Ethics and ASOS
In a world of unlimited online shopping possibilities — especially in the overwhelming world of retail — ASOS has managed to establish itself as one of the premier online clothing experiences in the world. Founded at the turn of the 21st century, ASOS is a “British online fashion and cosmetic retailer.” Their brand is focused primarily on young adults and they offer access to over 850 different brands of clothing and accessories. ASOS actually stood for “As Seen On Screen” in its inception, signaling the company’s intent to sell retail replicas of famous outfit pieces (think Tom Cruise’s jacket from Top Gun). But eventually ASOS outgrew that niche, and now their clothing brands range from the simple to the dumbfounding as they offer young adults a unique online opportunity to build a signature wardrobe from the racks of numerous top retailers.
Okay so I know what you’re thinking — it’s okay you can say it: A YA-targeted clothing retail service probably doesn’t have to much priority set on ethics right? Listen the take makes sense, but it is dead wrong. ASOS has entire sections of their website dedicated to outline their dedication to ethical business practices, and they truly believe that their young customers care as much about what their purchasing power stands for as what it gets them.
“ASOS customers genuinely care about integrity. They want the businesses they buy from to stand for something. They expect ASOS to be better than the norm, to lead the way, to stand out and have goals we believe in and act on, both now and in the future. We only make people feel great through fashion if we’re meeting those expectations.” -Anna Suchopar, Company Secretary
But while ASOS has their company ethical policies outlined to a T, their is less clarity on how those ethical standards translate over to the world of social media with all of its various intricacies. Not to fear! I have taken the ethical makeup of ASOS and created a guideline by which ASOS should guide its behavior on social platforms.
Core Ethical Tenets
These are the values by which ASOS should always make its decisions when it comes to social media behavior.
- Transparency
ASOS has been clear about its commitment to transparency in their business practices, especially in regards to how their supply chain supports human rights and minimize the negative impact on the environment.
“Since we began the Fashion Transparency Index in 2016, we’ve seen ASOS increasingly disclose more detailed information about its approach to managing human rights and environmental impacts throughout its supply chain.” -Sarah Ditty, Policy Advisor
Transparency is important when it comes to an online service that targets a specific audience with a plethora of different buying opportunities. ASOS must always be transparent with its customers whether its about the products they sell, the process by which they curate their online offerings, or how they interact with their followers on social media.
2. Customer Care
As with any company, caring for customers must be a tenet that ASOS lives by. This doesn’t refer to giving customers what they want, but rather how they help customers when they are having issues with their service. ASOS has a self-proclaimed dedication to customer care and preaches often about how the company trains its advisors “on all aspects of the customer journey and other key topics that customers ask us about.” With this internal education platform, the pillars are in place for ASOS to be a frontrunner in customer care services in the world of online retailing, and they must keep this pillar stable and secure given their transparent dedication. This is especially true in the world of social media, which often sees customer complaints ignored and mishandled.
3. Inclusion
This is an extremely important value to tend to as an online retail company, especially with the wonderful conversations that are emerging about diversity and inclusivity of all bodies in the advertisement sphere. ASOS has already made a commitment to inclusion: “We’re committed to establishing a culture of inclusivity across ASOS, so that we truly represent the diversity of our customers in what we think, say and do.” While this is a lovely statement to read, it is empty words if ASOS doesn’t back it up with positive initiatives to promote inclusivity in how it markets its brand to customers. ASOS, therefore, must be diligent and dedicated to inclusion in its social media practices.
4. Mental Wellbeing
The world of retail is filled with mental health pitfalls, as the clothing industry was built on the erasure of certain bodies and the promotion of unhealthy thoughts about what it means to beautiful. This is a value category that I hold in high personal regard, and I believe ASOS feels the same.
“We want to use our platform to challenge the stigma around mental health issues. We use responsible language and images to talk about mental health sensitively and promote national awareness days and weeks to open up conversations about protecting the mental health of young people.”
Just as with inclusion, however, it’s one thing to verbally commit to this intricate challenge but it’s important that ASOS actually lives up to its promise and works to promote healthy body positivity as it works to grow its customer base on social media. A sale should never be prioritized over a customer’s mental health.
Now for the important part: below you’ll find a guide to how ASOS should frame its social media policy based on the tenets outlined earlier in the article.
- Diverse Makeup
ASOS should orient their social media posts to include models that represent the true makeup of their audience base: that means representation for models of all races, genders (or lack thereof), sexual orientations, disability statuses, and religious backgrounds. In addition, ASOS should set up a communication system with affiliate diversity organizations to monitor how their social media efforts are being perceived and how they can continue to promote inclusion as a value set to its audience base.
2. Quick and Concise Customer Service
ASOS must be transparent with their customers when it comes to their complaints about the company. When a customer voices their opinion on social media — provided the opinion has concrete grounding in a real problem with a brand rather than just a needlessly negative attack — ASOS has a responsibility to respond quickly and effectively. Specifically, ASOS must work to answer social media queries within 15 minutes of receiving them and address any product issues with transparency and proactivity. Their should be no issue that is left unaddressed, both to the customer and to the client base, on ASOS social media platforms. This way, ASOS is keeping an open line of communication with their audience and making sure that the customer is interacting with their brand in a conscious manner. Anything less than transparency and responsibility when it comes to customer feedback is treading into the dangerous area of misrepresentation, and ASOS must not be a company that misrepresents itself to its customers.
3. Actively Challenge the Stigma
When advertising to its customer base on social media, ASOS must actively work to avoid any detrimental commentary on mental health and body positivity. As a retail brand followed by millions around the world, ASOS has an ethical responsibility to change the retail market conversation to one that focuses on the positive values of personal style rather than the damaging concept of the ideal body or representation of beauty. ASOS should behave in a way that its social media advertisement never includes controversial or harmful messaging about beauty and fashion, and should put itself at the forefront of the conversation in the social media sphere (i.e. engage in campaigns to promote body positivity and wellbeing for models and customers alike).
4. When A Crisis Arises
Even with meticulous planning, social media crises can arise that are impossible to anticipate. When this happens, ASOS should:
A) Engage with their crisis response team, which should already put in place prior to any crisis arising. This team should coordinate to provide the best solution rather than individuals from the company scrambling to defuse the crisis in a possibly damaging manner.
B) Provide a public response, so that customers are made aware of the apology being issued, the problems being acknowledged, and the solution being put in process.
C) Create a complimentary initiative, so that ASOS is not only solving the current problem but also putting plans in motion to prevent any similar crises from emerging in the future.
I am a proud consumer of the ASOS company, and am happy to see how committed they are to ethical responsibility when it comes to customer engagement. By further committing themselves in the social media sphere, ASOS can make their customers proud of their brand and the world of retail a safer place.