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Picture this: A teenager stares at their phone, paralyzed by headline after headline about the climate crisis, political dysfunction, and societal division. They want to act but feel overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the problem. This scene plays out millions of times daily, and it represents a critical challenge for brands: 80% of Gen Z globally report being personally affected by climate change, yet their engagement with sustainable solutions is declining. Looking to the future, many young people are asking, Whats the point? Instead of feeling empowered to act, young people are becoming paralyzed by anxiety, overwhelmed by complexity, disillusioned by a lack of leadership, and increasingly disconnected from the very solutions they seek. This isn’t just anecdotal. It’s a pattern we’re seeing globally, and it challenges everything we thought we knew about young consumers and sustainability. The Aspirational Paradox In 2015, we identified the rise of the Aspirational Consumera youthful, values-driven segment hungry for brands that unite performance, purpose, and new possibilities for the role of business in society. A decade later, many of these Aspirationals are now parents and remain the most committed to sustainable living. In fact, our latest research of over 30,000 consumers across 31 markets shows that they’re significantly more likely to engage in sustainable purchasing behaviors across categories. But something has shifted with the next generation. Despite feeling the most impacted by climate change and expressing the highest levels of environmental concern, young people today are becoming increasingly disengaged. Around the world, Gen Z is significantly more likely than baby boomers and older to say they’ve been greatly affected by climate change (49% versus 38%, respectively), yet their engagement with sustainable behaviors is declining. The number of Gen Z globally who feel indifferent about sustainability has increased from 22% to 31% since 2021, while enthusiasts have dropped from 30% to 21%. This isn’t because they don’t care. If anything, they care too much. Consider this: 38% of Gen Z globally say they feel stressed or anxious all or most of the timea full 21 points higher than baby boomers+ (which encompasses baby boomers and everyone older than them). American youth are also more stressed than their global peers (44% versus 38%, respectively). We’re witnessing what happens when awareness meets overwhelm. The generation with the most at stake in a sustainable future is feeling a real lack of agency to shape it. [Image: courtesy of the authors] The Hidden Opportunity Without visible leadership or meaningful opportunities to act, young people are losing faith in the commitment of business and brands to deliver a sustainable future. But here’s where it gets interesting: While a whopping 77% of Gen Z in the USA currently falls into inactive and indifferent segments, two-thirds of those who didn’t buy sustainable products in the last month say they would have done so if they could have. The desire for better choices exists, but barrierslike price, knowledge, and availabilityblock the path between intention and action. This represents both a crisis and an opportunity. For brands committed to remaining relevant to the next generation while building resilience for a world in flux, this moment demands a fundamental shift in how we approach sustainability. [Image: courtesy of the authors] How to Win Back Gen Z Drawing on decades of research in psychology and social science, we’ve identified five core principles that transform sustainability from obligation into opportunity. Each principle bridges the gap between intention and impact, helping brands move from incremental progress to transformative change. 1. Lead with Truth David Bowie was right then, and its still true today: Young people are quite aware of what theyre going through. Sixty percent of Gen Z in the USA feel extremely worried about current and future harm to the environment caused by human activity and climate change.” Yet, when brands face challenges with radical honesty, they earn respect. According to Marsha Linehan, the creator of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, acknowledging difficulties actually increases optimism and supports resilience. Being honest about challenges helps build trust while illuminating pathways forward. Companies like Tonys Chocolonely are confronting harsh realities like labor exploitation in their industries by making their supply chains traceable and transparent. Oatlys provocative messaginglike their F*ck Oatly online archive of criticismsacknowledges difficulties while maintaining optimism. Rapanui helps customers see the exact journey of their clothes. And Seventh Generation is honoring the origins of their name and repairing relationships with Indigenous communities by redesigning their corporate foundation to champion community-led philanthropy focused on Indigenous sovereignty, climate justice, and environmental protection. When brands are honest about challenges while offering solutions, they build credibility. 2. Make Power Personal Our beliefs about our own capabilities directly shape our actions. Psychologist Albert Bandura proved that this sense of self-efficacy is the foundation of human agency; when we believe we can meaningfully affect our circumstances, we’re more likely to act. But theres a crisis of agency among young people: 42% of those aged 1824 globally say they feel individually powerless to do much to save the environment.” We can help transform climate anxiety into creative agency by showing how small actions can spark immediate impact. When consumers feel powerful, theyÙre more likely to transform challenges into choices, repeat sustainable behaviors, and share brands with others. Companies like Sojo are empowering consumers to help their clothes last longer by making garment repair as convenient as food delivery with on-demand repair and tailoring services. The Ordinary is democratizing high-quality skincare by stripping away the frills to ensure quality products are affordable. Beautycounter’s The Never List turns complex chemistry into clear decisions by providing consumers a list of potentially harmful ingredients that are never in their formulations. And brands like Bower and Trashie make recycling clothing and other everyday items easy and rewarding by providing simple take-back systems paired with incentives from partner brands and charities. By removing practical barriersbe it price, availability, ambiguity, or simply inconveniencewhile building psychological confidence, brands can help people move from feeling overwhelmed to feeling capable. 3. Create Connection Loops When anxiety gets in the way of individual action, community creates momentum. Our research reveals a powerful pattern: Young people gravitate toward sustainable behaviors that create connection. In the U.S., Gen Z is significantly more likely than older generations to embrace collective consumption models. This isn’t just about reducing wasteit’s about building new relationships between people, products, and the planet. When sustainability becomes social, anxiety transforms into shared purpose. Consider Notpla, whose seaweed-based packaging alternatives aren’t just eliminating plasticthey’re bringing nature-based packaging into large-scale cultural events to promote learning and evangelism. Irelands peer-to-peer clothes-swapping platform Nuw builds local sharing communities by hosting hybrid digital and in-person events. And Back Market celebrates peer relationships and repair culture as the global marketplace for reborn tech. These brands understand that lasting change happens in community with others. By creating connection loops, they’re helping transform individual eco-anxiety into collective creativityand making sustainable living less about sacrifice and more about belonging to something bigger than ourselves. 4. Invite Joy When sustainability connects to fundamental human needs for joy, growth, and vitality, it becomes self-sustaining, especially in difficult times. For psychologist Martin Seligman, the experience of human flourishing requires more than just removing negativesit demands positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. When we focus the benefits of sustainability solely on reducing harm, we miss the opportunity to support genuine well-being. Our research confirms this insight: More than 75% of Gen Z globally views both healthy and sustainable lifestyles as enjoying the good things in life rather than sacrifice. For them, sustainability isn’t about having lessit’s about living more fully. Consider Pangaia, a collective of scientists, technologists, and designers using bio-based materials and bright colors for sustainable fashion that feels fresh, smart, and stylish rather than austere. NotCo uses AI to create plant-based alternatives that replicate the flavor and texture of animal products in favorites like mac and cheese, hot dogs, and ice cream. And Who Gives A Crap transforms everyday paper products into playful, design-forward objects of joy while supporting global sanitation efforts. When sustainability contributes to all dimensions of well-being, it shifts from sacrifice to a source of joy and gives brands new opportunities to increase relevance, differentiation, and loyalty. 5. Weave New Stories The stories we tell about ourselves and the world become the lenses through which we see reality, notes the philosopher Charles Eisenstein. And when 77% of Gen Z in the U.S. feels disconnected from current sustainability messaging, we need new narratives that reconnect and reengage. And it is possible: Our data show that despite the challenges young people face every day, they are significantly more optimistic about the future than their elders. Gen Z in the USA is much more likely than baby boomers+ to believe that in 10 years, most people will be driving electric cars (51% versus 21%, respectively), buying secondhand (51% versus 20%), renting items instead of owning them (43% versus 19%), and living waste-free (40% versus 15%). This is a powerful moment to help young people write a new chapter and to tell stories that help make sense of today while showing whats possible tomorrow. Vestiaire Collective understands this, making secondhand fashion feel aspirational and luxurious while building community around preloved style in their peer-to-peer, vintage and designer marketplace. Selena Gomezs Rare Beauty is destigmatizing mental illness and fostering conversations around hope and agency. And Too Good To Go reimagines food waste as an opportunity for daily adventure through deliveries of surprise bags from local cafes, bakeries, or restaurants. These brands aren’t just selling productsthey’re helping people see their role in a better story, one that unites individual well-being with collective flourishing. By reflecting consumers realities and amplifying their aspirations, brands can weave new stories that shape our identities, build our communities, and shift culture for a more sustainable future. The Next Frontier: From Insight to Action The opportunity is clear but challenging. By designing products, services, and experiences that inspire confidence and build momentum toward better living, brands can help transform sustainability from a source of anxiety into a path toward agency, creativity, and joy. This isn’t just about selling more stuff. It’s about helping people express their values, connect with others, and participate in positive change. It’s about making sustainable choices more affordable, accessible, and rewarding so they feel less like sacrifice and more like possibility. The data show that young people are ready for this shift. They just need the truth, better tools, and a like-minded community to create it. Young peoples eco-anxiety deserves a sacred space for mourning and fury, rather than dismissing their feelings as weakness or offering empty reassurances that everything will be fine, says Ariana Gomez, the founder and CEO of Technology for Impact. Their deep care about the climate crisis is a powerful fuel for building a better futureyet they can only access this potential when we honor their emotions and support them through the process.” The time for incremental progresshas passed. The next generation is calling for deeper transformation. Brands that can make sustainable living feel both honest and hopeful, aspirational and accessible, and unite individual well-being with collective flourishing will define the future of consumptionand help design a future with more joy and thriving. This is about more than market share or brand relevance. It’s about helping an entire generation move from anxiety to agency, from paralysis to purpose, from being overwhelmed to taking action. The tools exist. The demand is clear. The only question is: Who will have the empathy and creativity to lead?
