Social media is a good forum for the apparel industry for insights on emerging trends. By keeping one ear to the blogosphere, manufacturers and retailers can discover trends that will help them and make wiser choices when it comes to spending on product development, merchandising, and advertising dollars. For the jeans market, style is the obvious point of discussion, but what can social media tell apparel manufacturers about the needs of consumers? Umbria has uncovered unmet needs and gives an in-depth psychographic understanding of consumer preferences. The blogosphere provides an unprecedented view of what consumers really think.

Here are a few examples of Umbria thematic insights:

• Consumers are becoming more environmentally and socially conscious across the board, and this affects jeans as well.
• Consumers don’t like new style trends because it means that it’s harder for them to find their favorite pair of jeans. In general, consumers prefer simplicity over style. 
• There is a large anti-brand, anti-corporate sentiment. The trend of “Real Inspiration” is an offshoot of this idea. Growing numbers of bloggers are looking to fashion blogs which showcase real people instead of professionally styled models.
• Consumers praise GAP jeans for their good fit but are embarrassed by the brand. They are glad that the GAP logo is not prominently displayed.
• A growing segment of the population realizes that they are over-consuming. This consciousness of consumption could be used in marketing jeans.