Surveys say Gen Z cares about the environment more than other generations. According to a 2021 study from Pew Research, 67% say "Climate should be top priority to ensure sustainable planet for future generations." The percentage drops to 37% for "addressing climate change is my top personal concern." And only 32% said they "have personally taken action to help address climate change within the last year." (Tyson, Kennedy & Funk, 2021)
Could it be that Gen Z is all for others addressing climate change, but is unwilling to make personal sacrifices?
Unfortunately, talking about climate change on social media - which 67% of Gen Z does, is not going to save the environment. Only actions will do that.
A new study from the Stand.Earth has linked deforestation of the Amazon rainforest with consumption of leather goods. While they admit to difficulty in collecting data, they were able to establish that Brazilian leather accounts for 41% of China's imports and 36% of Italy's.
Many fashion companies claim that leather is a by-product of the meat industry and therefore they are not to blame for forest clearance. But leather from Brazilian slaughterhouses brought in $1.1 billion in 2021.
If 67% of Gen Z care about the environment, why are only 32% taking personal action? Is there a way to turn their words into deeds?
Would telling people about the link between Amazon deforestation and leather goods persuade them to give up leather shoes, handbags and car interiors? What other messages might be successful in motivating people to act more responsibly?
What
actions are you taking to help save the environment? Are you willing to make sacrifices for the
cause? What messages would motivate you?
Tyson, A., Kennedy, B., & Funk, C. (2021, May 26) Gen Z, Millennials Stand Out for Climate Change Activism, Social Media Engagement With Issue. pewresearch.org. Retrieved February 8, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/05/26/gen-z-millennials-stand-out-for-climate-change-activism-social-media-engagement-with-issue/
Bauck, W. (2022, February 7) Did Your Handbag Help Destroy the Rainforest? nytimes.com. Retrieved February 8, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/style/lvmh-nike-prada-amazon-deforestation.html
6 comments:
Shohei Ishikawa
It is famous that GenZ is more conscious about the environment/climate change than any other generation, like millennials. I believe that it is really amazing to hear how GenZ cares about the climate. However, the blog says that only 32% take personal action for climate change. Only 32% out of 67% make the actions because they pretend to care, but they do not care about the climate if their own lifestyle has to change. They like the title of "caring for the environment," but they stop caring if they can't buy a leather bag.
I believe that the easiest way to turn their words into deeds is for companies to help GenZ take action. For example, if you buy two shoes, the company will donate whatever an organization is to help stop deforestation.
In addition, I believe that it is hard to change people's preferences. We cannot make them stop buying leather goods because they see others using leather and purchasing them again. People are not willing to give up/sacrifice their lifestyle over the environment they do not physically live in. I believe that we cannot change their preferences, but we can make them follow the trend on Social media. For example, we can make some videos/challenges, which challenge them not to use leather goods, and look good. At last, our words hardly can change GenZ/people's preferences and minds. People usually assume that "someone will do it even if I do not do it." The only words that could turn into actions are honest, thoughtful messages, like "the world needs your help."
To sum up, I personally do not take many actions to help the environment/ stop the Amazon deforestation. I am willing to do so if there is a chance to help the environment through my goods purchase. However, I always rely on retailers and do not take any personal actions. Therefore, I am not willing to sacrifice my lifestyle to help the environment until I hear that my lifestyle will be affected if I do not take action. The messages that we have today, such as, "In 2035, ...." I do not feel that these messages are real because it is very far from today. I acknowledge that we do not take action now, it could go worse, but I am not willing to help the environment much. Therefore, I want these messages to be more realistic and recent that I can take action now and see the effects of my actions as soon as I do.
Hello Professor
Various actions can contribute to global climate change. Environment is changing drastically as a result of climate change. Several diverse changes can occur on Earth as the temperature rises. Increased storms, famine, or flash flooding, for example, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves, are all possible outcomes. Oceans and glaciers have also changed: they have warmed and become more acidic, ice have melted, and ocean levels have risen. Such trends are expected pose challenges to our society and environment as they recur in the coming decades. The environment has gotten so bad that people are finally paying attention.
On social media and online I do see Gen z talking about climate change and how it’s affecting our environment. A lot of my friends buy clothes or items that are environment friendly or products that won’t add on to climate issues. I do agree with your statement about “talking about climate change on social media - which 67% of Gen Z does, is not going to save the environment. Only actions will do that.” I think it has become a trend to talk about Climate change on social media. I will admit I would post Instagram reels about climate issues but never really do anything about. I do agree with Shohei Ishikawa about I will not give up my lifestyle to assist the environment unless I am informed that my lifestyle would be impacted if I do not act. I haven’t really taken big actions to help save the environment and I didn’t even know the links between Amazon deforestation and leather goods. Leather brands should find ways to use different types of items to make leather. Also to raise awareness about how leathers goods can be a big issues because Gen z claim they care about the environment, but they don’t.
