General Pants Co has partnered with Black Dog Institute to launch a dedicated mental health campaign for Gen Z.
The Stay Bold initiative launches in conjunction with Black Dog Institute’s largest research project, the five-year Future Proofing Study, which will engage up to 20,000 Year 8 students.
The study will leverage the use of smartphones to understand what triggers the development of mental illness in young people and identify prevention measures against the emergence of mental health problems.
General Pants Co. CEO Sacha Laing says the partnership was inspired by the brand’s new positioning Led By None, which involved extensive community research to uncover what is important to Gen Z.
"This generation feels passionately about mental health. They want to talk about it. They want to be heard.
"We came away from this research with the view we had a bigger role to play.
"We knew we had a responsibility to our community and 1,000+ Gen Z team members to do something more impactful than just a moment.
"We are committed to constantly moving forward, learning and evolving, to drive sustainable change.
"We want to place the conversation right at the heart of youth culture and use the Stay Bold initiative to positively impact how both our customers and team feel and respond to mental health," he said.
The Stay Bold campaign will support the Future Proofing Study over its five-year period and will also communicate the findings to the community in real time to drive awareness and conversation.
Black Dog Institute director of fundraising and development Karen Elliff added that the support of General Pants will help to drive discussions around youth mental health.
"We’re excited to announce the partnership with General Pants Co. to help support the mental health of Gen Z across the brand’s community, and empowering them to shape the discussion about their future.
"During adolescence, 50% of mental health problems emerge and that’s why the funds raised through this partnership will go towards the research for The Future Proofing Study," she said.