PEOPLE

The people pillar accentuates the significance of customers, colleagues, and other businesses. It explores ethical labor practices, featuring fair wages and humane working conditions, along with adhering to customer requirements. This pillar supports the substantial increase in diversity and inclusion amongst the fashion industry, promoting equal opportunities for people of all backgrounds. Numerous brands implement these concepts, aiming to target a diverse demographic, with their focus currently on Gen Z.

Gen Z, born between 1995 and 2010, constitutes a demographic that has had extensive exposure to the internet and social media, leading to a significant dependency on these platforms in their daily routines. This is evident in their shopping habits, dating preferences, and online connections, making a large portion of this generation trend-oriented, especially with the widely popular social media app TikTok. Their loyalties appear to lie with ethical brands, emphasised by their desire to address conflicts and improve the world, along with valuing individualistic expressions which can be seen through distinctive clothing choices, intending to stand out rather than conforming.

To appeal to Gen Z, businesses are likely to market their products through TikTok and Instagram, where they’re more prone to buying goods due to the ease in accessibility along with exposure, as they comprise of TikTok’s 60% of users out of the 1 billion. Gen Z also value brands that incorporate sustainable practices, along with those that are known to advocate inclusivity. They are highly unlikely to support brands that endorse discrimination such as racism or homophobia, as communicated in figure 1.

This may lead to brands being open and truthful about their values, as seen with Dove, a company that has implemented tangible measures to promote inclusivity in beauty for women of all backgrounds, through delineating women as they are with zero digital distortion, along with including different ages, sizes, ethnicities, hair colour, type, and style, reflecting the population’s diversity. This message was conveyed through TV commercials, magazine features, talk shows, and an online global conversation. For more than 15 years, the Dove Self-Esteem Project has provided body confidence and self-esteem education to over 60 million young individuals, establishing itself as the largest provider of such education, via collaboration with recognized specialists in body image and leading universities to create education tools grounded in evidence.

For brands to thrive within the industry, key people skills such as active listening, strong communication, and integrity are a small selection required. Active listening involves understanding a colleagues or consumers wants and needs to effectively problem solve, accompanied with clear communication to deliver fulfilling results.

REFERENCES

Celebre, A. and Waggoner Denton, A. (2014). The good, the bad, and the ugly of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty | Magazine issue 2/2014 – Issue 19 | In-Mind. [online] In-mind.org. Available at: https://www.in-mind.org/article/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-the-dove-campaign-for-real-beauty.

Dove (2018). The ‘Dove Real Beauty Pledge’. [online] Dove UK. Available at: https://www.dove.com/uk/stories/about-dove/dove-real-beauty-pledge.html.

‌McKinsey (2023). What is Gen Z? | McKinsey. [online] www.mckinsey.com. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-gen-z.

Smith, J. (n.d.). The 20 People Skills You Need To Succeed At Work. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/11/15/the-20-people-skills-you-need-to-succeed-at-work/?sh=11792cac3216 [Accessed 18 Oct. 2023].

Wood, S. (2013). Generation Z as Consumers: Trends and Innovation. [online] Available at: https://archive.iei.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/GenZConsumers.pdf.

www.mckinsey.com. (n.d.). Generation Z characteristics and its implications for companies | McKinsey. [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies#/.