Gen Z Weighs in on Greenwashing and Fashion’s Future
COVID-19 has disrupted life as usual for all age groups, but Gen Z is facing coming of age milestones during the pandemic, including college graduation.
Born between the mid 1990s and the early 2010s, Gen Z accounts for 40 percent of all global consumers, with $143 billion in spending power. Currently in school or recently graduated, this cohort is also the emerging workforce for the fashion industry.
A Carved in Blue webinar hosted on July 16 brought together eight Gen Z fashion students and graduates from colleges around the globe to discuss their personal pandemic experiences, what they expect from brands and their thoughts on social issues.
Here is some of what they had to say.
On buying ethically:
“If I were going to buy something, then it would definitely be about where the money is going to, what’s actually going to make some impact in the world. For me, buying new clothes, there’s enough denim out there already to buy secondhand, and there needs to be more value other than just getting something physical out of it,” said Sam Jamieson, Royal College of Art, London.
On Gen Z’s role in making fashion more sustainable:
“As Gen Z, we are better informed, more sensitive, and have a stronger sense of what is right and wrong. And the ability to change and rebuild the world that we truly deserve makes us one of a kind. So I think we’re definitely the chosen ones to make better choices,” said Parthavi Nagarsheth, Jean School Amsterdam.
On the difference between online and in-person shopping:
“The only thing that I’ve noticed buying a lot online is that in my opinion, there should be more variety in the body shapes and body types that are included in photos. Because when you are buying something and you only see one body type, it is hard to understand how it will fit you,” said Emma Meneghetti, Liceo Pigafetta Vicenza.
On shelter in place discoveries and the new normal:
“It’s made me realize that you don’t need an office or a library to work, you don’t need a pool to tan, you don’t need a gym to work out and you don’t need a school to learn; you can do all of that at home. And while all those places are good at enhancing that focus on that certain activity, it’s really the self-motivation behind you wanting to do those activities that really makes you either push yourself to do it, or not. And I’ve already known I’m a pretty motivated person, but I’ve relied on these places to make me focus even more, and now I know I don’t need those places to do all those activities, I just need that self-motivation,” said Alexis Carey, Marist College, United States.
On cancelled orders:
“It’s easy to criticize the companies cancelling the orders—obviously it’s quite easy as someone who’s just finished university to make these points—but it’s a really sticky situation which I don’t think there’s enough support for the factories at all, which is awful to see, seeing how big [fashion] is around the world. I think global support for factories needs to be addressed,” said Angus Gaffney, Ravensbourne University London.
On fashion’s post-pandemic change:
“It’s a really exciting time to break the chain that is currently established, and getting back to the original system would be quite lazy. So it’s exciting to be thinking about how brands are going to be changing, and how I can as a designer influence things that are going to change going forward,” said Danielle Elsener, Royal College of Art, London.
Watch the full discussion below.