{"id":316725,"date":"2026-03-06T23:05:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T23:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/316725\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T23:05:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T23:05:25","slug":"green-views-as-important-as-good-looks-for-gen-z","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/316725\/","title":{"rendered":"Green views \u2018as important as good looks\u2019 for Gen Z"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once upon a time, romantic first dates involved show-off bottles of wine, red lips and red roses.<\/p>\n

Now, in 2026, eco-obsessed youth prefer to look for \u201cgreen flags\u201d in patchwork clothing, evidence of car sharing and reusable coffee cups, a study has suggested.<\/p>\n

Close to three in four daters, responding to the survey, placed shared environmental values as highly as physical compatibility. Almost 80 per cent of Gen Z, and 70 per cent of millennials, saw \u201ceco-consciousness\u201d as a \u201cgreen flag\u201d.<\/p>\n

More than 40 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds would even decline a first or second date with someone who was not environmentally aware.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Why Gen Z prefer a gym date to dinner<\/a><\/p>\n

For Tamsin Morris, 21, a student in sustainability at Exeter University, romance can no longer be separated from environmental values and ethics. \u201cIt\u2019s a turn-off if someone is completely uninterested or dismissive about environmental consequences \u2014 it\u2019s definitely not an appealing quality,\u201d she said. \u201cSome people don\u2019t grow up with much experience of sustainability but if they\u2019re willing to educate themselves then that becomes attractive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morris added: \u201cBeing switched-on about the world and the consequences of our lifestyles is symbolic of so much more. Personality and values play a huge role in dating because they relate to everything. I find that if someone doesn\u2019t care about environmental issues, they don\u2019t really care about anything at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her experience suggests the result of the survey of 1,000 people, commissioned by Faustino wine, may have some truth.<\/p>\n

\u2022 No sex please we\u2019re celibate: why Gen Z have ditched hook-up culture<\/a><\/p>\n

Separate research carried out by Too Good To Go, an anti-food waste app, also found that 70 per cent of daters looked for an interest in sustainability in a long-term partner. Younger daters were more than twice as likely as over-55s to prioritise eco-values in love, it said.<\/p>\n

Environmental ethics \u201care the qualities I want in a partner\u201d, according to 23-year-old Dillon Singh Chana from London, who also studies at Exeter University. \u201cIf I was on a coffee date and I carried a KeepCup with me or refused a plastic straw and they made a joke about saving the turtles, or something, that would be a huge turn-off,\u201d he said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want someone in my life that is not necessarily wanting the demise of the planet, but making a joke of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dillon<\/p>\n

Dillon Singh Chana<\/p>\n

MARK PASSMORE FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t bode well for a date if they littered,\u201d he added. \u201cEven an apple core or something biodegradable because it shows a lack of awareness about local ecology and doesn\u2019t fit with my belief that we should leave no trace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gen Z are clear on the new set of green and red flags they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaying more for environmentally friendly brands such as Patagonia\u201d is a green flag, while fast fashion is an absolute no-no because it indicates a lack of care of \u201cwaste output\u201d. Dillon added: \u201cPatching your own clothes, or stitching up older wetsuits is a big green flag because well-worn gear looks cooler and shows you care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 We\u2019re Gen Z women: here\u2019s what we really want<\/a><\/p>\n

Jacob Lucas, Faustino\u2019s dating and relationship coach, said it was about the increased education of younger people on world matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a deal-breaker because many of them are trying to apply good practices into their own lives and would want the same from a partner,\u201d he said. \u201cIf someone litters, for example, then it shows they don\u2019t share the same values as someone who wants to support the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cHealthy relationships are all about being compatible in morals and ethics and the small everyday choices people make carry a lot of weight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all signifiers of the way we think and the kind of person we are and so on dates, both parties will be reading between the lines in order to work out whether there\u2019s a chance for love.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once upon a time, romantic first dates involved show-off bottles of wine, red lips and red roses. Now,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[273,111,139,69,147],"class_list":["post-316725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}