Sustainable Branding 101: Why Gen Zs are Inclined Towards It?
September 19, 2025 in Branding
A global survey has shown that 62% of Gen Z shoppers buy from sustainable brands, and it is evident how Gen Z utilises the power of social media to promote eco-friendly commercial ventures.
Hence, for businesses that are coming up, especially in the food, fashion and lifestyle industries, sustainable branding could be crucial.
Marketing your products should entail producing campaigns, taglines and slogans which clearly showcase the effort your brand takes to ensure that no amount of environment-threatening practices goes into your manufacturing.
Having grown up in an age when climate change and environmental problems are on an ever-rising scale, Gen Z customers would naturally resonate more with environmentally conscious brands.
Let us explore why Gen Z values sustainable marketing so much and how leading global brands have implemented it in their promotional campaigns.
What is Sustainable Branding, and why Gen Z customers bat for it
Sustainable marketing is the process by which a business promotes its social and environmental responsibility through its eco-conscious products.
Rather than just promoting green practices, creating a sustainable brand image is all about integrating a sustainable approach to business into every facet of the brand’s identity.
A professional branding agency can be crucial in achieving this, as the expert team of marketers and researchers within these agencies is well-versed in Gen Z shopping trends and preferences.
With their tech-savvy intelligence, social media awareness, and easy access to information thanks to the internet, Gen Z customers can be very challenging for brands to appeal to.
They need conscious, sustainable branding campaigns to ensure that the hyperaware generation resonates well with their brand’s identity and connects with its message. Here are some of the reasons why Gen Z bats so strongly in favour of sustainable branding:
- It can prevent environmental crises: When more and more brands adopt sustainable practices, it will be easier to battle environmental issues like global warming, climate change and manmade disasters in the long run. Gen Z shoppers are highly aware of the current environmental hazards and bent on making a secure future for the planet. When more and more businesses adopt sustainable marketing and sustainability as their core brand message, the mass movement towards environmental security can be realised.
- The impact of social responsibility: Adopting a sustainable brand image is also important for businesses as Gen Z is growing more and more aware and empathetic towards marginalised social sections. These young men and women abhor technological progress and mass corporatisation if it means robbing the marginalised of their livelihood. Backing small business owners and local artisans can be crucial for brands as part of their branding strategy, as this can protect the livelihood of those at the margins.
- Evidence of environmental efforts: Growing up amidst the fast-spreading information all over social media, visual evidence of sustainable efforts towards the environment is crucial for Gen Z to resonate with the brand. Businesses that invest in renewable energy, reduce waste emissions and commit to reducing carbon footprint are preferred more by Gen Z owing to the strong evidence of their eco-consciousness.
Sustainable Branding Examples Among Global Leaders
Now that you know all about Gen Z’s strong advocacy for sustainable marketing, let us explore four examples in which globally popular brands integrated sustainable branding into their campaigns –
- Nike: They have chosen eco-friendly materials like recycled polyester and organic cotton to minimise waste and conserve resources.
- Apple: The leading electronics brand has integrated innovative solar farms and wind turbines to ensure a clean and green future.
- Unilever: The brand has committed itself to achieving net-zero emissions by 2039 throughout its value chain, through the Unilever Climate Promise.
- Amazon: The platform aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 by promoting electric vehicles for deliveries.
Conclusion
A sustainable and environmentally aware framework has to be adopted by brands in creating their overall identity in order to successfully appeal to Gen Z shoppers.
These young consumers, with their social media-fuelled hyperawareness, are likely to resonate with brands that showcase an environmentally conscious stance towards business.
This is because they have grown up amidst pressing environmental degradation and are consciously leading the change towards a secure future for the planet by making the right purchase decisions.
FAQs
Quetion: How is sustainable marketing different?
Answer: Sustainable marketing is largely different from regular marketing. Unlike regular branding, which mainly focuses on features of products and price, sustainable branding creates eco-consciousness and integrates ethical values into brand identity.
Question: Why is a sustainable brand identity important to appeal to Gen Z?
Answer: The hyperawareness of Gen Z promoted by social media and internet access makes it important for brands to create an eco-conscious identity. Sustainable branding resonates more with Gen Z as they are associated with environmental movements and socially responsible ventures.
Question: Can sustainable marketing help businesses grow?
Answer: Yes, it tackles environmental issues while connecting with socially aware Gen Z. By cutting waste, supporting renewables, and helping local communities, brands stand out and build emotional bonds with young consumers who care about the planet.