Sustainability is a theme that can no longer be ignored in 2023. G-Star, one of today’s most iconic denim brands, has been setting up sustainable initiatives as part of their ongoing ‘RAW responsibility journey’. Driven by innovation, sustainability and creativity, G-Star strives to produce groundbreaking designs, while continuously trying to improve its impact on people and planet. But what does sustainability mean to consumers? And what role does it play in their lives?

Target Audience

Within our community we looked for exactly the right profile of high potential consumers for G-Star. In addition, our sourcing methode enabled us to further expand the group according to the wishes of the brand.

Research objectives

• How does this target group view the collection from an aesthetic point of view.
• Measure the target group’s behavior regarding sustainability
• Gain insight into the meaning of the term sustainability and G-Star’s 3 R’s concept (return, recycle, resale)
• Develop concrete tools and directions within marketing communications that fit the different types of profiles we found within the high potential target group.

Method

Over the past year, a total of more than 500 selected members of the House of Treats community have been invited to G-Star’s headquarters. Here, they personally experienced the collection, shared their feedback and gave a score to each item of clothing that was part of the research. These scores gave G-Star concrete tools to put together a successful collection. Items with low scores were removed from the collection and high-scoring items were produced in larger quantities. In addition, various topics around the theme of sustainability were addressed.

Four different consumer types

When it comes to sustainability, each consumer has a different level of knowledge and interest in the subject. We outlined this in 4 different types of consumer profiles: ‘the pragmatic consumer’, ‘the eager consumer’, ‘the conscious consumer’ and ‘the skeptical consumer’. Each of them differ in behavior, their way of shopping, how they take in information and what sort of communication attracts their attention. Sometimes factors such as their environment, media and marketing can interfere, causing a shift from one type of consumer to another. Understanding these kinds of shifts and drivers are useful tools to best serve your consumer.

Results

House of Treats produced a comprehensive thirty page advisory report. The analysis of our community members’ reviews provides insights and inspiration for both design and marketing teams. It allows them to optimally tailor their collections and communications to the different types of consumers within its target group. Amongst the target group, sustainability is found to be a broad concept that has to do with more than just the production process. Topics that consumers also find important are, for example, the lifespan of a garment and the human rights associated with production. With insights like these, G-Star can better address the needs of its ideal consumer, tailored to specific markets. This results in more efficient production, increased sales and less waste.