Procter & Gamble announced last week that its fabric care division formed high-profile collaborations with fashion and textile industry leaders. P&G appointed London-based fashion designer Giles Deacon its first-ever Global Fashion Consultant. P&G has also joined forces with world’s premier fabric and textiles show and trends observer, Première Vision. The company announced a ground-breaking partnership with Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) to form the “Washable Fashion Initiative.”
The goal of these partnerships? P&G’s efforts to consult with fashion and textile leaders is a part of a plan to develop new at-home laundry care products, educate the fashion industry about viable machine-washable fabrics, and in turn educate the public about the possibilities of at-home laundering.
It’s about time!
In the past, the fashion and textile industries haven’t helped P&G or any other fabric-care companies in selling machine-washing or at-home care to consumers.
Let me ask you this: how many of your designer labels suggest to machine-wash or hand wash?
The vast majority of luxury branded clothing labels give you one option: dry clean only.
Ever wonder why this is the case? The fashion and textile industry cannot confidently recommend machine-washing when appropriate fabric care options aren’t readily or widely available to consumers. “Tide and the CFDA conducted a survey and found that 84.9% of the surveyed CFDA members said they would design more with machine washable fabrics if they knew their customer had access to a product that would easily preserve the quality and integrity of the garments over repeated washings. As part of the initiative, Tide will inform CFDA members of the benefits of machine washing with Tide Pods and enlist designers to help build awareness of the program.”
P&G will utilize Premiere Vision’s expertise to develop products that effectively clean the most innovative technical fibers. “P&G will apply those insights to products that enable consumers to confidently care for a vast range of clothing – from unexpected hybrids and mixed materials to air-light textiles.” A representative from Premiere Vision went on to say, “We are delighted to join hands with P&G on this exciting project that is rooted in innovation. Fashion and fabrics are constantly evolving and shaping our everyday wardrobe. Our collaboration with P&G Fabric Care will see us share each of our intelligence regarding the latest textile innovations and respond to future consumer issues – including garment care – related to the development of new types of fabrics and materials, as well as to future trends and directions in terms of textile creation, innovation and diversity.”
Designer Giles Deacon is enthusiastic about being the first Global Fashion Consultant for P&G and hopes to bridge the gap between design development and eventual consumer product care. “I’m interested in designs that work on the catwalk but also beyond the catwalk – they must be able to last and maintain their best,” says Deacon. “It’s exciting to collaborate with P&G Fabric Care at a time when they are redefining what caring and cleaning for clothes means.”
I have long expressed my advocacy of machine-washing and at-home laundry care. Consumers need options for affordable at-home fabric care from brands they trust. This announcement is a long-time coming, but is still an exciting development from the market leader in fabric care. Kudos to P&G and its collaborators for supporting these ground-breaking initiatives. Stay tuned; we will update you as this story progresses!
Do you think P&G made a smart decision to effect change in their market? Tweet me @loseely or @fashinvest with your thoughts.
Lauren Seely