People
People is the second pillar of sustainability (along side planet, profit, and purpose). People is defined as the diverse demographic which relates to a range of different consumers and their own personal: size, age, race, height and style. The current group of consumers in the market can be described as ‘gen z’
The ‘gen z’ consumer can be described as ‘the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid to late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years.’ Gen z is the ‘youth’ of our generation. Gen z is known in the fashion industry to have promoted a positive, and much needed change in the outlook of the fashion world. They have made impact on the issues in which brands were facing (such as the sustainability issue). Gen z have really rose the issue in which the industry has had impacting the environment negatively and the way fashion is harming the world we live in and need to protect. People is a main input in the industry and a push in what will be successful. We have seen a rise mainly recently in the amount of sustainable fashion and many brands changing their materials in order to better our planet. Forbes discovered that 62% of Generation Z prefer to purchase from sustainable brands and are willing to pay more for ethically produced goods.
Diversity is also something that the ‘people’ pillar focus on. In the gen z group, diversity is key and fashion brands need to adapt to diversity and accept that this is something that we look for as a customer. A brand in which has adapted well to diversity in the industry is good American. Good American, led by Emma Grede and Khole Kardashian, has a mission to have every woman seen and heard. This mission alone promotes a positive outlook to diversity and how they are working to produce this. ‘The brand has an annual nationwide casting call for diverse women to model in its seasonal ad campaigns and showcases a model in every size (00 to 24)’. This size range clearly shows how diversity is key, as they want to make sure that consumers of every size can shop from the brand. This defers to some brands such as brandy Melville, which is a very slim based brand. When you shop from a brand in which is diverse such as good American, it really appeals to the customer and makes you want to shop from this brand compared to competitors.
Generation Z (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Z (Accessed: November 10, 2022).
Panel®, E. (2022) Council post: 11 brands that successfully model diverse and inclusive advertising, Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2022/07/15/11-brands-that-successfully-model-diverse-and-inclusive-advertising/?sh=73c6fd3557b9 (Accessed: November 10, 2022).
Person (2022) How gen Z shapes sustainable luxury fashion through digital, Sustainability Magazine. Available at: https://sustainabilitymag.com/sustainability/how-gen-z-shapes-sustainable-luxury-fashion-through-digital (Accessed: November 10, 2022).