Picture this: A teenager stares at their phone, paralyzed by headline after headline about the climate crisis, political dysfunction, and societal division. They want to act but feel overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the problem. This scene plays out millions of times daily, and it represents a critical challenge for brands: 80% of Gen Z globally report being personally affected by climate change, yet their engagement with sustainable solutions is declining. Looking to the future, many young people are asking, “What’s the point?”
Instead of feeling empowered to act, young people are becoming paralyzed by anxiety, overwhelmed by complexity, disillusioned by a lack of leadership, and increasingly disconnected from the very solutions they seek. This isn’t just anecdotal. It’s a pattern we’re seeing globally, and it challenges everything we thought we knew about young consumers and sustainability.
The Aspirational Paradox
In 2015, we identified the rise of the “Aspirational Consumer”—a youthful, values-driven segment hungry for brands that unite performance, purpose, and new possibilities for the role of business in society. A decade later, many of these Aspirationals are now parents and remain the most committed to sustainable living. In fact, our latest research of over 30,000 consumers across 31 markets shows that they’re significantly more likely to engage in sustainable purchasing behaviors across categories.
But something has shifted with the next generation. Despite feeling the most impacted by climate change and expressing the highest levels of environmental concern, young people today are becoming increasingly disengaged. Around the world, Gen Z is significantly more likely than baby boomers and older to say they’ve been “greatly affected” by climate change (49% versus 38%, respectively), yet their engagement with sustainable behaviors is declining. The number of Gen Z globally who feel “indifferent” about sustainability has increased from 22% to 31% since 2021, while “enthusiasts” have dropped from 30% to 21%.
This isn’t because they don’t care. If anything, they care too much. Consider this: 38% of Gen Z globally say they feel stressed or anxious “all” or “most of the time”—a full 21 points higher than baby boomers+ (which encompasses baby boomers and everyone older than them). American youth are also more stressed than their global peers (44% versus 38%, respectively). We’re witnessing what happens when awareness meets overwhelm. The generation with the most at stake in a sustainable future is feeling a real lack of agency to shape it.
The Hidden Opportunity
Without visible leadership or meaningful opportunities to act, young people are losing faith in the commitment of business and brands to deliver a sustainable future.
But here’s where it gets interesting: While a whopping 77% of Gen Z in the USA currently falls into “inactive” and “indifferent” segments, two-thirds of those who didn’t buy sustainable products in the last month say they would have done so if they could have. The desire for better choices exists, but barriers—like price, knowledge, and availability—block the path between intention and action.
This represents both a crisis and an opportunity. For brands committed to remaining relevant to the next generation while building resilience for a world in flux, this moment demands a fundamental shift in how we approach sustainability.
How to Win Back Gen Z
Drawing on decades of research in psychology and social science, we’ve identified five core principles that transform sustainability from obligation into opportunity. Each principle bridges the gap between intention and impact, helping brands move from incremental progress to transformative change.
1. Lead with Truth
David Bowie was right then, and it’s still true today: Young people are “quite aware of what they’re going through.” Sixty percent of Gen Z in the USA feel “extremely worried about current and future harm to the environment caused by human activity and climate change.”
Yet, when brands face challenges with radical honesty, they earn respect. According to Marsha Linehan, the creator of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, acknowledging difficulties actually increases optimism and supports resilience. Being honest about challenges helps build trust while illuminating pathways forward.
Companies like Tony’s Chocolonely are confronting harsh realities like labor exploitation in their industries by making their supply chains traceable and transparent. Oatly’s provocative messaging—like their “F*ck Oatly” online archive of criticisms—acknowledges difficulties while maintaining optimism. Rapanui helps customers see the exact journey of their clothes. And Seventh Generation is honoring the origins of their name and repairing relationships with Indigenous communities by redesigning their corporate foundation to champion community-led philanthropy focused on Indigenous sovereignty, climate justice, and environmental protection.
When brands are honest about challenges while offering solutions, they build credibility.
2. Make Power Personal
Our beliefs about our own capabilities directly shape our actions. Psychologist Albert Bandura proved that this sense of self-efficacy is the foundation of human agency; when we believe we can meaningfully affect our circumstances, we’re more likely to act.
But there’s a crisis of agency among young people: 42% of those aged 18–24 globally say they feel “individually powerless to do much to save the environment.” We can help transform climate anxiety into creative agency by showing how small actions can spark immediate impact. When consumers feel powerful, they’re more likely to transform challenges into choices, repeat sustainable behaviors, and share brands with others.
Companies like Sojo are empowering consumers to help their clothes last longer by making garment repair as convenient as food delivery with on-demand repair and tailoring services. The Ordinary is democratizing high-quality skincare by stripping away the frills to ensure quality products are affordable. Beautycounter’s “The Never List” turns complex chemistry into clear decisions by providing consumers a list of potentially harmful ingredients that are never in their formulations. And brands like Bower and Trashie make recycling clothing and other everyday items easy and rewarding by providing simple take-back systems paired with incentives from partner brands and charities.