Best,
Aziza Temirova
I think only 32% of Gen Z are taking personal action because they are a generation that has grown up with social media and the internet. So they believe what they are doing is taking personal action. When, in actuality, they are just feeding to an echo chamber. I don't think they understand that the internet is not a real place, and no meaningful change can be made by screaming into the void. what they must do is engage with people and brand “IRL” as the kids like to say. The only thing brands understand is profit, and for change to happen, they need to put their money where their mouths are. So spending their money on eco-friendly companies would be the first step. I'm not saying not to wear leather, but instead of getting new leather to buy a vintage piece or advocating for brands to recycle leather, so less needs to be produced.
I don’t think telling people about the link between leather and deforestation will change spending habits. It is difficult to change people's minds without showing them how their lives will be directly impacted. The idea of climate change is so abstract that people have trouble comprehending what that means and how it will affect them in their day-to-day lives. It needs to be more tangible. I’m not quite sure what the solution would look like because different types of stimuli influence people in various ways.
One action I have been doing for about 20 years to help the environment is using a bicycle as transportation. I'm sure there is more that I can and should be doing, but as Shohei said, it is hard to get people to change preferences. But for now, I'm doing the best I can do, or at least willing to do.
Climate change continues to be a controversial topic, even among Gen Z's whom seem to care more about the environment that any other generation. One of the issues with climate change is that different people, from different places in our country and our world have a different understanding of its meaning. Although my peers hold an interesting perspective based on the idea that if something is not affecting their lives then it is not a priority for action, the problem is that climate change is in fact affecting our world and will, therefore, have a very real affect in our lives. But may we attribute some of this the lack of action to a lack of knowledge and may we not place so much pressure on a generation that has been placed in a deteriorating environment without any say in the matter. Similarly to Aziza, I did not know the direct link between leather and the Amazon, and therefore, did not know how my decisions towards leather purchase would directly affect the Amazon. I conclude that to increase the action taken towards climate change, a more transparent and circulated information medium must be developed and mainstreamed. Once it has been mainstreamed to popularity, the rate of action will increase. Even if the actions don't affect our immediate environment, it would be done as long as its deemed "popular".
Although a large percentage of Gen Z cares about the environment, and some do act in the form of protests or other actions, they still neglect to give up some of their environmentally harmful luxuries or lifestyle choices, such as wearing leather and other animal skin or consuming meat. While we have discussed and seen that fear is typically the cause for action or inaction in most areas of life, fear does not seem to generate a push for action surrounding the subject of climate change or the current sixth mass extinction. Nowadays, most people tune out fear-provoking headlines and subject matters. I believe that a lot of the media over the past two years surrounding COVID-19 and pandemic fears has only exacerbated this habit of people to avert their eyes to daunting subject matters, and thereby, controversial topics. Unfortunately, I think an effective way to turn Gen Z’s words into deeds would be to make inaction “cancellable.” Gen Z and even Millennials or many people in general today are more afraid to “get cancelled” by others than anything else. Just like many cosmetic and fashion companies get cancelled or torn down for not being cruelty-free, it seems as though we can only make positive environmental change by stressing that committing or indulging in certain acts against environmental sustainability will result in a negative image of oneself. That is the sad truth today.
However, what truly and genuinely motivates me is the fear of harming our planet and endangering ourselves. I, personally, am someone who has always been fearful of losing many of our resources and animals, and thus, endangering our only home as humans. As of the past two to three years or so, I have tried to make consistent efforts to recycle and eliminate waste properly. I used to think that my own individual actions couldn’t make a difference but that changed once I became more afraid of the recent effects on our environment. Since then, I have also tried to reduce my use of plastic, been more conscious than ever of pollution and properly discarding of my trash in public as well, have been consuming less meat, and my present efforts entail me trying to move away from fast fashion. On top of this, I have been educating myself on climate change and ways to help preserve our environment. As I mentioned, I genuinely believe measures of fear- and awareness-provoking visuals would motivate me to work harder at my own environmental sustainability efforts. For example, in Union Square, there is a large countdown clock, dubbed the “Climate Clock” counting down the time to when the detrimental effects of climate change will become irreversible. Hearing about this and then seeing it for myself struck a chord with me and motivated to do my part even more. More widespread measures such as this will continue to have a great effect on me. Also, more large-scale changes on the parts of corporations not only need to happen, but I believe they would motivate everyone.
- Nomi Q.
I don't think GenZ will give up leather to save the Amazon, because they don't associate it with climate change or the destruction of the Amazon. It would take a major campaign with influencers highlighting the connection and basically pledging to also give up leather. Its a tough correlation to make and given that GenZ's short memory and flighty commitments to parts of supporting climate change, I find it hard to believe that they would change. I find the group to be very segmented in their approach, its one item at a time , and its mostly talk not honest work to change. Simple things as recycling they buy the reusable bottles, but forget to use them , or constantly buy cuter bigger fancier ones, which in actuality does not solve the problem. The to really create change, Genz needs something traumatic like the straw in the turtles nose - to quit using straws. It has to be something really relatable to make the switch and I don't think they would believe removing leather from their life style will be enough to save the rainforest.
Thanks,
Natasha
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