In this post on the Comms Women platform, Schuyler Noordhoff, a student at the University of Alabama, College of Communication and Information Sciences, analyses an article by Yukyung Lee and Carolyn A. Lin on sustainability and advertising, published in the Corporate Communications journal (Emerald).
Sustainability has never been more important for brand acceptance. Generation Z’s passion for environmental health makes sustainability a key factor in their choice of which brands to support and which ones to remove from their wardrobe. Yukyung Lee and Carolyn A. Lin’s study, “The effects of a sustainable vs conventional apparel advertisement on consumer perception of CSR image and attitude toward the brand,” examines college students’ responses to sustainable advertising and its effectiveness in improving a brand’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) image. This blog will explore the significance of Lee and Lin’s findings and the impact this has on the fashion industry.
Having a strong CSR image is essential for earning customer attention and loyalty. People are more likely to support and purchase from brands that are genuinely committed to sustainability. As environmental concerns grow, brands must respond accordingly with their brand identity. If consumers believe a brand produces sustainable products, its CSR image will improve, and consumer engagement will increase.
CSR is becoming especially important in the fashion industry. As many clothing brands have been exposed recently for their lack of attention to their products’ effects on the environment, a sustainable and environmentally conscious CSR image is essential to maintaining a good reputation. There are many brands, including Patagonia, H&M, and Zara, who have notably improved their CSR image through their sustainable practices and advertisements. However, brands must be careful about the way they advertise because consumers do not want to be misled to believe a brand is environmentally conscious when they are not truly practicing sustainability. It is important to find the middle ground between greenwashing and greenhushing because consumers do not want brands to overstate or diminish their sustainability practices.
In Lee and Lin’s experiment, they advertised the exact same sweater with different messaging. One message highlighted how fashionable the sweater was, while the other emphasized the sustainability of using recycled cashmere. The results proved that the sustainable advertisement positively affected the brand’s CSR image. This, therefore, positively affected the students’ perspective of the brand, which makes them more likely to become loyal customers to this brand.
For brands desiring to strengthen their CSR image and connect with economically conscious consumers, they should focus on being transparent. Brands need to be clear when advertising the sustainability of their products. Vague statements like “eco-friendly” and “sustainable” are not convincing to consumers. Rather than simply labeling something as sustainable, provide specific details to explain what about the product is sustainable. Consumers are looking for brands they can trust. The more detail a brand provides about its sustainability practices, the more genuine the brand appears to consumers.
Sustainability cannot be ignored with the state of our environment and the state of the fashion industry. Brands that take sustainability seriously will see the benefits in their customer loyalty and brand reputation. Gen Z specifically has the power to change the fashion industry by demanding higher sustainability standards and more transparency from companies. It is the brand’s responsibility to produce sustainable products and the people’s responsibility to make educated decisions about which brands to support. These decisions will decide the future of our environment and the future of fashion.
Full Article Reference: Lee, Y. and Lin, C.A. (2022), “The effects of a sustainable vs conventional apparel advertisement on consumer perception of CSR image and attitude toward the brand”, Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 388-403. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-05-2021-0051