Millennials and Gen Z lead pledge to ditch fast fashion in 2019

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jan 8, 2019

A New Year’s Resolution Report conducted by fashion resale marketplace Thredup has found that one in four women is planning to quit fast fashion in 2019, a movement led predominantly by younger consumers.

 
Overall, of the more than 1,000 women surveyed by Thredup, 58% were resolving to be less wasteful this year, with 84% claiming that they plan to shop more sustainably and a further 42% saying that they will be reducing waste by shopping secondhand.
 
Gen-Z consumers (aged 18-21) were 25% more likely to be planning to live less wastefully than their older counterparts, and young consumers consistently showed more interest in engaging in more sustainable shopping habits.

Indeed, 40% of surveyed millennials said they were planning to stop supporting fast-fashion brands, compared to an overall average of 31%.
 
Furthermore, 50% of women aged 18-25 pledged to shop secondhand to be more sustainable, compared to an average of 43%, while 54% of Gen-Z survey respondents resolved to purchase higher-quality items that will last longer, compared to an average of 42%.

Among millennial and Gen-Z consumers, reducing consumption of fast fashion was the sixth most popular way to be more “eco” in 2019, coming in after eating less meat and using public transport or carpooling. Recycling, shopping secondhand and buying sustainable products were the top three eco pledges mentioned by these shoppers.

As promising as these figures are for a more sustainable future, the path towards fulfilling these pledges will not be without its obstacles.  High cost, in particular, was highlighted as one of the top three factors preventing those surveyed from living more sustainability last year – an issue already acknowledged by a LIM College study which found that millennial shoppers consistently prioritized price and convenience over a product’s eco-credentials.
 
The top two New Year’s Resolutions among those surveyed were to buy products that save money, mentioned by 57% of respondents, and to buy products that do good (45%), an intersection of economic and ecological concerns which Thredup sees as an unmissable opportunity for brands offering “accessible sustainability” in 2019.