By Anya Gert
According to NPD, Patagonia currently holds the number one spot in the $12 billion outdoor apparel industry, followed closely by the North Face. With each company holding less than 10% of the fragmented market, the two brands compete for the top spot, catering to the same consumer base, selling the same types of products.
While both companies serve the outdoor-focused customer and sell similar goods at very close price points, they diverge in terms of mission and company philosophy: Patagonia sees environmentalism and activism as cornerstone facets of the company, while the North Face has traditionally been more conservative in regards to sustainable fashion practices.
In recent years, however, the North Face has started to move its products and marketing strategies in a similar direction. Given the looming climate crisis and the fact that sustainability sets some brands apart from others, customers, especially within the outdoor apparel industry, seem to lean towards brands that demonstrate transparency and environmental awareness. Essentially, sustainability sells, and the North Face is working to incorporate this notion into their business model.
Patagonia recently committed to becoming carbon positive, won the UN’s Champion of the Earth award, and consistently works on activism and environmental issues in addition to producing sustainable products. Meanwhile, to acquire more market share, the North Face has also been adopting sustainable practices across its operations, from mitigating carbon footprint, to recycling millions of plastic bottles into clothing, to prioritizing durability and longevity alongside aesthetics. In terms of marketing, the company has utilized Instagram ads and partnerships with REI and National Geographic to publicize its movement towards sustainability.
In today’s political climate, the Millennial and Gen-Z demographics have been pushing for the end of fast fashion and towards a more sustainable clothing industry. But when it comes down to the purchase, do consumers really go through with this principle? According to Oeko-Tex, 69% of Millennials say they consider sustainability in their search for clothes, yet only 37% ultimately buy clothes from these kinds of brands.
Tim Hamilton, Head of Global Creative at the North Face, claims that, at least for the outdoor apparel industry, this tendency doesn’t hold. The company’s market research team found that their customers, who are more likely to prioritize the well-being of the environment, often take extra steps to shop sustainably. When two shirts are put alongside each other, people will go for the one that is sustainable, even at the cost of a few extra dollars.
Beyond the outdoor apparel market, the frequency of certain search terms online prove that the general sentiment towards sustainability is growing. Retail data company Edited finds that search terms like “sustainable,” “conscious,” and “eco-friendly” experienced significant jumps from 2017 to 2019, with searches for “sustainability” averaging 95,000 monthly in just the U.S. Even Wall Street has demonstrated a growing interest in shifting its investment strategies; for example, Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock,plans to cut investments in the thermal coal industry and instead allocate upwards of $1 trillion to sustainable companies.
Sustainability may not be the main selling factor in the fashion industry right now, but it certainly drives the market for outdoor apparel. As seen through the North Face’s evolving practices in its race with Patagonia, adopting a stance against the climate crisis might be financially worth it: indeed, sustainability does sell, and Patagonia has set a precedent for the rest of the industry to follow.