Category: E. Primary & Secondary Research

Theory about animal welfare and cruelty-free

Theory about animal welfare and cruelty-free

Theory about Causes of Industry Declining

According to Anneke Ball, Noah Lewis, and Mark Adam Miller(2022), the factor leading the declining of real fur consumption are mainly animal rights campaigns, government regulations, and changing trends. In their report, they look at decades of traditional furriers’ experience in the industry, convey the impact of various factor nodes on the fur industry, and end with a quote from the makers of faux fur, pointing to potential future trends in the fur industry. This story focuses on the history and current state of real fur industry in the United States. It also testifies to the logic that moral constraints(animal right campaign and policy making) on public opinion have a negative impact on the fur industry today.
In Jaye’s theory(2018), in addition to hitting the nail on the head about the shrinking consumption of fur due to issues of ethical opinion, she makes a completely new point: it is pure economics and the high margin greed of today’s luxury industry. it ‘s the same reason many restaurants are pushing vegetarian and vegan options: the margins are higher and therefore the profit.This new way of thinking is both supportive and important demanding to my implications for bio-synthetic fur in the future. Admittedly it is true that researching bio-synthetic fur is a perfect attempt to transform the fur industry in suffering of the current ethical pressures. However, it seems that, according to Jaye, the most important indicator of the fashion industry’s favour is low cost of alternative materials.

Reference

1. Anneke Ball, Noah Lewis, and Mark Adam Miller(2022), The rise and fall of the real fur industry in the US, Retail, Video, Business Insider[Website], Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/rise-and-fall-fur-industry-faux-mink-2022-2?r=US&IR=T (Accessed on 13th October 13, 2023)
2. Marcus Jaye(2018), What is the real reason brands are ditching fur? The Industry Fashion[Website], Available at: https://www.theindustry.fashion/what-is-the-real-reason-brands-are-ditching-fur/ (Accessed on 13th October 13, 2023)

Theory about Immortalised Cell

Based on expert advice from Jason Zhou, bio-synthetic fur gained a completely new theoretical direction in technology, immortalised cell lines(Science Direct 2006), which are populations of cells isolated from multicellular organisms that do not normally proliferate indefinitely, but due to mutations, they bypass normal cellular senescence and can continue to divide. As a result, these cells can grow in vitro for long periods of time. The mutations required for immortality can occur naturally or can be intentionally induced for experimental purposes. Immortalised cell lines are important tools for studying the biochemistry and cell biology of multicellular organisms.
Unlike the stem cell transplantation techniques proposed in previous methodologies, immortalised cells divide indefinitely through genetic mutations, and stem cells are a normal part of multicellular development. Moreover, immortalised cells can have an unlimited lifespan, while stem cells as primary cells have a limited lifespan but bigger physiological relevance (Cook 2022).
Overall both methodologies can achieve the end effect of bio-synthetic fur, but different theoretical foundations can enrich the scientific and technological means of bio-synthesis, meanwhile, according to Jason’s description, immortalised cells are more feasible and effective for achieving the ultimate goal of bio-synthetic fur. Therefore, this technique will also be included in theory learning and R&D process.

Reference

1. Thomas Mayer, Bernd Jagla, Michael R. Wyler, Peter D. Kelly, Nathalie Aulner, Matthew Beard, Geoffrey Barger, Udo Többen, Deborah H. Smith, Lars Brandén, James E. Rothman(2006), Cell‐Based Assays Using Primary Endothelial Cells to Study Multiple Steps in Inflammation, Methods in Enzymology[Online], Science Direct, Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S007668790614015X (Accessed by 5th November 5, 2023)
2. Cook Myosite(2022), Immortalized versus primary cells: considerations for optimal application in cell cultures, RegMedNet[Website], Available at: https://www.regmednet.com/immortalized-versus-primary-cells-considerations-for-optimal-application-in-cell-cultures/ (Accessed by 5th November 5, 2023)

Theory about Business Model

In Ovans’s journal(2015), she paraphrases views from Michael Lewis that business model is “a term of art.” And like art itself, it’s one of those things many people feel they can recognize when they see it (especially a particularly clever or terrible one) but can’t quite define. In simple, it is “All it really meant was how you planned to make money”. While book from Osterwalder(2010) define business model as rationale of how an organization creates, delivers and captures value.

Different people and reports have taken different approaches to categorising business models, but basically they include factors such as consumers, costs, channels and revenue sources. Personally, I appreciate 9 Building Blocks from Osterwalder, Customer Segments, Value Propositions, Channels, Customer Relationships, Revenue Streams, Key Resources, Key Activities, Key Partnerships and Cost Structure. The business model of bio-synthetic fur will also underlying through those 9 dimensions.

