May 19, 2013

The Conscious Consumer

Sustainable Design in the EU Market for Home Deco/ Textiles

The disaster in the garment factory in Bangladesh has shocked the world. Both buyers and suppliers are rethinking the way they want to organize their business, to create better labour conditions and care more for the environment. Consumers are appalled and make more conscious buying decisions. For exporters, it is crucially important to understand the motivation of consumers for buying sustainable goods. That is why CBI has published a report on the EU market for Sustainable Design, providing information on the behavior of the conscious consumer in the market for home decoration and home textiles.

Questions raised and answered in the report are;

  • Is sustainability important to consumers in the EU?
  • What is the market share of Sustainable Design?
  • What aspects of sustainability are important to consumers?
  • Which market segments can be identified?
  • What are the key players and key products in these segments?

Check out the visual executive summary of the report

Craftscurator is proud to have worked on this Sustainable Design report commissioned by CBI, Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries, an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The report was compiled by Lex van Boeckel of Searce, Pamela Ravasio and Ilaria Pasquinelli of TexSture, and Irene Vermeulen of Craftscurator. It is made for exporters in developing countries, wanting to target the EU market for home decoration and home textiles. Besides information on the market and consumer segments, it also provides exporters with hands-on marketing guidelines to target the market. Although is it made for exporters, the report is also very interesting for importers, retailers and brand owners in Europe.

For CBI, Sustainable Design is one of the focus areas in 2013. To exporters in Vietnam, CBI is offering training and design guidance, to create sustainable product ranges. In a partnership with TU Delft and their Vietnamese partner SPIN, CBI has developed training material. In a team of sustainability and market experts, Craftscurator is now giving training and coaching exporters to create green concepts for the EU market. Keep and eye on the CBI website or subscribe to the Craftscurator newsletter to be informed on trade fairs and events where Sustainable Design product ranges can be found.

 
 
Who is the Conscious Consumer?
Three Market Segments Indentified
Market Segment Trendy Creatives
Love Recycled Fair Trade Products - Bowls by As'Art
Market Segment Smart Affluents
Appreciate Clever Design- Vases by Artecnica
Market Segment Design Purist
Want Products with a Timeless Style - Hans Wegner Chair

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