Gen Z mocked for 'underconsumption core' which involves re-wearing clothes, using bags for life, not upgrading your phone and having a basic skincare routine
- Influencers are showing off normal lifestyles and calling it 'underconsumption'
- READ MORE: Expert reveals Gen Z's biggest workplace icks
Rewearing clothes, not upgrading their phones and using bags for life.
It may sound familiar, as many people do this in their everyday lives, but young influencers are calling it 'underconsumption core'.
Gen Z are taking to social media and making clips of their everyday routines - purporting it to be a new trend.
Nicole, from London, made a three-part series on her page about her normal life for her 100,000 followers on TikTok.
In one clip, she shows herself using trains and the London Underground instead of a car to travel to places to be sustainable and also because she 'never learnt how to drive'.
![Nicole, from London, said she takes public transport to be more sustainable but also because she cannot drive](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311241-13723583-image-a-39_1723128101284.jpg)
Nicole, from London, said she takes public transport to be more sustainable but also because she cannot drive
Nicole also filmed herself re-using old glass jars for her leftovers, including overnight oats and repairing shoes when they break rather than purchasing a new pair.
In a second video, Nicole, who makes clips about being a vegan, said she also re-uses tote bags as gift bags for friends and family, along with inventing meals based on what she has left in the fridge.
Emily Bourke, a 25-year-old designer from London, also hopped on the trend and shared elements of her sustainable everyday routine.
This included continuing to re-wear a pair of 'battered' Adidas Superstars that she got when she was 15 years old and using a handbag that used to belong to her late grandmother.
Emily has also been using the same coin purse for three years that her friend designed for her, uses her older sister's bags that were handed down to her and still wears a gold Casino watch from a decade ago.
She captioned the video: 'Underconsumption core I guess? Or just being attached to things lol.'
Millennial Kathryn Kellogg, from San Francisco, has a TikTok account called 'going zero waste' where she often shows her followers on how to live more sustainably.
In her clip about underconsumption core, Kathryn said she still uses a phone that is six years old and admitted that she has never dyed her hair, does not get her nails done and has never had Botox or filler.
![Nicole also said she enjoys re-using tote bags as gift bags for her friends and family](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311233-13723583-image-a-40_1723128107199.jpg)
Nicole also said she enjoys re-using tote bags as gift bags for her friends and family
![Emily Bourke, a 25-year-old designer from London, also hopped on the trend and shared elements of her sustainable everyday routine](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311373-13723583-image-a-38_1723128071062.jpg)
Emily Bourke, a 25-year-old designer from London, also hopped on the trend and shared elements of her sustainable everyday routine
![Emily said she has used the same coin purse for the past three years that her friend made for her](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311371-13723583-image-a-37_1723128066527.jpg)
Emily said she has used the same coin purse for the past three years that her friend made for her
But Kathryn previously got hate on her video and captioned it: 'I want to be extra clear, because this post received some negative comments on other platforms. If having your nails done, hair done etc. makes you feel good - do it!
'Those things don't make me feel good so I choose not to do them. I don't enjoy spending my time or my money that way, and I often feel pressure from social media to do those things even though they don't bring me joy.
'It feels like there's a new must have beauty product or treatment that's being hawked every two weeks. I see this as a financial burden, as well as something that can be fairly wasteful.'
Kathryn also said '90 per cent' of her wardrobe is full of pre-owned clothing, either from vintage or thrift stores.
Her clip racked up more than 11,000 likes and hundreds of comments from viewers.
One person wrote: 'This is normal consumption. Overconsumption is what makes this look like underconsumption. Not a trend at all.'
Another penned: 'No botox is just normal, not underconsumption.'
A third said: 'I need more of this on my FYP because I've been impulsive lately!!!!!!'
![Millennial Kathryn Kellogg, from San Francisco, said 90 per cent of her clothes are thrifted](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311239-13723583-Millennial_Kathryn_Kellogg_from_San_Francisco_said_90_per_cent_o-a-1_1723128966123.jpg)
Millennial Kathryn Kellogg, from San Francisco, said 90 per cent of her clothes are thrifted
![Kathryn said that she has not upgraded her phone or changed her phone case in the past six years](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311237-13723583-Kathryn_said_that_she_has_not_upgraded_her_phone_or_changed_her_-a-35_1723128032275.jpg)
Kathryn said that she has not upgraded her phone or changed her phone case in the past six years
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311169-13723583-image-a-12_1723127175402.jpg)
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311161-13723583-image-a-13_1723127182693.jpg)
![Kathryn's clip racked up more than 11,000 likes and hundreds of comments from viewers.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311155-13723583-Her_clip_racked_up_more_than_11_000_likes_and_hundreds_of_commen-a-34_1723127882737.jpg)
Kathryn's clip racked up more than 11,000 likes and hundreds of comments from viewers.
Hope Zuckerbrow, from Texas, boasts more than one million followers on the platform and decided to get involved with showing her lifestyle.
The TikToker, who 26 years old, showed her page that she still has her 10-year-old television, the original knife set from when she was at University and only one pair of tennis shoes as they are 'so expensive now'.
She said she 'loved' the underconsumption trend and added that instead of following trends to have a complex skincare routine, she only has three products and has used the same hair straightener since she was 17.
Hope said she enjoys searching Facebook Marketplace and charity shops to furnish her home rather than buying new.
Her clip raked up almost 800,000 views and hundreds of comments, with users thanking her for showing her normal lifestyle.
![Hope said she only uses three skincare products, rather than buying many that she will not use](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311437-13723583-image-m-33_1723127838952.jpg)
Hope said she only uses three skincare products, rather than buying many that she will not use
![Hope Zuckerbrow, from Texas, said she only has one pair of tennis shoes as they are 'expensive'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311235-13723583-Hope_Zuckerbrow_from_Texas_said_she_only_has_one_pair_of_tennis_-a-31_1723127830861.jpg)
Hope Zuckerbrow, from Texas, said she only has one pair of tennis shoes as they are 'expensive'
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311445-13723583-image-a-27_1723127598694.jpg)
![Hope's clip raked up almost 800,000 views and hundreds of comments, with users thanking her for showing her normal lifestyle](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311443-13723583-image-a-25_1723127552243.jpg)
Hope's clip raked up almost 800,000 views and hundreds of comments, with users thanking her for showing her normal lifestyle
![Leah Stapleton, from Austin, said she did not understand the underconsumption trend](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/08/15/88311715-13723583-image-a-30_1723127776866.jpg)
Leah Stapleton, from Austin, said she did not understand the underconsumption trend
One wrote 'This is so rare to see on social media but it's literally the vast majority of peoples' lives. thank you so much for sharing.'
Another penned: 'My ultimate underconsumption is my instyler I got in the early 2000s I use to curl and straighten my hair.'
But other content creators have hit out at these videos and admitted that they do not understand how it is a trend to have a 'normal' lifestyle.
Leah Stapleton, from Austin, told her TikTok: 'I don’t understand how literally just being a normal consumer is now a trend?'
'I think it's less of underconsumption and more of just being a normal person, it's a lack of overconsumption.
'If you're just a normal person, you cannot afford to have every colour of every item in a makeup line.'