Sustainability is fast becoming one of the common values in societies across the world, where people are growingly conscious of their consumption of products, their association with brands and how it affects the future of planet. The last year saw the wake of movements such as #Blacklivesmatter and #Endsars where the younger generation were protesting the systemic discriminatory treatments by authorities for being who they are. These movements initiated in certain countries were shared and supported around the world, indicating a common ground amongst the global society. Lifestyle brands, whose primary benefit is social values towards the need for self-actualization, guided by these shared ideals of this younger generation, are adopting sustainability activities to meet this need with their product offerings. This development is witnessed by the recent rise in sustainable product renovations by established lifestyle brands and the introduction of new sustainable lifestyle brands, which are successfully targeting these young consumers.
This study looked to see how important these values of the younger generation, particularly the ‘conscious’ generation Z, whom studies have shown have a bleeding heart for the people and planet, seeking equality for all and a greener future. This research sought to understand the growing commitments of businesses to SDGs, by exploring the effects of their sustainable brand activities on loyalty from this generation.
