Do it for me.

 

A while back Home Depot expanded into New York City.  Their motto at the time was "You Can Do It.  We Can Help."  But they quickly learned that New Yorkers' motto was "You Can Do It. We Can Pay."  Home Depot didn't mind when they realized that New Yorkers are big spenders.  They adjusted their services to take advantage of the opportunity and now include design and contractor services in their portfolio. 

Gen Z and Millennials talk about climate change on social media more than Gen X and Boomers.  67% of Gen Z talked about the need for action on climate change 1-2 times in the past few weeks, as did 61% of Millennials.  (Tyson, Kennedy & Funk, 2021)

Yet, Baby Boomers are the group most likely to recycle, with 57% finding no barriers to doing so, while 73% of Gen Z has plenty of excuses not to.

(Gilsenan, 2021)

Baby Boomers are also the generation most likely to have boycotted a company in the past 12 months. (Duffy, 2021)

How do you account for this disconnect between Gen Z's/Millennials words and actions?

Can we persuade Gen Z and Millennials to step up and take personal responsibility for the damage they do to the environment?  If so, how? 

Would applying Cialdini's persuasion techniques help?  If so, which ones?  And how would you use them?

 

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 November 2, 2021 from  https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/05/26/gen-z-millennials-stand-out-for-climate-change-activism-social-media-engagement-with-issue/

Gilsenan, K. (2021, February 23)  Sustainability in 2021: business as usual isn't an option.  gwi.com.  Retrieved November 2, 2021, from  https://blog.gwi.com/chart-of-the-week/sustainability-necessity-2021/

Duffy, B. (2021, October 22)  The Bunk of Generational Talk.  wsj.com  Retrieved November 2, 2021, from  https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-bunk-of-generational-talk-11634914564

 

 

Why are people still buying fast fashion?

 

A Huff Post columnist - Jen Craven - challenged herself to go 365 days without buying any clothing or accessories

 

She found the experience challenging, but noted that she realized she tended to wear the same items over and over again while ignoring many of the others that she owned.  She also mentioned that she now has a new attitude about buying clothes and realized that "it's not the things in life that make you happy."  (Craven, 2021)

 

Hmm.  Where have we heard that before?

 

She also acknowledged that wearing fast fashion is inconsistent with her values as it both destroys the environment and exploits workers.

More than 60 percent of fabric fibers are now synthetics, derived from fossil fuels, so if and when our clothing ends up in a landfill (about 85 percent of textile waste in the United States goes to landfills or is incinerated), it will not decay. (Schlossberg, 2019) 

Stories about sweatshops in Vietnam and Bangladesh - where 1,134 workers died and 2,500 were injured in a building collapse in 2013, continue to pop up from time to time.  But the problem is actually closer to home too.  A federal Labor Department investigation in 2019 of Nova Fashion in Los Angeles, showed that workers were being paid as little as $2.77 and hour. (Kitroeff, 2019)

 

So when 82% of Millennials say that they "are concerned about the environment."  What does that really mean?

 

Ms. Craven ended her column by saying that not only is she going to buy fewer clothes from now on, but she is also going to check out local resale shops and online vendors like Poshmark and TheRealReal.

 

Good for her.  But what about the Instagram influencers who are stoking the fast fashion market?  Cardi B, Amber Rose and Janet Guzman are still selling Nova Fashion's clothes.

 

Why do you think people say they care about the environment but still buy fast fashion?  Why do people say they care about exploited workers and still buy fast fashion?  Why do people say they care about pollution and still buy fast fashion?  What will it take to get consumers to reject fast fashion? 

 

Do you buy clothes that last?  Do you buy resold clothes?  Will you now?

 

 

 

 

Craven, J. (2021, October 10)  I Went A Year Without Shopping For Clothes. Here's What I Learned.  huffpost.com.  Retrieved October 26, 2021, from  https://www.huffpost.com/entry/no-shopping-for-a-year-challenge_n_617088bfe4b0657357366ef7

Schlossberg, T. (2019, September 3)  How Fast Fashion Is Destroying The Planet.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved October 26, 2021, from  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/books/review/how-fast-fashion-is-destroying-the-planet.html

 

Kitroeff, N. (2019, December 16)  Fashion Nova's Secret: Underpaid Workers in Los Angeles Factories.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved October 26, 2021, from  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/business/fashion-nova-underpaid-workers.html?curator=FashionREDEF