Three-quarters of Gen Zers say that sustainability is more important to them than brand name, according to a survey by First Insight and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. But despite their stated preferences, the actual buying habits of young shoppers are fueling a planetary crisis.
Everyone knows that Gen Z cares about the planet: The generation has been at the forefront of the climate movement, they are more likely than any other generation to say that the climate crisis is their No. 1 concern, and some have even reported turning down jobs over companies' climate records. But they also have a big problem: Gen Z can't stop buying new clothes.
It's not that young people don't want to shop sustainably: Three-quarters of Gen Zers say that sustainability is more important to them than brand name, according to a survey by First Insight and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. But despite their stated preferences, the actual buying habits of young shoppers are fueling a planetary crisis.
A recently released report on Gen Z by the online vintage-resale platform ThredUp found that while 65% of Gen Z respondents said they want to shop more sustainably and buy higher-quality clothing, one-third also described themselves as addicted to fast fashion, and more than two in five said they buy clothes that they're likely to wear only once. Researchers from Sheffield Hallam University in England found that despite their preference for sustainable clothing, 90% of young Brits still opt for fast fashion — and only 16% of those surveyed could name a single sustainable-fashion brand.
