People Blog Post
In his book, The Wealth of Nations (1776), Adam Smith believed “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” This instantly suggests people desire to act in their own self interest always and only, but to what extent currently is this to be held true?
The word ‘people’, correlates and connects to many industries, for both producers and consumers, and the current problems of the world such as fighting gender pay gap, labour working conditions and old deep rooted stereotypes. Recent Nobel Prize winner Claudia Goldwin has demonstrated this in her research into the constraints women have to face economically when working. This links to consumers in the fashion industry, in particular Gen Z due to their collective values and transparent attitude when buying products from the start to the end of the supply chain.
In McKinsey’s ‘True Gen’article (2018), it said that “the search for truth is at the root of all Generation Z’s behaviour” (Figure 2). This generation of people are now bothered about collective communication rather than sticking to one rule book and a general interest into the inner workings of brands or companies they may be interested in.
So, being transparent, pure and inclusive is now at the core for any gen z consumer in the fashion industry when it comes to companies and brands throughout the whole supply chain. Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty, uses models of all different sizes to advertise her garments. This response to diversity has allowed her to be very successful, and has appealed to many of the gen z consumers of today. Being inclusive to all is a key skill to be successful in such an industry. For example “Over 60 percent of people report that they can’t find clothes that fit” (Hethorn,2021) if this is the case for consumers, brands are ignoring a key aspect to success and losing competition.
Not only this, Gen Z are quick to form opinions, using social media to research their ethics (Francis, T., & Hoefel F., 2018). This shows their eagerness to know the brand’s true values and intentions. The power of social media increases each day, if brands can’t accommodate consumers desires, it can be detrimental to the health of the brand.
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REFERENCES:
Generation Z characteristics and its implications for companies | McKinsey. (n.d.). Retrieved 15 October 2023, from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies
Hethorn, J., & Ulasewicz, C. (Eds.). (2015). Sustainable fashion what’s next? : A conversation about issues, practices and possibilities (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing Inc. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781501312250
Hutchison, T. (1976). Adam smith and the wealth of nations. The Journal of Law & Economics, 19(3), 507–528. https://www.jstor.org/stable/725079
IMAGE REFERENCES:
Figure 1: The Search for Truth (2018). Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies