New York State Prospects to Develop a Fibershed Helen Trejo Professor Tasha Lewis, Fiber Science & Apparel Design Professor Michael Thonney, Animal Science Cornell Sheep & Goat Symposium October 2014 1
Purpose Expand knowledge about local animal fiber infrastructure in New York Consider prospects for development with supportive infrastructure Determine how marketing strategies influence consumer perceptions of a local fiber product Background: U.S. Shifts in Wool Sheep: 1840 Sheep: 1920 (Van Wagenen, 1963; Smith, 1926; Pendleton Woolen Mills, 1971) 2
Background: Textile Industry Interest Pendleton Woolen Mills Oregon, US Alpaca Blanket Project Wisconsin, US Background: Slow Fashion Ethics & Resourcefulness (Fletcher, 2010) Careful & Receptive (Honore, 2005) Parallel ecosystems Quality Diversity Long life cycles -Janine Benyus (in Fletcher, 2008) 3
Background: Slow Fashion Soil to Skin: 150 Mile Wardrobe Rebecca Burgess, 2010 (Fibershed, 2011) Background: Fibershed Northern California Mendocino County Fibershed Textile resources available in geographic landscape -Physical infrastructure -farms, mills, studios (Fibershed, 2011) 4
Northern California Fibershed (Bieg, Burgess, Kahn, Axlerod, Kassan, DeLonge & Wendt, 2014) Estimated cost: $26 million, not feasible (Bieg et al., 2014) 5
New York Physical Infrastructure New York Social Infrastructure Washington County Fiber Tour 6
Research Study PART 1 NY FIBER FARM SURVEY New York Fiber Farm Survey Fiber Resources Marketing Strategies Benefits Challenges 7
Amount of Fiber Animals NY Fiber Farm Survey Demographics 67 respondents; 70% female (n=58) Full time: 62.7%; Part-time: 37.2% (n=59) Years of experience w/ fiber animals: 1 to over 20 years July to Aug 2013 Income earned from fiber farm (n=57) Frequency Percent Less than $10,000 37 64.9% $10,000-$24,999 11 19.3% $25,000-$49,000 5 8.8% $50,000-$74,999 2 3.5% $75,000 and over 2 3.5% Total income respondents 57 NY Fiber Farm Survey 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 1566 1222 What fiber products do you sell? 334 Percentage (n=67) Yarn 76% Roving 73% Clothing/ accessories 64% Household textiles 50% 47 31 Sheep Alpacas Goats Rabbits Llamas Diversity of Fiber Animals! June to August 2013 8
NY Fiber Farm Survey How do you communicate info to customers? Percentage (n= 67) Informative labels on products 53.7% Direct conversations with customers (farm tours, fiber festivals) Internet (farm websites, blogs, Etsy.com, Facebook, Twitter) 68.7% 55.2% NY Fiber Farm Survey Marketing Individualization Names, age, personality, photos I tell them how sweet angoras are, and that the cashmeres are rascals. Laughing Goat Fiber Farm; Ithaca NY 9
NY Fiber Farm Survey Marketing Heritage Story Huacaya Alpaca Suri Alpaca Suri Alpaca- This is currently a rare fleece to obtain there are about 30 animals of this type in NY at this time. My stud s fleece has won Champion at competition. NY Fiber Farm Survey Marketing Local Production Our yarns and most of our rovings are made here in this country by Salt City Fibers or by A+ Fiber Mill in Jordan [New York] Salt City also does Alpaca/ wool blends A+ can do blends very well, but she s stellar at doing heathered color mixing in alpaca, no one better, and I like to support both mills. 10
Fingerlakes Woolen Mill Genoa NY Hog Island Sheep Genoa NY 11
NY Fiber Farm Survey Challenges in Marketing Difficulty finding target market Extensive time & effort to market products Difficulty selling tactile fiber products online Some years having to work harder to sell product because of the economy and [W]almart selling those cheap non animal fiber or fake animal fiber items for 10 bucks when we need to sell sweaters for well over a hundred or even two. When all people are looking at [is] price not the quality. NY Fiber Farm Survey Support sub-culture Benefits Interest in fibers, animals, sustainability, agriculture, farming Social & Community Development Fiber festivals, Fiber tours Agro-tourism & Public engagement Alpacas in the field stop traffic on the road. Visitors often come in for a tour of the farm. Because we also sell eggs, honey, and other farm products, our visitors often go home with more than just fiber products. Plus, the local school loves a fiber farm field trip. 12
Research Study PART 2 CONSUMER SURVEY LOHAS Lifestyles of Health & Sustainability (Woolmark Company, 2014; Denend & Shiv, 2011; Pawson & Perkins, 2013; Peterson, Hustvedt & Chen, 2012) U.S. consumers Prefer US wool clothes at reasonable price from independent brands (Sneedon, Soutar & Lee, 2014) Preference for wool instead of acrylic, higher WTP produced in state (i.e. Texas vs. USA) (Hustvedt, Carroll & Bernard, 2013) Preference for in-state wool, alpaca, mohair products (Peterson, Hustvedt & Chen, 2012) 13
PART 2 Consumer Survey Designer: Wendy Bernard Interweave Knits 2008 Basic: Fiber content & Care Basic + Local: Pride of NY Low Carbon Footprint Basic + Fiber Animal: Photograph & anecdote Marketing Condition 1 Basic: Fiber, Care 14
Marketing Condition 2 Basic & Local: Pride of NY, low carbon footprint Marketing Condition 3 Basic & Fiber Animal: Photograph, Anecdote 15
Feb to May: 250 respondents ALL FEMALE PARTICIPANTS Occupation Final Study (n= 240) Age Final Study 1 (n=243) Undergraduate 14.2% 18 to 24 17.6% Graduate Student 11.3% 25 to 44 38.4% Faculty/ Staff 16.4% 45 to 59 24% Other: Professional 57.5% 60 to 84+ 17.2% Race Final Study (n= 242) Income Final Study (n=230) Caucasian 75.6% Less than $10,000 16.4% African-American 3.2% $10,000 to $24,999 12% Native-American 0.8% $25,000 to $49,999 21.2% Latina 6.8% $50,000 to $74,999 17.2% Asian 7.2% $75,000 and over 25.2% Inter-Racial 3.2% Existing Scales Product Personality Congruence α= 0.92 User Image Congruence α= 0.94 Product Evaluation α=0.91 Product Attachment α=0.87 Consumer Ethnocentricity α=0.92 Local Fiber Attitude α=0.92 Local Consumption α=0.87 (Govers & Schoormans, 2005; Mugge, Schifferstein, Schoormans, 2010; Hustvedt, Carroll & Bernard, 2013) 16
What personality characteristics would you give to this sweater? Scale Name Mean SD Product Personality Congruence 2.63 1.14 User Image Congruence 3.14 1.14 Product Evaluation 3.29 1.13 Product Attachment 3.85 0.67 Consumer Ethnocentricity 250 respondents 2.82 0.75 Local Consumption 3.86 0.58 Local Fiber Attitude 4.56 0.56 17
Univariate ANOVA analysis (Hustvedt, Carroll & Bernard, 2010; Mugge, Schifferstein & Schoormans, 2010) Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Hypotheses 1 The influence of marketing conditions on product evaluation is mediated by (a) product personality congruence and (b) user image congruence. Relationships not statistically significant 18
Hypotheses 2 High consumer ethnocentricity (a), preference for local consumption (b) and preference for local fibers (c) positively influence product evaluation. Relationships not statistically significant Hypothesis 3 The influence of marketing conditions on product attachment is mediated by the presence of a memory scenario about the product. Relationships not statistically significant 19
Discussion of Results Product Personality Congruence & Product Evaluation Low consumer ethnocentricity (mean= 2.82) Local Fiber Attitude (mean= 4.56) Ravelry sample More common to touch knitwear before purchase in a store Limitations Photograph bias Color & personal preference Limited availability of yarn at time needed Survey software formatting Not realistic online shopping setting 20
Conclusions: Future of NY Fibershed New York Maker s Row Manufacture NY Made in America lines Eileen Fisher, Rag & Bone Exclusive work with animal fibers Farm2Fashion, Simply Natural Clothing, Where Conclusions Strong social & physical infrastructure in NY Limited connections between fiber farms, mills & NYC Community Based Apparel Value Chain 21
Conclusions: Existing Fibersheds Fibershed Brand Identity (Fibershed, 2014) Special Thanks! Professor Tasha Lewis, Professor Michael Thonney, Professor Charlotte Jirousek, Professor Huiju Park, Professor Terry Tucker FSAD cohort <3 Kiko Nobusawa, Knitting Etc. Rebecca Burgess, artisans, fiber farmers Staff: Jay Barry, Francois Vermeylen, Keith Jenkins David Arellanes, Nidia Trejo 22
Questions? hxt2@cornell.edu Key References Bieg, A., Burgess, R., Kahn, D., Axlerod, E., Kassan, J., DeLonge, M., & Wendt, L. (2014). Fibershed feasibility study for a california wool mill. Fibershed. DeLonge, M. (2014). Greenhouse gas costs and benefits from land-based textile production. Fibershed. Fletcher, K. (2008). Sustainable fashion & textiles: Design journeys. London: Earthscan. Fletcher, K., & Grose, L. (2012). Fashion & sustainability: Design for change. London: Laurence King Publishing. Friend, C. (2011). Sheepish: Two women, fifty sheep, and enough wool to save the planet. Cambridge: De Capo Press. Honore, C. (2004). In praise of slowness: How a worldwide movement is challenging the cult of speed. New York: Harper Collins. Jorrin, S. (2013). The improbable shepherd: More stories from Sylvia's farm. Hobart: Hatherleigh Press. Joy, A., Sherry, J., Venkatesh, A., Wang, J., & Chan, R. (2012). Fast fashion, sustainability, and the ethical appeal of luxury brands. Fashion Theory, 16(3), 273-296. Parry, B. (2013). Adventures in yarn farming: Four seasons on a new england fiber farm. Boston: Roost Books. Peterson, H., Hustvedt, G., & Chen, Y. (2012). Consumer preferences for sustainable wool products in the united states. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 30(1), 35-50. Tapper, J., & Zucker, G. (2008). Shear spirit: Ten fiber farms, twenty patterns, and miles of yarn. New York: Potter Craft. Van Wagenen, J. (1963). The golden age of homespun. New York: Hill and Wang. 23