Sustainable Business or No Business.

Ailsa Huerta-Castro is a University of Oregon student with a minor in Sustainable Bussiness. Her passion for environmental research and climate conservation motivates her to be an informed and sustainable global citizen. As a Gen Z climate activist, Ailsa appreciates the intersection of climate change research and proactive social media messaging–she uses both in her position as social media manager for the UO flea market.

The UO flea market is a student-run organization that has put on sustainable buying and selling events on University of Oregon’s campus since their start in 2024. You can visit the UO Flea Market Instagram page to find out more about how they’re impacting the culture of sustainability on campus and stay updated on future events!

Make-Or-Break Sustainability: Why brand transparency is more important than ever

Why does Gen Z care so much about sustainability?

“I feel like part of the reason why our generation really cares about it is because we have so much information accessible to us and were able to see the real life impact climate change has on the earth and I feel like that awareness has made us want to take action. Also just knowing that it’s going to affect us in our lifetime whereas our parents and our grandparents, they’re not as affected by it but it’s something that we’re going to have to face.”

How has Gen Z cancel culture changed the standard for brand CSR?

“Again, with the fact that so much information is available to us and people are able to openly state their opinions online whether it’s through a post or a tweet or a video and I think in a way that forces brands to be on top of CSR. With social media platforms it’s a lot easier for people to communicate how they feel about a brand, especially when the brand is going against their values; I think that because of that brands are forced to step up.”

How do you decide what brands are trustworthy?

“In my own personal life, I decide what brands are trustworthy based off of the things that they stand for, especially any organizations that they contribute some of their profits to. For example, Patagonia. I know that a lot of the money that they make is given to organizations that are actively working against climate change. It’s really fulfilling to know that the money that I’m investing into a company is going towards a greater good.”

How do you incorporate slow fashion and secondhand consumerism into your life?

“I love this question! I think we live in an era where we’re kind of forced to be consuming things all of the time and trends are cycling so much faster than they ever have before so there’s definitely this pressure to have constantly have something new. I think thrifting and shopping secondhand helps to combat that.”