Category:
E-Commerce
A new auto startup is launching with a made-in-America EV that with federal tax credits will cost just $20,000. Backed by Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt, Slate Auto says that affordable price is possible because of its pared-down, basic model that can then be customizedand even transformed from a truck into an SUV.Slate Auto has been in stealth for almost three years, says CEO Chris Barman, who worked as a Chrysler executive until 2017. Based in Michigan, Slate spun out of Re:Build Manufacturing, a company cofounded by Jeff Wilke, former CEO of Amazons worldwide consumer business. Slate purports to be rekindling American industry with a suite of U.S. industrial businesses, from batteries to composite manufacturing. (Barman is employee number two at Slate; the company now has more than 400 employees.)Recently, concept vehicles wrapped in ads for fake businesses began appearing on California streets. The company is officially launching today, with refundable vehicle reservations open now for $50. In recent days, the company has put some of its prototype vehicles on California streets, showcasing the possible configurations that will be available.When baby drives you crazy, we drive them to sleep, read one ad for a faux company called CryShare, wrapped around a two-door, boxy SUV. The included website, rockabyerides.com, went to a sign-up page that read Whats a Slate? Be the first to find out. Another vehicle with a hatchback cap was covered in ads for cat therapy sessions, and a third, a pickup truck, with ads for a fake human taxidermy service.[Photo: Slate]The unique marketing campaign was meant to be unlike any traditional vehicle unveiling. We want to look at things very differently than what traditional automotive has done and what traditional automotive is providing to a consumer, Barman says. That ethos also applies to the design of the Slate Truck, intended as a basic platform that can be accessorized by any customer.[Image: Slate]A blank slate The Slate Truck will begin as a two-door, two-seat electric pickup, with crank windows and no infotainment system. New cars today can come with lots of built-in featureslarge screens, heated seats, and so onbut to design Slate, Barman says, it was about What are really the essentials that should go into a vehicle in order to bring it down to a price point that is affordable?Customers will be able to be pick from more than 100 accessories to add on for an extra costeverything from cup holders to a center console to a single roof crossbar to power windows. Since many people use their phones for music and navigation, the company eliminated the infotainment system to cut costs. Instead, theres an accompanying app (at no charge) that drivers will be able to use when in the vehicle. If someone wants a radio in their Slate, its been designed so that one could be easily installed.Barman says Slate wants to change the typical process in which a buyer goes to a new- or used-car lot and picks a car, and then has to acceptand pay forall the features it comes with. Weve decoupled that and said to the owner of the vehicle: You choose. You choose if you want a radio. You choose if you want to have heated seats. You choose what you want the color to be, she says. We are putting the power back into the hands of the consumer, so we give them this blank slate, and then they decide. [Image: Slate]The Slate Truck will have exterior panels that are composite, rather than sheet metal. When using sheet metal, companies must have machines that stamp out the pieces; Slates composite panels will be made using injection molds. That means the company doesnt have to invest in a stamping operation or a paint shopwhich can run $400 million or more for automakers, Barman says. It also means the EV isnt limited to a few colorways. Instead, drivers could put a wrap on it in any color they want. Slate envisions offering customers a wrap kit of die-cut pieces as well as instructional videos so they will be able to do it themselves (the Slate Truck was also designed without any external hardware so that wraps can be applied more easily). Or, the company will offer to prewrap the vehicle before delivery; it plans to have a network of partners in neighborhoods across the country that will be able to perform the installation for customers. (The wrapped vehicles that appeared with fake ads were a nod to this customization element.) [Image: Slate]Slate will offer two EV battery options: The standard comes with a range of 150 miles, but customers will be able to upgrade to a battery with an estimated 240 miles of range. The body of the EV will also be alterable, going from a two-door pickup to a five-seat SUV, with upgrades. Barman notes that customers could even do those changes over time, rather than when they first purchase the vehicle.Maybe when [someone] first buys it, theyre single or just married, and after a few years they have a family, they can convert it, she says. And in doing that, it would cost them maybe $5,000 to make that change. But they dont have to sell their vehicle and buy a completely new one. Its a very cost-effective way to allow the vehicle to grow with them as their life changes. [Image: Slate]Offering an affordable EV made in AmericaThose upgrades would add to the EVs price. If a customer wants a longer-range battery, a wrap, and to turn the truck into an SUV, those adjustments would cost roughly $10,000. The basic version of the Slate Truck, after the federal EV tax credits are applied, comes to $20,000. Our passion is this mission to bring an affordable vehicle to the market for the many people who felt that they didnt have an alternative, Barman says. Slate Auto raised at least $111 million in a Series A funding round in 2023 (under the name Re:Car), according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Bezos was among 16 investors in that round, TechCrunch previously reported, adding that Slate closed a Series B funding round