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The Trend Toward Green

By Lynda Fassa

In today's competitive climate, the children's specialty store needs three things to thrive:

• Upscale Style
• Unique Product
• The Allure of Green

Organic cotton children's clothes have been an option for about 12 years, but only now are they coming into their own. Blending fashion forward sensibilities with 'green' values appeals to the most desirable customers, those with the least price resistance.

Organic, once only in the lingo of the crunchiest granola eaters, is now synonymous with quality.

Consider the following from a recent Yanklovich Clancy Schulman study: 78% of people are 'influenced greatly' to purchase a product based on environmental claims.

The Organic Trade Association has found that a product containing the word 'organic' has a 34% higher sell-through rate than a comparable standard product. Organic is part of our lives; 25% of Americans will buy organic products this year.

Consider the appeal of natural food: organic and natural food have experienced a consistent 18-25% growth rate every year for the last fifteen years, compared with a flat 3-4% growth for conventional foods.

Again, to the upscale shopper, organic equals quality. But that doesn't mean they're trading in their Guccis for Birkenstocks. In fact, to sell, organic has to be fashionable—even edgy.

Everyone wants their child to be recognized as the star they are, and to make a sale, that means clothes have to have a lot of hanger appeal.

Organic Cotton has been spotted on the tikes of the icons that set the trends. Jon Bon Jovi chose organic for his new baby, Jacob. He joins Vanessa Williams, Catherine Deneuve, Sandra Bullock, Alicia Silverstone, and US Poet Laureate, Toni Morisson, as fans of organic cotton baby clothes.

For these customers who can choose anything for their children or their gifts, is it the environmental aspect? Perhaps. Organic cotton is grown without the use of any chemical pesticides or herbicides. Compare it to conventional cotton, which is the second most pesticide laden crop in the world (after coffee). In the US alone, cotton utilizes more than 800 million pounds of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. It takes ½ pound of chemicals to grow enough conventional cotton for an adult t-shirt.

But it may as well be the appeal of the original designs. Of the few designers and manufacturers working with organic cotton, they are all small companies, many designing in a studio on a mannequin, inspired by children. They're not 20 year old graduates sitting in front of a CAD program all day cranking out embroideries to be emailed to Asia, a process which has become the norm for the bigger lines.

This old style of design still exists among the cutting edge women's designers in NY and at the couture houses in Paris—and it makes a difference. The clothes look original, and they fit well. Plus, with organic, you're not going to find it at an off price or knocked off by Target, which is an added bonus for independent retailers.

Consumers, never stupid, and these days super savvy, respond to all organic offers. The retailer enjoys the halo effect of the 'good for me, good for the planet' effect the purchase creates.

Our business is based in West-chester County, NY and we manufacture in New York City. After September 11th, we called all our retailers to tell them we were fine and to check on their market conditions. The 'green' stores we called (those with an environmental slant) ALL had a steady upsurge in business—one that's still continuing. People are more reflective. They haven't stopped spending, and they will never stop buying baby gifts, but now they're looking at labels. Thoughts about quality include where it was made and what it comes from.

Consider Jeanine at Goo Baby in Santa Monica, who says, "Oh, I knew I should have ordered more. I sold two organic cotton Toile dresses before I hung them up, right out of the box." Mellissa at Funky Baby in Toledo, Ohio, reports, "I had customers following me from the car to the store when I carried the organic Ruby Roses from the trunk of my car."

Hmm, successful baby clothing: not golden but green.

Lynda Fassa, Designer & Co-owner of Green Babies, Inc. Visit Green Babies at www.greenbabies.com.

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