How Pinterest inspires people to live a more sustainable lifestyle

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Protecting the environment for future generations is a hot topic¹, and Pinterest has found Millennials and Gen Z’ers are each twice as likely to search for sustainability ideas compared to Pinners over 38 years old². With recent reports³ warning about climate change more dire than ever, it’s no wonder why. In fact, many Pinners are inspired to get out of their comfort zone and try a more eco-conscious lifestyle for the first time, with searches for “sustainable living for beginners” up by 265% since last year.

“We're seeing a rise in people searching for sustainable and eco-friendly ideas across areas like travel, food, parenting and style. Given the state of the world environmentally and politically, Pinners, especially Millennials and Gen Zers, want to feel like they are making an impact and driving change. Even if these are small everyday changes, it’s inspiring to see people work together to make a difference.” Swasti Sarna, Insights at Pinterest

Below is a peek at how Pinners around the world are feeling inspired to take action and make an impact, from sustainable shopping and travel to using less waste at home and the office.

Sustainable Home

“Sustainable living” (+69% since last year) is the most searched term around sustainability as Pinners are looking to make small changes in their everyday lives, such as ways to eliminate plastic and have zero-waste in their home and office. They are also incorporating sustainability into the kitchen (+58%) by choosing eco-friendly designs and utensils, in their activities with their children (+59%) and even in gift giving (+126%).

Sustainable Travel

Searches for “zero waste travel” have increased 74% as Pinners look to pack lighter, reduce their carbon footprint and use less waste while on the road.

Sustainable Style

There is a growing interest to discover sustainable fashion brands (+49%) using for example recycled and organic materials. Some Pinners are turning to an even wiser way of consumption by renting their clothes or swapping them which is not only helping the planet but also their wallet.

Top Sustainability Searches on Pinterest

  1. Sustainable living

  2. Sustainable architecture

  3. Sustainable fashion

  4. Sustainable packaging

  5. Sustainable home

  6. Sustainability in childcare

  7. Self-sustainable living

  8. Sustainable development

  9. Sustainable energy

  10. Sustainable products

Footnotes

¹Leslie Hook, “Climate change pushes global temperatures to record highs”, https://www.ft.com/ (February 6th, 2019)

²Ratio of searches on sustainability for Gen Z (defined as ages 13 to 23) and Millennials (defined as ages 24-38) each was twice as high as ratio of searches on sustainability for Pinners over 38.

³Matt McGrath, “Climate change: World heading for warmest decade, says Met Office”, https://www.bbc.co.uk/, (February 6th. 2019)

Methodology

Percent increases are calculated using normalized searches form December 2017 to December 2018.

P100 percent increases are calculated using normalized searches on each trend from January - September 2017 to January - September 2018