Sustainable luxury

Engaging in a generative research project is thrilling due to its exploratory nature and the complex questions it poses. This particular project involves identifying intersections between two seemingly contradictory concepts: "sustainability" and "luxury." It aims to assist a luxury industry client in enhancing the design and marketing of their sustainable product lines and enable them to spearhead the niche of sustainable luxury consumption.

Objectives

What does it mean to be involved in meaningful sustainable consumption among Chinese urban middle-class consumers?
Why does one participate in luxury consumption? Why in sustainable consumption?
What are the practical and sensational tensions as well as compatibilities between being sustainable and engaging in luxury consumption?

Research Processes

Interview: Inquire participants on who they are, who they want to be, and what are their "communities".
Observe: Use home tours and social media tours to observe participants' digital and offline self-expression.
Discover: Ask for items, collectables, personal belongings that characterizes their ideal of a sustainable / luxurious lifestyle.
Experiment: Use sample products to prompt their reactions and reasonings.

Convergence between "Luxury" and "Sustainability"

Sustainability and luxury share technological sophistication, which appeals to consumers who aspire to be early adopters of emerging trends and lifestyles.

Sustainable items can "feel" luxurious with their minimalism and practicality.

Luxurious expenditures shift from consumable items to consumable experiences. Covid19 Pandemic has especially shifted people's focus from showing off luxurious items to building a lifetsyle enriches oneself.

But there is a slippery slop where a sustainable brand can easily be perceived as hypocritical if it fails to stay consistent across their product lines and shopping experiences in sustainability messaging.

“I was one of the first Tesla buyers in China. I don’t care much about sustainability but am purely attracted by the sense of new technology. I want to move with the pace of our time.”

“Nowadays I buy tote bags from luxury brands. It was unimaginable to many people that I spend several thousand RMB on a piece of canvas. But I like their minimalist and practical design.”

"I’m not a unique example with these rich hobbies. I have friends who are developing their hobbies in golfing, skiing, etc. ... I think to me, having these experiences are a luxury."

Recommendation

Highlighting the technological novelty in the product:

In the context of China, where there is generally optimism about technology's ability to improve quality of life, the technology behind sustainability initiatives can play a prominent role in attracting consumers.

Promoting sustainable as a sensation and a modern lifestyle:

Being able to engage in sustainability is a signal to modern life which is a status symbol among urban middle-class in a developing market.

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