The North American youth culture marketplace today of 13-24-year-olds is among the most philanthropic and environmentally conscious demographic in the world. They are far more aware of what’s taking place across the globe in terms of humanitarian need, poverty, AIDS, Africa, war and terrorism, and environmental issues such as global warming. As we’ve discovered, young people tend to support brands that give back, and they have far greater respect for celebrity-activists who do something more than just rest on their status. What this means is that there’s a great opportunity for reaching young people in an authentic and grassroots level by appealing to their senses of “good causes.” As a generation growing up in the midst of increased consumer control, they not only want to do something about their future, they expect to. But what most people don’t know is just what does the youth market think about such issues? How aware are they, and what are their perceptions about these issues and changes to be made in their future?

To answer these questions, Label Networks has launched a “Humanitarian Youth Culture Study” that asks such important questions about the environment and global warming, recycling, AIDS, Africa, poverty, volunteerism, politics and their purchasing practices, as well as questions such as “What change do you want to make in your life that will positively affect those around you and the world you live in?”

“We started this project for many reasons,” explains Kathleen Gasperini, SVP of Marketing + Development at Label Networks. “First, we read the Commission Report on Africa from the DATA website and One Campaign which stated that ‘The Commission substantially lacks in only one area and that is the lack of a proper analysis of western attitudes towards Africa.’ I knew we could answer these questions in terms of the youth marketplace and that our research results and services may be of great importance and value to DATA, One, and the NRDC for example, because of our fresh, authentic approaches which connect the dots across cultures between local inspiration, viral trends, and global movements. It’s this kind of core info that can also, as the Commission Report stated, ‘shift the calculus for politicians in the west for generations to come’ through actionable research results.”

“Our goal [at Label Networks] is to provide authentic intelligence about global youth culture markets towards allowing people to make the smartest business decisions,” says Gasperini. “But in youth culture, like the environment, trends are often non-linear: the smallest thing can produce the most enormous results quickly. Some people will get that and act on it, however not always as a way to simply sell more products to young people, but to create something new of their own, inspired by other people’s genius. We hope the Humanitarian Youth Culture Study inspires a new kind of genius—towards making a difference that’s both productive and good for the future.”