Anushka Kapoor

‘People’ is one of the four pillars of sustainability discussed at LCF which heavily impacts, drives and cultivates the fashion industry. They are the focus of every organisation and are a pillar that has the power to influence change within the industry. ‘People’ is also referenced in context to inclusion, representation and diversity, from catwalks and advertisements to an organisation’s workforce. These are complex and interconnected issues that brands are starting to pay more attention to, arguably due to the demands of their new consumers aged 6 to 26- Generation Z. Through research by Microsoft Advertising, 76 per cent of Gen Z consumers are more likely to support brands that are authentic in their advertising and 49 per cent have stopped purchasing from a brand that did not represent their values (2020). It can be concluded that Gen Z places transparency from brands in very high regard and sees it as a critical element in building trust and loyalty with a brand. 

Brands must reflect this in their practices and advertising to attract Gen Z and generate purchase intent. Not just through inclusivity and representation, but also through more sustainable and ethical supply chains. Figure 1 shows the importance to Gen Z and Millennials of how sustainable and ethical a fashion brand appears it is. As seen, 57.7 per cent see it as fairly or very important (Drapers, 2022) “Companies should be attuned to three implications for this generation: consumption as access rather than possession, consumption as an expression of individual identity, and consumption as a matter of ethical concern” (Francis and Hoefel, 2018). 

Girlfriend Collective is a slow-fashion athletic and loungewear brand that is focused on being ethically sustainable and conscious about size inclusivity. They are also diverse in their ad campaigns (Figure 2) and give importance to transparency.

Girlfriend Collective offer a size range from XXS-6XL and uses recycled water bottles to create their products. They also urge their customers to upcycle any garments they have purchased to implement circularity in their production. All of these characteristics reflect Gen Z’s values as customers and thus, Girlfriend Collective has gained success through its popularity on social media, Gen Z’s go-to platform for shopping as stated by The Influencer Marketing Factory, “97% of Gen Z consumers use social media as their top source of shopping inspiration.” (2021). They are an excellent example of a brand that has responded to the diversity of Gen Z and their need for transparency in a world of brands using green-washing and diversity-washing as their selling point.

References:

Francis and Hoefel, 2018- ​​‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its implication for companies

https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Consumer%20Packaged%20Goods/Our%20Insights/True%20Gen%20Generation%20Z%20and%20its%20implications%20for%20companies/Generation-Z-and-its-implication-for-companies.pdf

Microsoft Advertising 2020- The Psychology of Inclusion and the Effects in Advertising: Gen Z

https://advertiseonbing-blob.azureedge.net/blob/bingads/media/insight/whitepapers/2020/07-july/inclusive-marketing/microsoft-advertising-whitepaper-the-psychology-of-inclusion-and-the-effects-in-advertising-gen-z-final.pdf?s_cid=en-us-gct-web-src_contributor-sub_oth-cam_hubspot

Drapers 2022- Gen Z and Millenials 

Gen Z and Millennials 2022

Girlfriend Collective

https://girlfriend.com/

The Influencer Marketing Factory, 2021- Status of Social Commerce report 

https://theinfluencermarketingfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/social-commerce-report.pdf