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A new study claims that Gen Z are ditching mass-produced furniture for thrifted, second-hand décor, but in the age of booming fast-fashion platforms like Shein and Temu, is this really the case?
In need of some home décor? Gen Z are ditching cheap flatpack furniture for more intentional, sustainable items, at least according to a new trend report by Pinterest.
The study claims that searches for ‘dream thrift finds’ have jumped 550% with Gen Z specifically. In addition, terms that reference ‘thrifted’ or ‘vinted’ items for various different rooms in the home have enjoyed a boost in popularity across Pinterest’s platform. The conclusion is that young people are avoiding cheap, ‘fast furniture’ and are instead opting for second-hand items that are unique and intentional.
Is this really the case, though? Publications are naturally running away with these numbers, declaring that Gen Z are all about personalisation and retro-romanticism. Vintage is in, baby!
Sure, there are a variety of reasonable assumptions one could make about Gen Z and their attraction toward thrifting. For a start, younger people love a good online marketplace. Think Facebook, Vinted and Depop. All of these services are extremely well-liked by Gen Z, who are often intentional with their aesthetics and purchases but lack the disposable income to go all out and buy products fresh from a retail shelf.
We like to assume that younger consumers are also eco-conscious too, and hope that they make purchasing decisions based on an understanding of the potential carbon emissions their consumption habits could cause. Plenty of reports cite Gen Z as the climate change generation, suggesting that they really do care about the environment.
Yet, despite all that good will, fast fashion platforms and cheap, disposable products remain extremely popular. Gen Z are the vaping generation, for example, even though it is an absolute nightmare for the climate. Nearly all Gen Z college students use ChatGPT on a daily basis, despite increasingly-pressing warnings about its huge environmental toll. Our behaviours suggest that we care about the climate in theory, but not necessarily in practice.
Buying vinted furniture would also fit the narrative that young people are careful about their identity and want to create an aesthetic that is unique to them. Flatpack furniture stores don’t offer this kind of individuality, instead favouring mass-produced, please-all items that are affordable but unremarkable. Vintage décor, however? The world is your oyster.
However, while all of these justifications for a potential second-hand furniture renaissance are compelling, we simply don’t have the numbers to back up the assumption that every Gen Zer is suddenly dusting off their grandma’s old cabinets and claiming them as their own. Sure, young people might be searching for vinted items on Pinterest and browsing potential options, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to actual spending behaviours.
In fact, I’d argue that this is far more likely a symptom of wider, more wishful idealism. As we’ve covered before, Gen Z are struggling to buy their first homes and get onto the property ladder without the help of their parents. Owning a place was an expectation several decades ago, but it has since become more of a pipe dream for many who don’t have access to additional funds beyond themselves.
Looking at vinted items and saving a collection of retro furniture ideas is neat, but it is just that: an idea. Most Gen Zers probably don’t have the means to fully kit out their own space, let alone spend time curating an aesthetic in any meaningful way. A majority are renting and bouncing between flats every few years, paying upwards of half their salary just to have a roof over their heads.
When the time comes to actually kit out a new property, the idealism of vintage products could easily give way to the convenience and efficiency of flatpack furniture. In much the same way as vaping and fast fashion, this could easily be a case of good intentions being dwarfed by a pragmatic need for affordable décor on a moderate budget.
Until we see the actual numbers and spending habit reports, it’s best not to jump the gun and assume that every Gen Zer wants to ditch IKEA. I’m sure the giant corporate warehouses will survive just fine over the coming years.
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