Claire Hamilton is a brand strategist and researcher with 20+ years of experience working across diverse industries including retail, tech and finance. She has helped complex global enterprises find their purpose, chart clear paths to growth and innovate new products. Speaking on advertising's role in driving consumption, Claire delineates strategies to transform the global value chain and make it easier for consumers to make sustainable purchase decisions.
What role do you believe advertising should play in educating consumers about the broader social and environmental impacts of fast fashion? How can this be effectively communicated without alienating potential customers?
At Ogilvy Consulting we don’t believe fast fashion is a sustainable business model. Our goal would be to help the industry migrate to more sustainable ways of working. For individual businesses, there’s an opportunity to make consumers aware of the actions they’re taking toward progress.
Addressing fast fashion’s social and environmental impact is less about education and more about a concerted effort to transform fashion’s collective value chain. We’ve long seen, across consumer categories, that purchase decisions tend to be rooted in more individualistic concerns like price, even for people who say they put a high value on sustainability.
We’re all human, and sometimes you just want the shoes. Most people already know many of their everyday purchases are at odds, to some extent, with their values, so awareness isn’t the challenge.
Fashion’s sustainability challenges are rooted in a global value chain that disincentivizes good behavior, so transformation of those dynamics is key.
Ultimately, there’s a need to create a more balanced consumer marketplace in which purchasing clothing that is at least moderately sustainable feels effortless. The shoes you like – it turns out they’re pretty well made, and under positive working conditions.
How can advertising contribute to shifting consumer attitudes away from fast fashion towards more sustainable and ethical fashion choices?
By telling the stories of more sustainable brands, advertising strengthens sustainability’s cultural currency, and perceived importance. A culture that places a high value on sustainability can provide the conditions necessary for value chain transformation.
What approach does your agency take when collaborating with clients within the fashion space to ensure that their marketing messages align with a commitment to reducing overconsumption and promoting long-term value?
We work with clients to ensure their business models and behaviors are aligned with long-term value creation. Then, we create messaging aligned with those behaviors. Always, we push our clients on ‘what can you do,’ not just ‘what can you say.’
How do you measure the effectiveness of your campaigns in promoting sustainable fashion practices among consumers while working with retail clients who may primarily focus on fast fashion?
While we’re always looking at the effectiveness of individual campaigns, we track brand health across a number of dimensions. We often use WPP’s Brand Asset Valuator or BAV, which is the world’s largest and most comprehensive ongoing brand equity tool. Perceived sustainability is an attribute we can actively track. We also see how perceptions of sustainability impact other key metrics like relevance and appeal.
How does today’s inflation and rising costs play into consumer purchasing decisions? (including upcycling and thrifting)
Rising costs have definitely helped fuel interest in thrifting and upcycling. I think social media, which puts an outsized value on creativity and individualism, has also contributed. As many choices as we now have when it comes to fashion and style, it’s gotten harder to stand out. Resuscitating old clothes isn’t just sustainable – it requires more thought and creativity.
Cost pressures also simply make it harder for consumers to pay a premium for sustainably made products. This is why valuing chain transformation, rather than awareness and education, is so critical.