Here are three business model classifications that I have seen during my research, the first is provided by Ovans:

Analogy	How it works	Example
AFFINITY CLUB	Pay royalties to some large organization for the right to sell your product exclusively to their customers.	MBNA
BROKERAGE	Bring together buyers and sellers, charging a fee per transaction to one or another party.	Century 21Orbitz
BUNDLING	Package related goods and services together.	Fast-food value mealsiPod/iTunes
CELL PHONE	Charge different rates for discrete levels of a service.	SprintBetter Place
CROWDSOURCING	Get a large group of people to contribute content for free in exchange for access to other people’s content.	WikipediaYouTube
DISINTERMEDIATION	Sell direct, sidestepping traditional middlemen.	DellWebMD
FRACTIONALIZATION	Sell partial use of something.	NetJetsTime-shares
FREEMIUM	Offer basic services for free, charge for premium service.	LinkedIn
LEASING	Rent, rather than sell, high-margin, high-priced products.	CarsMachineryLink
LOW-TOUCH	Lower prices by decreasing service.	WalmartIKEA
NEGATIVE OPERATING CYCLE	Lower prices by receiving payment before delivering the offering.	Amazon
PAY-AS-YOU-GO	Charge for actual, metered usage.	Electric companies
RAZOR/BLADES	Offer the high-margin razor below cost to increase volume sales of the low-margin razor blades.	Printers and ink
REVERSE RAZOR/BLADES	Offer the low-margin item below cost to encourage sales of the high-margin companion product.	KindleiPod/iTunes
REVERSE AUCTION	Set a ceiling price and have participants bid as the price drops.	Elance.com
PRODUCT TO SERVICE	Rather than sell a product, sell the service the product performs.	Zipcar
STANDARDIZATION	Standardize a previously personalized service to lower costs.	MinuteClinic
SUBSCRIPTION	Charge a subscription fee to gain access to a service.	Netflix
USER COMMUNITIES	Grant members access to a network, charging both membership fees and advertising.	Angie’s List

Second one provided by Elearnmarkets(2023):

Last on is from Adam:

1. The Entrepreneur Support Model
2. The Market Intermediary Model
3. The Employment Model
4. The Fee-for-Service Model
5. The Low-income Client Model
6. The Cooperative Model
7. The Market Linkage Model
8. The Service Subsidization Model
9. The Organizational Support Model

Overall, three different categorizations are either detailed orgeneral, but the three categories and the business cases mentioned can help me understand the structure and key point of business model, enrich my thought about bio-synthetic fur and finally help me build the business model for bio-synthetic fur.

Reference

1. Andrea Ovans(2015), What is a business model? Business Model, Harvard Business Review, Available at: https://hbr.org/2015/01/what-is-a-business-model (Accessed by 15^th November 5, 2023 )
2. Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). “Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers.” John Wiley & Sons.
3. Elearnmarkets(2023), Business Models – Example, Types, Importance & Advantages, Fundamental Analysis, Available at: https://blog.elearnmarkets.com/what-are-business-models/ (Accessed by 15^th November 5, 2023 )
4. Adam G. Force(Unknown), 9 BUSINESS MODEL EXAMPLES FOR SOCIAL ENTERPRISES, Impact Model, Change Creator, Available at: https://changecreator.com/9-business-model-examples-social-enterprises/ (Accessed by 15^th November 5, 2023 )

Questionnaire about Genuine Fur Product

The supplementary questionnaire for this genuine fur artefact was based on George’s suggestion to focus the interviews on creative industry insiders, therefore, I restricted the release of the questionnaire to the school’s platforms, and by the time of writing feedback, a total of twelve creative-related students’ comments had been collected.
More than 90% of people have no aversion to fur products (like them or have no feelings about them), and more than half(58.3%) of these respondents have used fur products before. The biggest barriers to people using fur products are ethical and price factors, with the majority of them(66.7%) acknowledging that ethical opinion, indeed, influences their fur consumption, but this logic does not mean that people would use fur more if they did not have ethical opinion concerns (the majority of people are not sure).
By analyzing and summarizing the questionnaire above, it can be seen that the industry’s acceptance and perception of fur is higher than the overall evaluation of public opinion, and the reasons for restricting the development of fur consumption power are also diversified and refined.

Logic-base Questionnaire

Result Details on:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1f185mEnvPHp_yf4NttS2BNtcb2DcV5PHRHLkb_HUpig/edit#responses

Questionnaire about Bio-synthetic Fur

This is essentially a market research questionnaire with questions that focus on samples and descriptions to test public’s reactions to the concept of bio-synthetic fur.

By the end of 20 August 2023, the Intervention had garnered nearly 300 participation reports, including around 100 entity reports. Through hundreds of interviews, it can be seen that people are generally supportive of new fur material; at the same time, the vast majority of people’s perception of bio-synthetic fur is a more cost-effective alternative material than genuine fur, and only a tiny portion of the people can accept the premium price of this kind of scientific and technological material, which is high reference significance for the future pricing and positioning of the project(different from initial proposal prediction).

Intervention Preparation

Result Details on:

https://www.wjx.cn/report/230890397.aspx?sat=1

Street Interview

This street interview interviewed four passers-by, one of whom was a set designer and the remaining three were students. Through interviewing them it was clear that the intention of bio-synthetic fur was still supported, but one of the interviewees questioned the sustainability of the whole process of bio-synthetic fur. Admittedly the process of Woolization could save many animals as well as jobs in the current industry, but it seems that sustainability issue is another major contradictory challenge. This potential controversy could affect the financing and development of bio-synthetic fur, therefore, the necessaries and advantages of the process need to be more clearly articulated. Two of four interviewees asked for bio-synthetic fur to be cheap and affordable as opposed to genuine fur, one design student from CSM said he would accept a slight premium, and the set designer said she would be willing to pay a huge premium if the product was available for the interview. From the different attitudes of these interviewees, it can be seen that people have different expectations of the new product. Therefore, the future pricing of bio-synthetic fur needs to be analysed in relation to the cost of the product, the target audience and so on.

Street Interview

Research Tour

Research Tour