The price is not right: Gen Z’s sustainable-fashion conundrum
“Ask most Gen Zers if they care about the planet and its people—and if they make shopping decisions based on those beliefs—and you’re likely to get a yes. But it’s getting harder to see those same values in action.
The current cost-of-living crisis (that big inflation beast just won’t quit) is eroding Gen Z’s willingness to purchase sustainable products, according to a recent survey of about 1,000 people across all ages out of the UK. Sustainably made products—everything from clothes to food to cosmetics—often carry a price premium.
These days, McKinsey research, led by senior partner David Feber, shows that the bulk of consumers of all age groups are prioritizing price, quality, and convenience. Compare that with just three years ago, when consumers expressed a greater willingness to pay more for sustainable goods. (Still, about 40 percent of Gen Z and millennial consumers say that environmental impact is an extremely or very important factor when making their purchasing decisions, nearly double the rate of boomers.)
While the sustainability conversation is still “dominating consumer priorities and the fashion agenda,” according to our latest State of Fashion report, Gen Z’s relationship with fashion is complicated. On one hand, Gen Zers express a desire for sustainably produced items and love thrifting. On the other hand, clothing “hauls” (or what previous generations called a shopping spree) make up some of the most watched and most produced content on social media. That’s especially true with so many Gen Zers cosplaying as would-be influencers.
These two opposing ideas have coexisted for a while. What’s changing is Gen Zers’ tolerance for price increases, which could push them toward buying cheaper clothes, especially considering that the excessive-shopping habit shared by many consumers today is as strong as ever.
It’s not as if Gen Zers—or most people, for that matter—want to hurt Mother Earth. So why continue to shop like the climate crisis isn’t real? Part of the problem is that consumers find it difficult knowing what makes something sustainable in the first place. For example, people tend to think that packaging is a key indicator for whether something is sustainable. Packaging is part of it, but what about materials, supply chain, or human capital that make up the other key elements of sustainability?
It’s also tough for shoppers to translate their values into practice when sustainable-shopping practices themselves aren’t perfect. Some believe that circularity—the idea that garments get reused or recycled in perpetuity—is “a fashionable fantasy,” one whose benefits have so far been only conceptual. And the thrifting habit that Gen Z loves so much is fraught with its own ethical issues, such as driving up the price of used clothing, making it unaffordable for people who were buying it before it became cool to do so.
Buying less seems to be the only truly sustainable option. But buying less is hard. The compulsion to spend, the pressure to flex—it’s difficult to let that go. Maybe a way to scratch the shopping itch—without actually buying more stuff that could end up in a landfill—is to shell out for a stylist who helps you find joy in the clothes you already own. And for fashion brands, there’s a chance to cash in on an opportunity worth billions by bringing refurbishment services in-house.
Spending a little more on sustainable products might seem costly in the short run. Saving the planet, though? Priceless.”
*This article is excerpted from mckinsey.com, accessed 6th June 2023
