Altered consumer preferences are the driving forces of the clothing trade. Without changes the industry would simply stand still. I am of course talking about fashion. If consumer preferences, apart from fashion, had any political impact at all we would long since have had free trade in clothing as well as in farm trade. But in my experience even taxpayers have a bigger say than consumers. So what we see, instead of altered consumer preferences, are changing political preferences. We see how politics influence trade and companies, especially companies listed on a bourse. The most vulnerable companies are big brand product suppliers and big well-known retailers, which are vulnerable to pressure from "the public opinion". By public opinion we often mean NGOs (Non governmental organisations). The value of a trademark, or the name of a retail operator, is very high but also very fragile. This leads to situations where companies as a rule give in to pressure. Most companies will not even characterise their behaviour as "giving in". They would rather describe it as business development.
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