For Gen Z, emotional support plushies are the new pets

“Shaun is my emotional support son, I birthed him in 2019,” says 24-year-old Shachi Ankolekar, while showing me Instagram Reels that she created with the aforementioned child. To be clear, Shaun is adorable, but Shaun is not a toddler. Shaun is a sheep-shaped plushie (and backpack) that Ankolekar bought on Amazon. If you’re confused by the graphic designer’s humanisation of her stuffed toy—or wondering why an adult is into stuffed animals to begin with—take a seat, you’re in for a surprise. 

Ankolelar is not alone: much of Gen Z banks big on inanimate soft toys for emotional support and to create a certain aesthetic. “Recently I saw someone on my Instagram share a really cool poster looking for a missing bear. Basically, this girl had lost her bear keyring and actually designed a call-out on Illustrator to search for it. That alone shows you how big plushies are,” the Mumbai-based creative explains.

The numbers back this claim; sales for popular stuffed toy brands like Jellycat and Squishmallow are on an upward trend. While collectors continue to spend more than US$500 on retired Jellycat designs, in 2023, Squishmallow did US$1 billion in annual sales for its maker, Jazwares. Interestingly, the brand revealed that 65 per cent of its buyers are adults aged between 18 and 24.

Plushies are part of a larger movement over the past few years that bridges the distance between childhood and adulthood, and even luxury brands—with a decidedly grown-up audience—have been quick to jump on to the trend. Think of Burberry’s collaboration with the TikTok account Sylvaniandrama, Loewe’s 2023 collection with Studio Ghibli, or Thom Browne’s autumn/winter 2022 show in New York featuring 500 teddy bears in the audience, and the designer’s coveted dachshund-shaped Hector bag.

Gen Z wasn’t the first to romanticise the freedom and power that comes with being an adult. But as the cost of living skyrockets and the job market stumbles, young people are feeling disillusioned with their ‘grown-up’ reality. A delay in reaching traditional milestones such as marriage, owning a house, and parenthood has left them with a gloomy view of adulting, which creates a regression towards childlike gentleness. Besides Shaun the Sheep, Ankolekar also wanted to invest in a kitten plushie. “I recently adopted a cat but it’s a huge commitment, by the time he gets older I’ll be 40 and that’s a huge responsibility to have,” she says, adding that a kitty stuffed toy could have been a low-maintenance stand in.

Avani Thakkar, an insights analyst at WeArisma, says, “The rise in plushies is very much linked to ‘kidulting’. As life gets hard and bills become more expensive, we’re leaning into things that brought us joy as children—this was also seen in the return to colouring and painting during the lockdown.” Amid global uncertainties and financial instability, these squishy, tactile toys become reliable sources for comfort on demand. When newbie plushie collector Akanksha Parulekar, 26, moved from the UK back to India, she invested in a pain au chocolat Jellycat. “As a child, I saw Mickey and Minnie Mouse stuffed toys but the idea of very adult objects being framed as plushies felt like I could save a piece of my life today, in the language I learnt in my childhood.”

The ultra cute, childlike aspects of this trend are also evocative of Japan’s Harajaku culture, its kawaii-ness represented by bold colours, schoolgirl outfits, and a more-is-more aesthetic that subverts traditional ideas of expression and rebellion. Take, for example, 22-year-old fashion designer Samartha Phansekar, a loyal subscriber to this subculture, with numerous Sanrio Hello Kitty and Kuromi plushies. “As a kid I wasn’t open to being soft, but now I’m embracing this softer side by experimenting with fun, quirky, and unserious toys. I love creating content with them, they’ve become part of my aesthetic.”

According to a survey done by YouTube in 2024, 65 per cent of Gen Z users identify as content creators and every element or ‘core’ that they embody is a means to convey who they are. Relationship counsellor Ruchi Ruuh corroborates this: “These stuffed toys have a character and personality, [which] helps young people show off their own values. It’s similar to using stickers on your laptop as a conversation starter.”

Once upon a time, soft toys were considered infantile companions that should be left in pre-adolescence with tooth fairies and imaginary friends. In fact, in 2021, Margot Robbie was playfully shamed for sleeping with her stuffed bunny rabbit at 30. But today, cuddling with your plushie, buying it little friends and accessories, or wearing it on your back as a fashion statement is more common than ever. Whether people buy stuffed toys for a nostalgic hit of comfort, use them as a temporary replacement for bigger commitments (like pets or even children), or simply slot the plushies as cute characters to elevate their clout, the cuddle-bud trend is well and truly here.