As sustainability increasingly becomes a top priority for today’s consumers, brands must begin aligning their customer service strategies with eco-friendly practices. By integrating sustainability into the brand’s customer services, businesses will reduce their environmental impact and build stronger relationships with conscious consumers. Here are six useful ways brands can incorporate sustainability into their customer service offerings.
Image by Tamara Merino
1. Incorporate consumer education on sustainability
Brands can share educational content through newsletters, social media, and even packaging inserts to help customers make more sustainable decisions. Providing transparency about your brand’s own sustainability practices also builds trust and reinforces your commitment to reducing your environmental impact. Eileen Fisher is a brilliant example of a fashion brand that educates consumers about sustainability and the effects of recycling and ethical production. Their entire brand's ethos is sustainability and accountability, earning them a CFDA’s Positive Change Award. Within their site, you can find proof of the fashion brand’s circular fashion cycle by clicking through the ‘three lives’ of their garments: sustainable design, renewal, and ‘waste no more’. The third life of Eileen Fisher’s materials, ‘waste no more”, reuses garments and textiles beyond repair to create beautiful art and home-wear. Just this website setup alone teaches consumers to be conscious of their fashion choices. They also do this through their Tiny Factory program, which walks customers through their recycling methods and teaches them in person how to repurpose their garments.
2. Start a take-back program
A take-back program is an initiative that creates an opportunity for customers to return unwanted or ill-fitting items directly to the brand for reuse. This stock can then be recycled as materials or even for reselling. This is also a great way to foster customer engagement with your brand’s audience. Popular brands, including Patagonia, have begun take-back programs with great success. Patagonia’s Worn Wear program allows customers to turn in pre-loved Patagonia pieces, which are then crafted into new pieces that can be purchased, solidifying their circular fashion economy.
3. Look into virtual try-ons & fittings
Imagine uploading your measurements and finding your exact fit online; no changing rooms are required! This is now a reality as many brands have begun adopting virtual try-ons and fittings into their business. This increases customer comfort by making it unnecessary to try on items physically and allows customers to find the right size in a specific garment easily. This process also reduces waste and returns, both of which can be troubling for businesses, by ensuring customers are using correct measurements, which will give them the correct clothing sizes. Some top brands that have already begun using these methods are FarFetch, H&M, and even Prada. H&M, for example, recently partnered with German tech company NeXR to offer digital avatars and fitting rooms for customers in selected stores. Users have their bodies scanned by a ‘smart mirror’ that provides a measurement-accurate avatar to try on the latest collections digitally. By adopting this innovative technology, fashion brands can take customer experience to the next level.
4. Practice eco-friendly shipping
Shipping is a critical area where sustainability can be integrated into customer service. Brands can offer eco-friendly shipping options, such as carbon-neutral delivery, slower shipping to reduce emissions, or consolidating multiple orders into a single shipment. These practices reduce a brand’s carbon footprint and allow customers to participate in more sustainable choices. Brands can also practice eco-friendly shipping by offering a drop-off or collection site. Many brands, including bohemian fashion retailer Free People, have begun making this addition. They now give customers the option to pick up their purchases at their stores, which not only eliminates the carbon emissions that would have been made with home delivery, but customers can also receive their items faster when they pick them up. Therefore, this practice is sustainable and boosts customer service.
5. Adopt sustainable packaging
When brands adopt sustainable packaging into their business model, they actively decrease their carbon footprint while limiting their company's waste. As customers become increasingly aware of environmental issues, eco-friendly companies align with customer values. By aligning in this way, brands can increase customer loyalty while also offering them reusable, sturdy packaging for their purchases, which also aids customer satisfaction. Reformation is a prime example of a fashion brand that has adopted sustainable packaging. They offer plastic-free packaging and vegetable bags that are 100% compostable to secure their products.
6. Partner with RE-STYLE for customer repairs and alterations
RE-STYLE can be easily integrated into brand websites and is the perfect way to promote the sustainable practices of repairing or re-fitting clothing for your customers. We bring together a network of professional tailors, and by partnering with us, your customers can use our service to easily find the right tailor near them to resize their garments instead of having to return the item. No more trips to the post office and less unused stock; it’s a win-win! We can also help lengthen the life of your garments by offering repairs and alterations. By providing a service like alterations and repairs, you instantly increase customer loyalty by ensuring their purchased item can be made to fit them perfectly without having to reorder another size. Learn more on our website's ‘for brands’ page and watch the video below to see how we partnered with bridesmaid brand Rewritten to help their customers find their perfect fit.
Practising sustainability within your brand is not just a trend; it's necessary in today's business landscape. By adopting these 6 strategies—whether through consumer education, eco-friendly packaging, loyalty programs focused on sustainability, or offering repair services—brands will make a meaningful impact on the planet and their customers. Incorporating these sustainable actions into your customer services will drive customer engagement and long-term brand loyalty by promoting a brand ethos that aligns with customer values and the increasing demand for responsible practices. By embracing sustainability, businesses can pave the way towards a more environmentally conscious future while improving their reputation in the eyes of their consumers. Check out RE-STYLE to see ways we can help brands by offering your customer base a sustainable repair and alteration service.
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