<Anchor>

Monday. Let's start with Kwon Ae-ri's friendly economy. Gwon, are you talking about clothes today? Are you talking about winter materials that are popular this winter, especially among teens and twenties?

<Reporter>

Yes. Parents who are looking for news in their teens, twenties, or winter clothing that their children want this winter are probably familiar with. It's been sold a lot because of the nickname 'pogle'.

The official name is fleece. Originally, it meant real fleece, which is now used in the apparel industry to refer to artificial fleece.
One of the biggest trends this winter is fleece winter wear. It's been a while. In the past, I've seen a lot of functional clothing that focuses on cold weather at a relatively low price, rather than considering fashion. This year, it is considered a fashionable item.

<Anchor>

Why is this material so popular this year?

<Reporter>

Yes. Let's first talk about a teenager who chose this fleece jacket this year.

[Kwon Ji-young / 19 years old: Celebrities are wearing a lot these days, pretty, and as warm as padding.]

Probably most would have chosen for the same reason. However, there is a story behind Fleece until it becomes a fashionable item and a popular item.

Fleece will use less real animal hair. It is a material that has been steadily advocated for 10 years by the American outdoor brands that expressed awareness about animal welfare.

And in Korea, famous celebrities such as Lee Hyo-ri, who are known for their interest in animal welfare this year, have been wearing clothes since autumn, which sparked popularity.

Because polyester, or plastic, is a raw material, it is cheaper than real fleece. Synthetic fiber processing technology continues to develop, and texture and design are also improving.

At the same time, the clothing industry and influential celebrities began to pay attention to the so-called 'value consumption' and even the image of choosing clothes in consideration of animal welfare and environment.

As it becomes a trend, there is a growing awareness among more people that "Ah pretty, price I can buy, it's fine".

<Anchor>

So-called environmentally-conscious clothes are a situation in our country little by little?

<Reporter>

Yes. That's right. We are not yet thinking about combining clothing and the environment, but it is one of the biggest topics in the Western apparel industry since the 2000s, and the industry expects that the impact will be greater in the future.

Recycling artificial fur instead of real mink, artificial fillers instead of real goose down, or already used fur, you're already starting to see signs of becoming a point of appeal.

[Kang Yun-sung / Women's Clothing Planning Team Leader: Since the 'Eco Fur' trend has been around for almost 10 years, we have been trying in the Korean market since last year. Last year, the sales weren't so good, but this year they're 300% higher than last year.]

The most famous luxury brands like Chanel, Armani, Gucci and Prada are all no longer wearing real fur. If real fur really keeps making money and there's nothing wrong with your corporate image, these places wouldn't have taken the lead.

The Western world is now thinking about the environment and clothing together, jokingly saying that some people want to wear that real, but it's not fashionable.

This shows signs of being transferred to us. Especially for young women in their 20s and 30s, clothing lines targeting them have released a lot of eco fur this year.

Padding companies are green. Korea's No. 1 padding company makes up all its products with only animal welfare certification padding.

We didn't take hair in a painful way and pulled it out in a painful way. We only use products that have been certified as RDS because they only use methods that pick up fallen hair.

<Anchor>

I think it's expensive, but I've talked about it a bit earlier.

<Reporter>

Yes. One step further than the RDS and Animal Welfare Certification is clothing made from recycled goose down once used on bedding.

The third largest padding company in Korea started composing this goose down recycled product with 20% of the total padding.
And the first thing you see is a lot of products made from recycled plastic bottles. It takes about 500 500 ml bottles to make one.

You might think, "Plastic is not eco-friendly." It's one of the most environmentally friendly methods of mass production that has been developed. The process is also getting more environmentally friendly, and the material itself can be recycled over and over again.

And the problem that little plastic comes out every time washing is the biggest problem in synthetic fiber these days can be greatly improved by using a kind of fine plastic sieve.

In any case, the current trend of thinking about clothing and the environment has begun to affect the direction of the industry as a whole.