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As Covid pandemic rages, fashion industry adjusts to the ‘new normal’
As state governments relax Covid-related lockdown conditions and allow commercial activity, many clothing stores have opened their doors, promising safe shopping
As state governments relax Covid-related lockdown conditions and allow commercial activity, many clothing stores have opened their doors, promising safe shopping experience, but there are no takers.
When it comes to clothing, most people prefer brick and mortar stores to online shops, because they would like to touch and feel the fabric and try on the clothes before they buy. After all, it is not necessary that a dress that looks beautiful on a model or a mannequin will look good on you . However, today, the fear of catching the dreaded virus is holding back consumers from visiting these shops.
Consumers worry about how many people may have touched the clothes and tried them on and whether any of them was an asymptomatic Covid positive individual. Besides, trying on dresses and tops that you pull over your head is also fraught with danger as the fabric comes in contact with your eyes, nose and mouth - unless you are wearing a mask and a plastic face shield (that may well become a new normal for trying on clothes) . The fact that there is hardly any information on the transmission of Corona virus through clothing or fabrics is also a factor.
There is evidence of the virus remaining stable for a few hours to days on various surfaces - on stainless steel and plastic surfaces for two to three days, on cardboard for 24 hours, as per the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. But on fabric surfaces, unfortunately, there is scant information on how long the virus may remain. Scientists do say that the virus does not survive long on porous material like clothes , unlike non-porous surfaces like plastic. Besides, porous surfaces tend to trap the virus, making transmission tough. In fact the virus becomes inert and disintegrates relatively faster on porous surfaces , they say.
But that’s no consolation for consumers worried about their safety, because authentic and accurate information in this area is still lacking and nobody is ruling out the possibility of contamination of an apparel -even for a relatively short duration – if an infected person coughed or sneezed on it or touched it with contaminated hands. In fact experts warn against shaking any fabric that may be contaminated, as it can release the trapped virus into the air.
Since no one knows how long the virus will continue to haunt us, fabric and clothing manufacturers are trying out various options to get the consumers back. A suiting material manufacturer for example, has come up with fabric that inhibits the growth and retention of micro organisms-both bacteria and viruses- up to 50 washes. The fashion industry is also trying various ways of sanitizing clothes - with ozone, ultra violet rays, to mention a few.
More recently, an apparel brand has been offering its clients, one-on-one exclusive virtual shopping experience. Here, you shop from the safety of your home , yet experience the joy of visiting a brick and mortar store , including the interaction with the shop assistant to help you choose what you want , without the risk of Covid-19, through a video call from the store at a time and on a day convenient to you. Whatever you buy is sent home in a factory-sealed packet.
These are certainly difficult times for everyone and it will take considerable effort on the part of the fashion/apparel industry to get consumers to buy clothes-either online or through video shopping - in these times of economic slowdown, earning losses, lockdowns and fear of the virus. Besides, in the absence of socializing, consumers are mostly not interested in buying new clothes. So it’s really a tough challenge for the industry.
