What eco-fashion brands can do about Bill Gates’s green premium concept

Eco-fashion, and sustainable living for that matter, have a reputation of being expensive. It’s one of the factors that deters the 65% of consumers that desire sustainable products from actually buying them. Eco-fashion is priced higher than fast fashion, but what isn’t acknowledged, in the price of conventional products, is the cost that our planet bears.

Bill Gates’s discussion on green premiums exposes the difference between the premium on renewable energy versus fossil fuels, it boils down to a few cups of coffee a month, for the average household. While many still wouldn’t be convinced to pay extra, when they don’t have to, what they don’t realize is that the climate is telling us we need to.

Here’s why the green premium isn’t really a premium.

Justifying the green premium means showing your customers that the price makes sense. As a rule of thumb, urge your consumers to consider the lifetime cost of unconventional products, instead of the cost of a single purchase; a $10 t-shirt will need to be replaced fairly quickly. By emphasizing the quality of your products, consumers will see that the green premium pays off once they calculate the lifetime cost of a good.

A Dutch-Canadian start-up is actually helping brands show their consumers why the price of eco-fashion isn’t actually at a premium. Through interactive, accurate data,  greenstory.ca presents the environmental savings from a brand’s sustainable supply chain in a way that consumers can understand and appreciate. Imagine if your consumers knew that your t-shirts saved 3 days of drinking water, 10 flights around the world and 15 plastic bottles, for example. These relatable metrics would surely help convince them your supply chain is green and your product makes a positive impact that’s worth the price.

How can we turn the tables?

Bill Gates dives deep into the world of renewable energy to convey his point about green premiums. Enter carbon offsetting. The laws of supply and demand dictate that sufficient supply is required to ensure an affordable price. By funding carbon offset projects through offering for carbon neutral products, renewable energy can become abundant and readily available. Clean energy no longer needs to be synonymous with expensive or exclusive; we can run our homes, factories, retail outlets and headquarters on renewables.

As a brand, you can now turn your products carbon neutral as well. After calculating the CO2 emissions from each phase of your supply chain, offer a list of hand-selected projects that make an impact in the geography and production phase of your choice. By offering carbon neutral products you can demonstrate to your consumers that you’re committed to reducing the premium on sustainable products, energy and practices. You’ll be forging a future where environmentally friendly products and energy sources are abundant, cost-effective and expected – a future where green premiums no longer exist.

But, to achieve this vision, these two approaches do not exist in silos. We have to show people that the product costs more because of its lower environmental cost. Simultaneously, we must all offset the carbon emissions from our supply chains and lifestyles to bring to a future where sustainability is the norm, and fast fashion is a thing of the past, into fruition.

Read more about Green Story on the brandpage: fashionunited.com/companies/greenstory