Augmenting Sustainable Fashion on Instagram

Abstract

Media discourse surrounding fashion and sustainability tends to be negative, emphasising the problems that exist across the various stages of the lifecycle of a garment. Although consumers are increasingly aware of at least some of the issues surrounding fashion and the environment, research suggests that the scale and complexity of the problem causes them to feel detached and uncertain about how to adapt their own behaviour in response. This research positions Instagram as a digital media platform through which sustainable fashion is communicated and experienced through augmented fashion content. Instagram is recognised for its significant impact on visual culture, particularly within aesthetic sectors such as fashion. Recent research reveals that users have begun engaging in more serious subjects and debates on Instagram, including political, social, and environmental issues. This has brought about opportunities for new voices who are championing sustainable fashion in its variety of manifestations. An open qualitative analysis was carried out using the hashtag #SustainableFashion to uncover themes relating to the types of content, stakeholders, and mechanisms that are being used to augment sustainable fashion on Instagram. The findings reveal a positive community of content creators—including vintage enthusiasts, designers, makers and brands—who are using the hashtag regularly to share proactive content in the form of specific, targeted messages around sustainable fashion solutions. The aim was to uncover the discussions that are taking place right now and provide grounding for future work in this area.

Evaluating Public Opinion on Sustainable Fashion in the Metaverse: A New Frontier for Consumer Engagement and Environmental Advocacy

“…Carfora & Catellani (2022) [19] demonstrated that Instagram advertisements focused on sustainability can significantly enhance user engagement in sustainable practices, boosting consumer involvement, systematic processing, and purchase intentions. Similarly, Marcella-Hood (2023) [20] analyzed sustainable fashion content on Instagram, identifying a community of content creators who actively disseminate messages about sustainable fashion solutions, emphasizing the platform's role in building community awareness and education about sustainable practices.…”

“…Zhao et al (2022) [15] discuss how sustainable fashion brands strategically use social media to align their sustainability goals with their branding strategies, a crucial element in broadening their audience and influencing public perceptions [15]. Marcella-Hood (2023) [20] notes that building a community around sustainable fashion on platforms like Instagram involves more than sharing information; it requires fostering an environment where sustainable practices are normalized and valued.…”

Elementos, tonos cromáticos y estrategias visuales en posts de moda sostenible en Instagram

“…Así, aunque el engagement digital generado por el contenido visual de las marcas de moda en materia de sostenibilidad sí ha comenzado a ser parcialmente explorado (Milanesi et al, 2022;Marcella-Hood, 2023), ninguna de estas investigaciones se ha centrado en la naturaleza especifica de estas imágenes y en sus características. A su vez, debido a las limitaciones que conlleva el análisis cualitativo, las investigaciones previas se han limitado al estudio de un número reducido de marcas y de posts.…”

Sürdürülebilir Modaya Yön Veren Markaların Instagram Gönderileri Üzerine Bir Araştırma

“…Kullanıcı sayısında en büyük artışı yaşayan sosyal ağlardan biri olarak konumlanan Instagram (Oltra vd., 2022(Oltra vd., , s. 1212, moda pazarında çok büyük bir etkiye sahip olup birçok işletme Instagram üzerinden pazarlama yapmakta ve birçok tüketiciyle iletişim kurmak için bir kanal olarak kullanılmaktadır (Na & Kim, 2019, s. 34). Bunun yanı sıra mevcut araştırma Instagram'ı, sürdürülebilir modanın üretildiği, tanıtıldığı ve moda içeriği aracılığıyla deneyimlendiği bir platform olarak konumlandırmaktadır (Marcella-Hood, 2023).…”