Millennials have rapidly overtaken baby boomers to become the largest and most influential consumer group. Millennials, who are generally agreed to be those born between 1981 and 2000, represents 21% of total consumption in the US. This share is anticipated to reach 33% by 2020, while by 2040 millennials are expected to be sitting on property assets worth 20 trillion dollars handed down to them by retiring baby boomers. Already by 2020, some 7 trillion dollars of housing assets are expected to have been passed down to Millennials, making it the largest ever transfer of wealth in US history. Millennials, then, are an influential group of consumers whose wealth and power of consumption trends is only set to increase.

(Source : KOTRA)

Millennials are now widely recognized as consumption trend-setters with markedly different purchase preferences than previous generations.

Millennials, then, very much want to exert a positive influence on society thorough using their earnings to make a positive difference. Surveys of Millennials show that nine out of ten respondents reported an interest in replacing the brands which they were using with ones that made a positive social difference, while two in three used social media to participate in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).

(Source : The 2015 Cone Communications Millennial CSR Study)

In other words, Millennials have a keen interest in CSR, but are creating a sustainable consumer culture by purchasing products with socio-environmental merits.

Global companies have proactively worked to put in place sustainability management strategies and a comprehensive communication approach to respond to Millennials' demand for sustainable consumption. The biggest global brands have set concrete and aggressive goals, while transparently disclosing their activities and results to customers.

L'Oréal announced a new sustainability catch-phrase – "Sharing beauty with all" – in 2015 and has since executed activities to strengthen the sustainability of its products. To help add socio-environmental values to all its products by 2020, the company declared that it would implement LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) for all new products and disclose the results to customers. The company has developed a product assessment tool and aims to improve the socio-environmental properties of all new products by 2020.

Marks & Spencer, a multinational retailer, is actively promoting Plan A initiatives for sustainability management. In its own words, it's Plan A "because there is no Plan B". The company announced that it was seeking to secure at least one socio-environmental factor (Plan A Quality) in each accessory and food product handled by M&S stores by 2020 as disclosed in its report on sustainability management, the "Plan A Report".

Millennials are already leading the market and many global companies are responding preemptively. To seize the initiative in the market rather than being bystanders to the sweeping market changes we are seeing, we need to challenge and innovate ourselves. So, how is Amorepacific responding to Millennials and the trend toward sustainable consumption?

Amorepacific has set out its "2020 Sustainability Management Vision" as it seeks to become a leading sustainability management company in the field of C&T. The new vision encompasses promoting sustainable lifestyle choices and specific action tasks. To secure the sustainability of products, Amorepacific established Guidelines for Sustainable Products, which outlines ways to secure the sustainability of both the contents and packaging of products, including a comprehensive communication approach. The new guidelines are set to be fully applied from 2017, enabling the sustainability of our new products to be achieved by 2020.

With consumers increasingly opting for lifestyle choices representing environment friendliness, health, society and happiness, sustainable lifestyle choices are driving changes in consumption patterns that are reshaping the market landscape. Consumers will use their consumer power to pressure companies by putting their money where their preferences are.
By securing product sustainability, Amorepacific is committed to creating a new culture of sustainable lifestyle choices and leading the market, rather than simply responding to consumer needs. We look forward to your engagement and support for Amorepacific as we go forward with consumers, the environment and society to change the world with beauty.