sustainable products.

RELATED TOPICS:#Eco-fashion