By removing practical barriers—be it price, availability, ambiguity, or simply inconvenience—while building psychological confidence, brands can help people move from feeling overwhelmed to feeling capable.
3. Create Connection Loops
When anxiety gets in the way of individual action, community creates momentum. Our research reveals a powerful pattern: Young people gravitate toward sustainable behaviors that create connection. In the U.S., Gen Z is significantly more likely than older generations to embrace collective consumption models.
This isn’t just about reducing waste—it’s about building new relationships between people, products, and the planet. When sustainability becomes social, anxiety transforms into shared purpose.
Consider Notpla, whose seaweed-based packaging alternatives aren’t just eliminating plastic—they’re bringing nature-based packaging into large-scale cultural events to promote learning and evangelism. Ireland’s peer-to-peer clothes-swapping platform Nuw builds local sharing communities by hosting hybrid digital and in-person events. And Back Market celebrates peer relationships and repair culture as the global marketplace for reborn tech.
These brands understand that lasting change happens in community with others. By creating connection loops, they’re helping transform individual eco-anxiety into collective creativity—and making sustainable living less about sacrifice and more about belonging to something bigger than ourselves.
4. Invite Joy
When sustainability connects to fundamental human needs for joy, growth, and vitality, it becomes self-sustaining, especially in difficult times.
For psychologist Martin Seligman, the experience of human flourishing requires more than just removing negatives—it demands positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. When we focus the benefits of sustainability solely on reducing harm, we miss the opportunity to support genuine well-being.
Our research confirms this insight: More than 75% of Gen Z globally views both healthy and sustainable lifestyles as “enjoying the good things in life” rather than sacrifice. For them, sustainability isn’t about having less—it’s about living more fully.
Consider Pangaia, a collective of scientists, technologists, and designers using bio-based materials and bright colors for sustainable fashion that feels fresh, smart, and stylish rather than austere. NotCo uses AI to create plant-based alternatives that replicate the flavor and texture of animal products in favorites like mac and cheese, hot dogs, and ice cream. And Who Gives A Crap transforms everyday paper products into playful, design-forward objects of joy while supporting global sanitation efforts.
When sustainability contributes to all dimensions of well-being, it shifts from sacrifice to a source of joy and gives brands new opportunities to increase relevance, differentiation, and loyalty.
5. Weave New Stories
“The stories we tell about ourselves and the world become the lenses through which we see reality,” notes the philosopher Charles Eisenstein. And when 77% of Gen Z in the U.S. feels disconnected from current sustainability messaging, we need new narratives that reconnect and reengage.
And it is possible: Our data show that despite the challenges young people face every day, they are significantly more optimistic about the future than their elders. Gen Z in the USA is much more likely than baby boomers+ to believe that in 10 years, most people will be driving electric cars (51% versus 21%, respectively), buying secondhand (51% versus 20%), renting items instead of owning them (43% versus 19%), and living waste-free (40% versus 15%).
This is a powerful moment to help young people write a new chapter and to tell stories that help make sense of today while showing what’s possible tomorrow.
Vestiaire Collective understands this, making secondhand fashion feel aspirational and luxurious while building community around preloved style in their peer-to-peer, vintage and designer marketplace. Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty is destigmatizing mental illness and fostering conversations around hope and agency. And Too Good To Go reimagines food waste as an opportunity for daily adventure through deliveries of “surprise bags” from local cafes, bakeries, or restaurants. These brands aren’t just selling products—they’re helping people see their role in a better story, one that unites individual well-being with collective flourishing.
By reflecting consumers’ realities and amplifying their aspirations, brands can weave new stories that shape our identities, build our communities, and shift culture for a more sustainable future.
The Next Frontier: From Insight to Action
The opportunity is clear but challenging. By designing products, services, and experiences that inspire confidence and build momentum toward better living, brands can help transform sustainability from a source of anxiety into a path toward agency, creativity, and joy.
This isn’t just about selling more stuff. It’s about helping people express their values, connect with others, and participate in positive change. It’s about making sustainable choices more affordable, accessible, and rewarding so they feel less like sacrifice and more like possibility. The data show that young people are ready for this shift. They just need the truth, better tools, and a like-minded community to create it.
“Young people’s eco-anxiety deserves a sacred space for mourning and fury, rather than dismissing their feelings as weakness or offering empty reassurances that everything will be fine,” says Ariana Gomez, the founder and CEO of Technology for Impact. “Their deep care about the climate crisis is a powerful fuel for building a better future—yet they can only access this potential when we honor their emotions and support them through the process.”
The time for incremental progress has passed. The next generation is calling for deeper transformation. Brands that can make sustainable living feel both honest and hopeful, aspirational and accessible, and unite individual well-being with collective flourishing will define the future of consumption—and help design a future with more joy and thriving.
This is about more than market share or brand relevance. It’s about helping an entire generation move from anxiety to agency, from paralysis to purpose, from being overwhelmed to taking action. The tools exist. The demand is clear. The only question is: Who will have the empathy and creativity to lead?