Hello Audience, my name is Megan Hoskins, and I am a Fashion and Retail Studies major. I am taking this class to better communicate my arguments against the harmful practices of the fast fashion industry.
Today I wanted to take a deeper analysis of the differences in beliefs of the environment throughout different generations. I will reference a story I mentioned in my Writing for Sustainability class discussions, that deals with my experience working in retail and fast fashion. The company I was working for began charging customers for paper bags instead of making them complimentary. The reactions were most neutral with Gen Z, they understood the amount of waste these bags annually produce and knew there was a way they could make an impact on this. Many of them replied, “Oh no thank you!” When asked if they wanted to purchase a bag and continue to carry their new top in the tote bag they had with them or in another bag from a different store.
I had a different experience with an older woman who when asked if she would like to purchase a bag for $0.10. She said “You are charging for bags now? As if you guys do not make enough money from your clothing?” My customer service response was “Yes! It is a part of our new sustainability efforts throughout the brand.” She looks at me slightly puzzled and asks “What is sustainability?” My coworker had to handle the rest of the conversation with the customer as I was completely puzzled… A woman twice my age had just asked me what sustainability was.
In Writing for Sustainability, the first week of classes we were assigned a reading titled “The Formation of Environmental Beliefs” by Julia B. Corbett. Upon remembering this scenario that happened to me it brought me to the question “How differently do generations vary in their beliefs of protecting and preserving the environment?” Believing in the importance of the environment does not credit you as someone actively protecting it. While many Boomers and older generations “believe” they are environmentally mindful, they are not actively making a difference the way that Gen Z. An article from Forbes describes this idea by quoting Yossi Sheffi “Although several surveys show that most consumers say they want sustainable products, sales data show that only a small percentage are willing to pay more to buy sustainable products.” This is an idea that Gen Z has spent much of their lives living through, protecting the environment is going to be an investment, as is everything else in today’s economy.
While perspective is one thing, behavior is another. Gen Z is known to be able to recognize an issue with climate control and want to take more personal actions toward fixing the issue, whereas Boomers will recognize the problem but are not as likely to vote for proposals on things such as reducing or eliminating fossil fuels. Many things affect the beliefs of different generations from political beliefs and social media exposure. We see younger generations becoming more environmentally conscious with liberal perspectives on the future of the climate. Older generations are more conservative when it comes to investing in potentially beneficial proposals. Gen Z is more commonly expressing their emotions and fears about the news of climate change on social media, creating different fears and anxieties within the generation. Seeing that environmental beliefs are more than just a learned behavior; it is interesting to see the different dynamics among the generations. Do you also notice this division? Or do you see equal opinions within generations about climate change and sustainability efforts?