New research commissioned by Penneys shows that Irish consumers are facing a crisis of conscience, with close to one third (30%) saying they are worried the cost-of-living crisis will prevent them from shopping more sustainably.
This rises to 39% amongst Gen Z shoppers (18-24 year olds), with 29% of this age group also saying they don’t know where to find more sustainable clothing.
The popular low-cost fashion brand maintains that 67% of all Irish shoppers are anxious about their finances and this rises to 76% among 25-34-year-olds. As a result, cost is the most important consideration when it comes to buying clothes for 72% of Irish consumers.
Many are changing their shopping habits – with 40% say they are turning to more affordable retailers and 28% are buying second-hand. While shoppers are increasingly more open to second-hand purchases, the majority of the public say they will opt to buy new when it comes to essential items like underwear (84%) and socks (72%).
Furthermore, Penneys has teamed up with Instagram stylist Laura Byrnes for some inspiration around how to build a more sustainable capsule wardrobe on a budget by mixing in everyday wardrobe basics to create looks that will last – keep an eye out on dublingazette.com for further tips this week from Laura Byrnes.
About Primark/Penneys Cares essentials
The new research shows that Irish consumers are focusing on wardrobe staples to beat the budget squeeze, with 58% prioritising essentials, rising to 63% among 35-44-year-olds.
So, as part of its commitment to make more sustainable fashion more affordable for everyone through its Primark Cares strategy, from this month Penneys is bringing all the lowest priced t-shirts in its A/W essentials range under the Primark Cares label.
This means they are made with recycled or more sustainably sourced materials. Moving forward, all cotton in Penneys lowest priced t-shirts across its menswear and kidswear ranges will also come from Primark’s Sustainable Cotton Programme, the largest of its kind of any fashion retailer.
39% of Penneys products are already made from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials, and the fashion retailer has committed to make that 100% by 2030. In the meantime, Penneys has been working to increase the number of essentials under its Primark Cares label over the last few years, with the availability of Primark Cares t-shirts across all departments growing by nearly 50% from SS21 to SS22. Primark Cares leisurewear and underwear increased by nearly a quarter during the same period, with Primark Cares socks and hosiery growing by nearly 20%.
The fashion retailer has also launched a new product fibres glossary to help customers make more informed choices by showing them what’s behind the labels in their clothes.
Penneys has also committed that 100% of the cotton in its clothes will be recycled, organic or sourced from Primark’s Sustainable Cotton Programme by 2027. 27% of the cotton in Penneys’ clothing is sourced from its Sustainable Cotton Programme already, an increase of 13% from the launch of the Primark Cares strategy in September 2021.
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