Brace yourselves and hold your nose, because a new poll has found nearly half of young people in America are no longer wearing deodorant.
A large portion of both Millennials and Generation Z-ers are reportedly bypassing deodorant and antiperspirant all together, preferring to go for a more au naturel smell.
In fact, approximately 40 per cent of 18-24 year olds say they haven’t applied either of the products in the last month, according to the poll.
The data, from YouGov, also shows around a third (31 per cent) of 25-34-year-olds haven’t used deodorant in the last month, along with a quarter (22 per cent) of 35-44-year-olds.
In addition, a massive 48 per cent of respondents aged between 18 and 24 said they haven’t purchased deodorant in the past year. For 25-34-year olds, that number went down slightly to 37 per cent.
Deodorant is clearly more common among those above the age of 45, being used by 84 per cent of those polled.
It’s not really understood why Gen Z-ers are opting out of the hygiene products; as per the release by YouGov, ‘It’s not that Millennials and Gen Zers lack personal hygiene habits’.
In fact, ‘they’re close to overall population percentages when it comes to washing their hair every day, for example’.
So then why are they no longer using deodorant? Gen Z-ers, as those born after 1995 are commonly referred to, are well known for their progressive, conscientious attitudes towards the planet.
Therefore they could purposefully be avoiding deodorant – which is known to be harmful to the environment due to the chemicals involved in its production – to protect the planet against climate change and other such hazards.
Gen Z-ers also hold incredible purchasing power; according to Forbes, they are already on track to become the largest generation of consumers by 2020, and currently account for between $29 billion and $143 billion in direct spending.
Hence, their opinions matter – so if they’re deciding not to purchase deodorant for whatever reason, this needs to be taken into account.
Enter: Justin Bieber, who is launching a new line of deodorant in partnership with Schmidt’s Naturals called ‘Here + Now,’ which is cruelty-free and plant-based.
As reported by Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), the singer was heavily involved in the conception of the product, collaborating with the brand on its name, packaging and scent – which is yet to be revealed.
With the Biebs leading the way, the natural deodorant market could soon take off – particularly if Gen Z-ers have anything to do with it.
Watch this space.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).