As sustainability and conscious consumerism rises in today's age, we begin to ask ourselves how long will this eco-friendly trend be here? Is it temporary or here forever?
According to Lyst 2020 conscious fashion report, they found a 37% increase in ‘sustainability’ searches. Furthermore, over the past 3 months, searches for ‘up-cycled fashion’ have grown 42%.
The younger generations are becoming more educated on sustainability, especially with social media becoming more popular. Generation Z and millennials are becoming more environmentally conscious and businesses are responding by making more and more sustainable products.
Sustainability is established in every part of shopping these days- Traveling, makeup, clothes, food, accessories, and more. Operto created a consumer report about green hotels. They asked 169 travelers for their opinions on sustainable travel. They found that guests are willing to pay up to 75% more per night for a green hotel. They found eco-friendly hotels are here to stay as travelers are becoming more concerned with the hotels practices and priorities.
Second-hand shopping has also always been a thing. You see Goodwills and other second-hand stores all the time. However recently, second-hand shopping has even been created on apps like Depop. I, myself have been a frequent shopper on Depop and have noticed more and more people on the app. This is in agreement with an article by Business Insider; They found 90% of its users are under the age of 26 and the app has grown to have more than 13 million customers in 147 countries. Clothing, accessories, shoes, and more are sold on this app, as well as on similar apps such as Poshmark, StockX and Goat.
In general, climate change is worsening and consumers are becoming more aware and might have eco-anxiety, which results in them altering their values as consumers. It’s safe to say sustainable fashion and retail are here to stay. As we move into the future, hopefully even more and more people become educated on sustainability topics and change their habits. Businesses are going to need to adapt to these new trends as concern for the environment grows, so get ready to lead future generations into a world of sustainability!
