Reuse clothes, don’t upgrade phones, and use bags for life.
It may sound familiar, as many people do this in their daily lives, but young influencers call it “core underconsumption.”
Gen Z is taking to social media and making clips of their daily routines, claiming it’s a new trend.
Nicole, from London, made a three-part series on her page about her normal life for her 100,000 TikTok followers.
In one clip, he is shown using trains and the London Underground instead of a car to travel places to be sustainable and also because he “never learned to drive”.
Nicole, from London, said she uses public transport to be more sustainable, but also because she can’t drive.
Nicole also filmed herself repurposing old glass jars to store her leftovers, including overnight oats, and repairing shoes when they break instead of buying a new pair.
In a second video, Nicole, who makes clips about being vegan, said she also repurposes cloth bags as gift bags for friends and family, as well as making up meals based on what she has left in her fridge.
Emily Bourke, a 25-year-old designer from London, also joined the trend and shared elements of her sustainable daily routine.
This included continuing to wear a pair of “battered” Adidas Superstars she got when she was 15 and carrying a bag that belonged to her late grandmother.
Emily has also been using the same purse her friend designed for her for three years, she uses the bags her older sister inherited from her, and she still wears a gold Casino watch from a decade ago.
He captioned the video: “I guess it’s an underconsumption core. Or just attachment to things lol.”
Kathryn Kellogg, a millennial from San Francisco, has a TikTok account called ‘going zero waste’ where she often shows her followers how to live more sustainably.
In it shorten On underconsumption, Kathryn said she still uses a six-year-old phone and admitted she has never dyed her hair, doesn’t get her nails done and has never had Botox or fillers.
Nicole also said she likes to repurpose tote bags as gift bags for her friends and family.
Emily Bourke, a 25-year-old designer from London, also joined the trend and shared elements of her sustainable daily routine.
Emily said she has used the same purse for the past three years that her friend made for her.
But Kathryn had already received criticism for her video, captioning it: ‘I want to be more than clear, because this post received some negative comments on other platforms. If getting your nails, hair, etc done makes you feel good, then do it!
‘Those things don’t make me feel good, so I choose not to do them. I don’t enjoy spending my time or money that way, and I often feel pressure from social media to do those things even if they don’t bring me joy.
“It seems like every other week a new must-have beauty product or treatment comes out. I find it a financial burden and something that can be quite wasteful.”
Kathryn also said that ’90 percent’ of her wardrobe is filled with used clothing, either from vintage or secondhand stores.
Her clip racked up more than 11,000 likes and hundreds of comments from viewers.
One person wrote: “This is normal consumption. Overconsumption is what makes it look like underconsumption. This is not a trend at all.”
Another wrote: “No, Botox is normal, not insufficient consumption.”
A third said: ‘I need more of this on my FYP because I’ve been on a roll lately!’
Kathryn Kellogg, a millennial from San Francisco, said 90 percent of her clothes are secondhand.
Kathryn said she hasn’t upgraded her phone or changed the case in the past six years.
Kathryn’s clip racked up more than 11,000 likes and hundreds of comments from viewers.
Hope Zuckerbrow from Texas has over a million followers on the platform and decided to get involved by showing off her lifestyle.
The 26-year-old TikToker, presented His page says he still has his 10-year-old TV, the original knife set from when he was in college, and only one pair of tennis shoes because “they’re so expensive now.”
She said she “loves” the underconsumption trend, adding that instead of following trends of having a complex skincare routine, she only has three products and has been using the same hair straightener since she was 17.
Hope said she likes to look on Facebook Marketplace and charity shops to furnish her home rather than buying something new.
Her clip racked up nearly 800,000 views and hundreds of comments, with users thanking her for showing their normal lifestyle.
Hope said she only uses three skincare products, rather than buying a bunch she won’t use.
Hope Zuckerbrow of Texas said she only owns one pair of tennis shoes because they are “expensive.”
Hope’s clip racked up nearly 800,000 views and hundreds of comments, with users thanking her for showcasing her normal lifestyle.
Leah Stapleton of Austin said she didn’t understand the trend toward underconsumption.
One wrote: “It’s so rare to see this on social media, but it’s literally the life of the vast majority of people. Thank you so much for sharing.”
Another wrote: ‘My biggest subconsumer is my Instyler which I bought in the early 2000s and use to curl and straighten my hair.’
But other content creators have criticised these videos and admitted they don’t understand how having a “normal” lifestyle is a trend.
Leah Stapleton, from Austin, told her TikTok:’I don’t understand how simply being a normal consumer has now become a trend?’
‘I think it’s not so much a question of underconsumption but of being a normal person, but rather of not overconsuming.
“If you’re a normal person, you can’t afford to have every color of every item in a makeup line.”
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