Selling sustainability: investigating how Swedish fashion brands communicate sustainability to consumers

IF 3.6 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy Pub Date : 2022-05-16 DOI:10.1080/15487733.2022.2068225
T. Brydges, C. Henninger, M. Hanlon
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引用次数: 11

Abstract

Abstract Over the last thirty years, sustainability has become a growing concern in the fashion industry. While there is agreement among a growing range of actors regarding the need to engage with the social and environmental challenges created by the fashion industry, there is less consent regarding what sustainability entails. Although “sustainability” may be intuitively understood, it has different meanings, depending on how it is applied, and who it is applied by. Without a clear-cut definition, sustainability becomes subjective. In this context, there is a need for research at the intersection of brand-sustainability initiatives and their communication to consumers, who play a vital role in this transition. Drawing on a case study of the Swedish fashion industry, we explore how evolving industrial business models and emerging best practices are informed by a robust understanding of sustainability. We evaluate how brands communicate sustainability to consumers across three key sites: brand websites (including corporate social responsibility reports), social media platforms, and in-store campaigns. We found that not only do brands use a range of practices to define sustainability differently, but furthermore, these definitions vary depending on the context. Considering the industry’s ongoing history with greenwashing, it is vital to address and confront this issue head on. We argue that there is a need to determine what constitutes sustainability in the fashion industry and, in turn, hold businesses to that standard. As COVID-19 has only magnified and intensified these challenges, the article explores the implications of a more robust approach for both theory and practice.
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销售可持续发展:调查瑞典时尚品牌如何向消费者传达可持续发展
在过去的三十年里,可持续性已经成为时尚界越来越关注的问题。尽管越来越多的参与者都认为有必要应对时尚业带来的社会和环境挑战,但对于可持续发展的内涵,人们的共识却越来越少。虽然“可持续性”可以直观地理解,但它有不同的含义,这取决于它如何应用,以及由谁应用。如果没有明确的定义,可持续性就会变得主观。在这种背景下,有必要研究品牌可持续发展倡议与消费者沟通的交集,消费者在这一转变中起着至关重要的作用。通过对瑞典时尚行业的案例研究,我们探讨了如何通过对可持续性的深刻理解来了解不断发展的工业商业模式和新兴的最佳实践。我们评估了品牌如何通过三个关键网站向消费者传达可持续发展:品牌网站(包括企业社会责任报告)、社交媒体平台和店内活动。我们发现,品牌不仅使用一系列不同的实践来定义可持续性,而且这些定义因环境而异。考虑到该行业正在进行的“绿色清洗”历史,解决和直面这个问题至关重要。我们认为,有必要确定什么构成了时尚行业的可持续性,进而使企业遵守这一标准。由于COVID-19只是放大和加剧了这些挑战,本文探讨了在理论和实践方面采取更强有力的方法的意义。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy
Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy Social Sciences-Geography, Planning and Development
CiteScore
12.00
自引率
0.00%
发文量
54
审稿时长
27 weeks
期刊介绍: Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy is a refereed, open-access journal which recognizes that climate change and other socio-environmental challenges require significant transformation of existing systems of consumption and production. Complex and diverse arrays of societal factors and institutions will in coming decades need to reconfigure agro-food systems, implement renewable energy sources, and reinvent housing, modes of mobility, and lifestyles for the current century and beyond. These innovations will need to be formulated in ways that enhance global equity, reduce unequal access to resources, and enable all people on the planet to lead flourishing lives within biophysical constraints. The journal seeks to advance scientific and political perspectives and to cultivate transdisciplinary discussions involving researchers, policy makers, civic entrepreneurs, and others. The ultimate objective is to encourage the design and deployment of both local experiments and system innovations that contribute to a more sustainable future by empowering individuals and organizations and facilitating processes of social learning.
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