Gen Z Green, Eco-Anxiety and Sustainability
“Gen Z Green has become the new Millennial Pink — the newest wave of activism.”
Whether it’s your favorite color, your lucky socks, on your walls, or even in your hair — green has found its way, rooting itself in your mind, body, or heart. Gen Z Green has become the new Millennial Pink— the newest wave of activism. Rather than Gen Z focusing on feminist movements, our priority is environmental justice. If the world is ending, how will we have time to keep fighting for women’s rights? So, What Is It About Green?
Green is often associated with growth and renewal, and it promotes optimism, hopefulness, and balance. Green also enhances positive cognitive outcomes, such as improved memory, problem solving, and positive thinking. Words linked with success were in most cases associated with the color green. In terms of cognitive response, we know or have come to understand that certain colors used in the food industry cause us to gain an appetite and spend money there.
Green has similar effects based on the shade of green visible. Lighter variations of green evoke positive feelings such as peace, stability, harmony, and tranquility. Whereas darker hues represent more negative feelings or actions such as envy, greediness, or possessiveness.
“When thinking about the state of the world in the past 3 years, a correlation can be seen between green’s rise in popularity and humanity’s desires.”
When thinking about the state of the world in the past 3 years, a correlation can be seen between green’s rise in popularity and humanity’s desires. These analyses of green align with humanity’s standings and moral obligations as of late. The pandemic has brought a lot of attention to topics that normally would get 15 minutes of airtime, such as natural disasters and the current phase of climate change. Gen Z has understood this as enraging, whereas older generations have grown to be desensitized. They see a very particular way to make a massive shift happen. They also understand that with the systems in rigid standings, this change is unlikely.
“We can become the catalyst of change that the world needs.”
However, being that Gen Z is currently the largest generation by population size, although not all of us are adults, a large portion of us fully embody what it means to be Sustainably-focused. We can become the catalyst of change that the world needs. Gen Z has this idea that the world will end before we’re able to meet our grandkids or be known from photographs as the flyest great-grandparents. This is two of many reasons Gen Z is hyperconscious about the events climate change brings to the world. It’s caused a lot of us to instill a priority to put the earth first, just as the earth puts us first.
“We have misinterpreted what it means to buy products that are sustainable.”
For starters, we have misinterpreted what it means to buy products that are sustainable. Sustainability is defined as “a normative concept that emphasizes intergenerational equity”. Sustainability is built using three pillars; The Environment, Society, and The Economy— these are also known as the 3P’s; PLANET, PEOPLE, and PROFIT. The UN World Commission on Environment and Development's definition is “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Based on these definitions, we’ve got the wrong idea of what it means to create and buy sustainably. I created an ask poll on my Instagram stories to see what members of the world and Gen Z have come to understand Sustainability as. The answers ranged, but the most common responses I received were, “to use efficiently”, “helping environmental growth”, and “good for us and the environment”.
““sustainable” products DO NOT aid the “PLANET Principle” rather the “PROFIT Principle”
To sell products labeled as “sustainable”, buyers interpret that as at least one of the following:
Made from recycled materials OR
Materials that are biodegradable OR
Made in a method that will work towards saving the environment
In reality, “sustainable” products DO NOT aid the “PLANET Principle” rather the “PROFIT Principle”. Though the goal of sustainable products is to lower our carbon footprints, the creation of them in addition to all regular products still sold are worsening companies’ carbon footprint.
These products are placed everywhere to reel back in the percentage of people that shop ethically, continuing to feed capitalism. Improving the economy through increased consumerism at the expense of Society and The Environment is not following the concept of sustainability. It is in fact counterproductive and will cause its pillars to become severely imbalanced. The worst aspect is that companies are charging more for “Sustainable” products that are made in the same process as regular products!
“There are ways to tell if products are working towards sustainability or simply riding the buzzword’s trend.”
There’s a large percentage of us in Gen Z as well as in the entire population that shop ethically and live *accurate* sustainable lives. There are ways to tell if products are working towards sustainability or simply riding the buzzword’s trend. The most obvious is checking the label to see where the product was made. Countries in the Middle East South and Central America, and Asia tend to host sweatshops and mass factories that use child labor and/or underpay their workers. Labels that say items are handmade or made anywhere in North America, Africa, or Australia tend to be made ethically. Shopping this way will improve the “PEOPLE Principle” while also aiding the other two Principles.
Products that are made with recycled materials tend to have paper labels and tags, but if you’re still unsure, materials such as Glass, Polyester, Acrylic, Lycra, and Nylon can take as long as 500+ years to decompose and often secrete harmful chemicals into the earth and atmosphere. Materials such as Hemp, ORGANIC Cotton, Soy Silk, and Jute are natural fibers and therefore biodegradable regardless of if they are recycled properly or end up in landfill. Using Recycled Sea and Beach Glass is a great alternative to creating new glass, as well as steps towards cleaning beaches and oceans. Shopping this way may hurt the PROFIT Principle slightly, but it will surely do a service to the PLANET Principle, and the PEOPLE Principle in the long run!
The Takeaway
Gen Z Green has become the new Millennial Pink— the newest wave of activism. Gen Z’s love of green is correlated with their desire for a sustainable future, and their priority for environmental justice. Although brands have attempted to co-opt this trend, if products don’t follow the accurate concept of sustainability, Gen Z will call them out. Gen Z is seeking transparency, and if you’re a brand focused on sustainability, consider the intelligence of your Gen Z audience who are weary of green-washing. Words and phrases like “Ethically-made” “Ethically-sourced” “Made with Biodegradable materials” “Made with Recycled materials” “Biodegradable” “Recyclable” “NOT MADE IN A SWEATSHOP” “Energy Efficient Product” are more tangible and have objective meanings that cannot easily be misconstrued by the buyer.
