GenZ- Tracing The Future Of Sustainability
According to a survey, in 2022, by Team Lewis Foundation and HeForShe, younger generations worldwide are concerned about the planet’s well-being ahead of gender equality and economic opportunities. With this in mind, the fashion industry is gradually altering its processes to be more ethical and incorporating eco-friendly practices. But before we go deep into the impact on fashion and society, let’s first comprehend who GenZ really is!From influencing the future of sustainability to changing the way we shop, GenZ views it all differently than the generations before them.
Generation Z (accounting for 30% of the global population) is the age group of people born between 1997–2012, following millennials. Technologically savvy, GenZ grew up with major technical interventions such as the internet, social media, and mobile phones, which helped in shaping the lives of this generation. There is no denying that GenZ — ‘Netflix n Chill’ Generation has taken over the world. A youth obsessed with reels, memes and viral videos, is now breaking boundaries and stereotypes through their actions and mindset. Being well-conscious of the environmental impact of individuals and brands, GenZ is constantly making efforts to push for a change. Furthermore, with each passing day, significantly influencing more people to prioritize sustainable fashion choices!
GenZ & Fast Fashion
Fast fashion describes cheap, modish and mass produced clothes that aren’t built to last, and has a significant impact on our planet. Young shoppers are often drawn to such clothing due to emerging trends and affordable prices. These garments, however, are easily discarded and left to accumulate in landfills as soon as they become outdated.
GenZ sees a lot of consumers buying clothes from mass reaching brands like Shein, Urbanic, H&M, Zara, which release trendy and cheap garments that are often produced without considering environmental and labour conditions. People often lean into the latest fast-fashion trends due to peer-pressure and purchase clothes that they end up wearing fewer times.
However, this generation comprehends the impact of fast fashion and is rectifying their malpractices by supporting Eco-friendly brands.
Wake-Up Call For Fashion Industry
Fashion is one of the most labour-dependent industries that use workers, mostly women for handmade pieces of apparel. To meet the demands of rapid fashion consumers, industries have been majorly reliant upon low-cost labour. In order to mass produce inexpensive clothing items quickly, workers are made to work in extreme, unsafe conditions for long hours and low wages.
An incident happened on April 24th, 2013, an eight-story commercial building collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Referred to as the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse, the accident killed 1,134 workers, making it the deadliest garment-factory disaster in history. This happened due to the ignorance of working conditions of labour. Workers were exploited and ordered to work regardless of their safety, only to meet their production demand. The incident clearly demonstrated how cruel the fast fashion industry can be.
The Rana Plaza collapse was indeed a waking alarm for the fashion industry, which not only raised environmental concerns but also criticized fast fashion items for its ethical implications. This was one such incident, think of other garment factories and their working conditions of labour. Disheartening, right?
It’s high time that the fashion industry acknowledges the severe impact of fast fashion and excessive production. Fashion brands/businesses must reconsider their practices and opt for the alternative — Slow Fashion i.e., focusing on sustainable manufacturing methods, using organic materials, and paying living wages to the labour who manufacture their products.
GenZ- The Ultimate Influencers
With a strong influence on society, GenZs are pushing for a change in order to build a healthy environment. It is also very encouraging to see the fashion sector implementing more sustainable alternatives to their practices. The most uplifting change is the growing emphasis on local, fair, ethical, and sustainable fashion.
A recent survey published by Samsung discovered that a huge chunk of young people (from late teens to early thirties) are willing to change their wardrobes entirely for the sake of sustainability. 60% fall into this category. Another 39% revealed that they would rather be “sustainable’’ than “fashionable”. It’s evident how upcoming generations are changing their opinions about fashion, coming up with environmental concerns and demanding answers rightfully as a consumer.
In response to the Rana Plaza collapse, a movement was started by founders of Fashion Revolution (Orsola de Castro & Carry Somers) and former fashion designers, to shed light on the fashion industry’s supply chain. Launched in 2014, the #WhoMadeMyClothes hashtag soon became the number 1 global trend on Twitter, which united everyone in the fashion industry to work together towards a positive change. It encouraged people to demand transparency and to question their own fashion choices. The initiative addressed a wide range of social issues including the trend towards sustainable fashion and fashion activism, the ethics of supply chains, the issue of fast fashion, human and worker’s rights, and the environmental impact of the fashion industry. With the rise in awareness of consumers gradually, GenZs are now asking for more transparency, responsibility and sustainability.
With strong opinions and expectations, youth is inspiring people of all ages, and consequently shifting brands’ priorities. To meet GenZs demand for change, brands are in an attempt to capture the interest of rising young consumers to address their sustainability demands. Fashion enterprises are redirecting their priorities and taking massive action towards a sustainable future. Working towards their goal, sportswear giant Adidas and its subsidiary Reebok topped this year’s Fashion Transparency Index, followed by another sporting label Puma and Swedish fashion group H&M.
GenZ has a tremendous amount of impact on all of us. Their beliefs are clearly demonstrated through visible fashion activism. Being an eco-conscious generation, they are on the rise to reshape the fashion industry and demand the changes they want to see. Young folks aged 16 to 29 are progressively adopting more mindful, eco-friendly shopping habits to maintain a sustainable environment. Such a practice has led to the emergence of alternative fashion businesses such as resale marketplaces, vintage trends, rental fashion and thrift stores.
As the new “it” generation, GenZ doesn’t just move the needle for the fashion industry. It is the needle for the fashion industry.