Authors - Z. Aadhil, T.A. Alka, M. Suresh Abstract - This research explores the factors leading to less brand sacralization in zero-waste lifestyle product brands among Gen Z consumers by examining the influence relationships among these factors. For this, a quantitative analysis using Grey Influence Analysis (GINA) is conducted, and the grey influence and response coefficients are calculated to understand interdependencies among the critical, ideal, and typical models. The study identified that Lack of Emotional Connection and Low Trust in the brand’s Green Claims are the most influential factors in the system. These are influenced by other factors, including utility perception, expected value, sustainability, weak visuals and design, and the feeling that the price feels high. The findings reveal that for brand sacralization, the emotional connection or meaning and authenticity are important compared to the functional attributes. Therefore, this study provides decision-making to practitioners like brand managers to develop zero-waste lifestyle brands with more credibility, emotional resonance, storytelling, brand narratives in the case of Gen Z consumer perception and values, transparency, building trust, and calls for pol-icymakers’ actionable interventions on standardized policy measures to enhance trust and reduce greenwashing. The study identified the future research scope in conducting longitudinal research and statistical analysis to understand the perception of the brand, cross-cultural differences, barriers to the zero-waste life-style products, and the role of digital platforms in increasing emotional connection and trust for higher brand sacralization among the millennials and Gen Z consumers. Hence, this research, by providing a system-based understanding of brand sacralization, is novel and highly contributes.
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