last year but has yet to file the paperwork. Slate told Fast Company that the Walter Group, led by Mark Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners, is also an investor.The EV tax credits offer a total of $7,500 back for vehicles that meet specific requirements like being manufactured in the U.S. Though President Trump has said he wants to get rid of the EV tax credits, they are currently still in place. Barman says Slate hopes they remain available to allow more individuals access to its EV. But if the federal credits do go away, she says, We have a very affordable vehicle priced in the mid $20,000s, so its attractive and very competitive at that price point. [Image: Slate]The average price of a new car purchased in the U.S. is above $49,000, according to Kelley Blue Book. The average price of a new EV is even higher, at $55,500. While markets like China have been able to build ultra-affordable EVs, some as low as $10,000, those options havent been available for car buyers in the U.S. (though automakers have said that theyre working on affordable options). With a $50,000 new car, consumers can expect a monthly payment of around $900, Barman says. Even used vehicles, at an average $27,000, can come with monthly payments that exceed $500. Consumers should aim to spend no more than 10% of their monthly take-home pay on car expenses, per Market Watch, but for a new $48,000 car, that means making at least $96,000 a year to afford the $800 monthly payment. In 2023, only 40% of U.S. households made more than $100,000. Barman says monthly payments for a Slate Truck will average $300 to $400.[Image: Slate]Slate Auto will build a factory somewhere in the Midwest, in order to be located near the automotive supply center, but its still assessing specific locations. We really are focused on reindustrializing America, Barman says. (Some car parts will still have to be purchased from abroad because they are not made domestically at alllike the manual window cranks.) Slate will sell direct to consumer through its website, and the truck will be delivered near customers homes; the company plans to set up a nationwide service network as well. Slate plans to bring its EV to market and into consumer hands by the fourth quarter of 2026.
Category:
E-Commerce
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. For anyone following the headlines about African fintechs over the last few years, it must have felt like a wild ridefrom buzzing highs to plunging lows, and everything in between. But beneath these surface narratives, a more interesting story is emerging. This will be the year the focus on African fintech shifts from valuations to delivering value, and the process is already underway. Sustainable practices take center stage Fintech funding in Africa dropped by 37% from 2022 to 2023. The downward trend persisted in 2024, with funding in the first half of 2024 falling from $864 million to $419 million, a 51% decrease versus the same period in 2023. This funding downturn has forced fintechs to reassess their models, moving away from growth-at-all-costs towards sustainable business practices that emphasize real-world solutions and long-term viability. Now, fintech companies must focus on building resilient, profitable businesses that can thrive without relying on constant infusions of venture funding. Take Nigeria’s emerging direct debit solutions worth over $13 billion in 2023, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria. This isn’t a speculative bet on one of the many technology trends. Instead, these are practical innovations that help businesses in the country stabilize cash flow and simplify recurring payments for consumers. The focus on solving real problems rather than securing the next investment round signals a maturing ecosystemone that prioritizes longevity over hype. Technology that matters The shift isnt happening in a vacuum. African consumers are more selective than evertheyre not just mobile-first but mobile-native. They expect frictionless digital experiences comparable to global platforms, but with local relevance. This is forcing fintechs to focus on what truly works. Artificial intelligence plays a role in this transformation, but not in the way many predicted. Fintechs are using AI to enhance fraud detection, automate compliance, and personalize financial servicespractical applications that build trust and drive adoption. Similarly, blockchain is proving valuable beyond speculation. Instead of chasing volatile cryptocurrencies, fintechs are leveraging blockchain to improve cross-border payments, cutting costs, and speeding up remittances. With Africa receiving over $100 billion in annual remittances, these innovations have a direct, meaningful impact. When traditional transfer fees eat into crucial remittances, blockchain’s ability to reduce costs and increase speed isn’t just a technical achievement, it’s a tangible improvement in people’s lives. The new success metrics The combination of consumer-driven demand and practical innovation is reshaping how success is measured in African fintech. The next wave of investment won’t be driven by hype or viral success stories. Instead, investors are looking for sustainable growth and profitability over inflated valuations. They are looking for products that address fundamental pain points rather than trend-driven solutions as well as operational efficiency and strong regulatory compliance. As we enter a new cycle where reality replaces hype, 2025 will mark a turning point for African fintech. The most successful companies wont be those chasing the biggest headlines but those solving simple, essential problems exceptionally well. This isnt the end but merely the beginning of a more mature, impactful, and enduring era. The revolution may be quieter than expected, but its impact will be deeper than ever imagined. Olugbenga GB Agboola is founder and CEO of Flutterwave.
Category:
E-Commerce
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