Xiaohongshu holds a sustainable fashion fair in Shanghai
In recent years, there’re so many positive changes in the fashion landscape; more ethical brands, and customers demanding sustainable clothing brands. From October 21 to 23, Chinese lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu partnered up with Bottle Dream, a Shanghai-based social innovation company focused on environmental protection and sustainability, to launch an offline sustainable fashion event called “REDcycle market”.
©Xiaohongshu
Based on the concept of circular fashion, the market gathered fashion bloggers to set up a series of themed stands, clothing swaps, upcycling workshops, vintage shopping, and other fun-filled fashion activities. Visitors participating in the fair brought an old article of clothing as their entry ticket to the event. The idea behind the event was to promote conversations about environmentally-conscious consumer behaviors in the fashion industry.
©Xiaohongshu
There are three initiatives at this event. First, everyone is encouraged to share the clothes that have accompanied them for more than 1,000 days on Xiaohongshu; Secondly, the event encourages everyone to share the creation of furniture and art installations made from old clothes; finally, it calls on everyone to share the skills of transforming ugly unwanted clothes.
©Xiaohongshu
The market gathered fashion bloggers. They introduced their stories about environmental protection and sustainability on the spot, and also shared the themes of the booths exhibited offline, and talked about what they understand as "sustainable fashion".
©Xiaohongshu
©Xiaohongshu
The event held 11 upcycling workshops. There are remake workshops that add unique hand embroidery to basic T-shirts, as well as printing unwanted clothes and denim earring upcycling.
©Xiaohongshu
According to PwC’s Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey in June 2022, 34% of Chinese consumers “often” or “always” agree that the environmental actions of a particular company influence purchase behavior, compared to 29% in the United States. The door is open in China for fashion, luxury, and lifestyle brands and groups that clearly communicate their sustainability efforts and credentials.
In fact, upcycle fashion is one of the four most popular trends on Xiaohongshu this year, which includes subcategories such as closet exchanges, vintage clothing, and more. Over 20,000 posts on “upcycle fashion” have been posted on Xiaohongshu, an increase of 639% year-on-year as of September 2022. This is largely due to the fact that young users are more aware of the importance of a healthy planet and are therefore paying more attention to sustainable fashion.
To sum up, Xiaohongshu and Bottle Dream’s REDcycle market not only conveys the concept of sustainable fashion to the public, but it also calls on young fashion lovers to join in on the eco-friendly trend. Moreover, through the market launch, Xiaohongshu showcases its wide breadth of knowledge when it comes to fashion trends among young Chinese consumers.
