The final pillar to be explored is ‘purpose’, answering the question, ‘what would the world lose if your organisation disappeared?’. This is the question that brands must ask themselves to remain relevant in such a dynamic market.

Brand philosophy is hugely important, enabling a brand to have a USP relative to other brands, used as an incredibly strong branding tool. Therefore, brands begin to see loyal customers who are willing to repeat purchase and see value within a brand whose beliefs align with theirs. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of shoppers engaging in resale and purchasing second-hand clothing on sites such as Vinted. Vinted state on their website, ‘Vinted promotes reuse by helping you keep fashion and other items in circulation for longer, which is a key way to reduce the emissions produced by the fashion industry’ (Vinted, 2023). From this, we can gather that consumers are becoming increasingly politically and socially aware of the impacts of fast fashion. Therefore, to make progressive change, brands must place importance on their purpose whilst deeply understanding their consumer. 

Gen Z are commonly referred to as digital natives, explaining why most brands communicate their purpose digitally (McKinsey & Company, 2023). This may be through a page on their website clearly stating their mission, a sustainability report or through collaborations such as Nike x Billie Eilish AF1 Low, where leftover material from the artist’s previous collaboration with the brand was used (Nike, 2022). Nike have used star appeal but also stood by their claims on the ‘Impact’ page of the Nike website, clearly stating their commitments surrounding topics like diversity and responsible sourcing, ensuring their product portfolio aligns with brand values (McKinsey & Company, 2020) (Nike, 2023).

Influencer marketing is becoming an increasingly popular choice for brands wanting to attract Gen Z consumers since social media has become an integral part of Gen Z’s everyday lives, knowing that as of June 2023 in the UK, 94% of Gen Z were using social media (Statista, 2023). Gen Z favour relatability, explaining why Gen Z may be more inclined to engage in user- generated content, as well as the idea that they want to ‘breathe new life into what corporate responsibility looks like’ (McKinsey & Company, 2020) (Salukov, 2023). Gen Z are not hesitant to expose brands who are not acting according to their mission either. Therefore, brands should aim to be as authentic as possible when communicating with Gen Z, attempting to attract them as a customer through content fit for mobile consumption (Balis, 2023).

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