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Sustainable Communication:

Fashion Consumers’

Reception and Interaction

The Case of Nudie Jeans

Master thesis, 15 hp

Media and Communication Studies

Supervisor: Diana Jacobsson Sustainable Communication Spring 2020 Examiner: Ekaterina Kalinina Louisa Schäfer

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JÖNKÖPING UNIVERSITY

School of Education and Communication Box 1026, SE-551 11 Jönköping, Sweden +46 (0)36 101000

Master thesis, 15 credits

Course: Sustainable Communication Term: Spring 2020

ABSTRACT

Writer: Louisa Schäfer

Title: Sustainable Communication: Fashion Consumers’ Reception and Interaction Subtitle:

Language:

The Case of Nudie Jeans English

Pages: 35

The fast fashion industry has a large negative impact on the environment and its workers. Con-sumers purchasing fast fashion are reinforcing the dominant social paradigm, the assumption that humans are superior and the Earth’s resources unlimited. Even though customers are re-considering their fashion consumer behavior, they often fall back to making unsustainable choices. Research has shown that communication strengthens ethical consumption and sup-ports reducing the attitude-behavior gap. This study proposes that sustainable communication encourages fashion customers to reason with themselves in a way their behavior evolves to be more sustainable. The aim is to investigate customers’ reception and interaction with sustain-able communication using the example of the ethical fashion brand Nudie Jeans. Based on the theories of the attitude-behavior gap and sustainable communication, semi-structured in-depth interviews with Nudie Jeans customers were conducted.

The analysis of the interview responses demonstrates the initial presence of an attitude-behav-ior gap and low awareness of sustainable communication among customers. The research in-dicates that after customers have developed an awareness of sustainable concerns in the fash-ion industry, a fashfash-ion brand can succeed in encouraging customers to adjust predominant consumption patterns towards more ethical ones. On this basis, it is recommended that ethical fashion brands continuously use transparent sustainable communication to educate consum-ers about the environmental and social maladministration in the fashion industry.

Keywords: Fashion Industry, Sustainable Fashion, Dominant Social Paradigm, Attitude-Behavior Gap, Sustainable Communication, Consumer Behavior, In-depth Interviews

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Table of Contents

1 Introduction and Background ... 1

1.1 Sustainable Development and Communication ... 1

1.2 The Fashion Industry: Social and Environmental Impacts ... 2

1.3 Consumer Culture and Behavior ... 3

1.4 The Case of Nudie Jeans ... 4

2 Aim and Research Questions ... 6

3 Previous Research ... 7

3.1 Communication in Sustainable Fashion ... 7

3.2 Consumer Behavior in Sustainable Fashion ... 8

3.3 Communication about Cotton Production ... 10

3.4 Research Field Overview ... 10

3.5 Research Gap ... 11

4 Theoretical Framework ... 12

4.1 Attitude-Behavior Gap ... 12

4.2 Sustainable Communication ... 13

5 Method and Material ... 15

5.1 Choice of Method and Research Approach ... 15

5.2 Tool of Data Collection: Semi-structured Interview ... 15

5.3 Interview Design ... 16

5.4 Selection of Respondents and Conduct of Interview ... 17

5.5 Tool of Data Analysis: Iterative Data Analysis ... 19

5.6 Strengths and Weaknesses ... 19

6 Analysis and Presentation of Results ... 20

6.1 Sustainable Communication: Prerequisites ... 20

6.1.1 Sustainability Understanding ... 21

6.1.2 Impeding Factors of Sustainable Consumption ... 21

6.1.3 (Un)Awareness of Sustainable Communication ... 24

6.2 Sustainable Communication: Relation with Fashion Consumers ... 26

6.2.1 Consumers’ Perception of Sustainable Communication ... 27

6.2.2 Consumers’ Interaction with Sustainable Communication ... 29

6.2.3 Consumers’ Reaction to Communication about Cotton ... 31

6.3 Summary of Research Findings ... 32

7 Conclusion ... 33

8 References ... 36

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1 Introduction and Background

Over the course of the last decade, the strive for a sustainable way of life has become an estab-lished discourse within society. At the same time, the dominant social paradigm is leading so-ciety in an unsustainable direction. The paradigm is defined as “the view that humans are su-perior to all other species, the Earth provides unlimited resources for humans, and that pro-gress is an inherent part of human history” (Park & Allaby, 2017, n.p.). One industry that is not only taking advantage of the Earth’s resources, but is also exploiting its workers, is the fast fashion industry. The concepts of sustainable development and sustainable communication utterly contradict with the anthropocentric performances within fashion – the concepts are at variance with the continuous mass production and consumption of garments. The thesis at hand addresses sustainable communication in the tension field between these contradictory ideas as it seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between sustainable com-munication and ethical consumer behavior in the domain of fashion.

1.1 Sustainable Development and Communication

The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987) defines sustainable development as a concept that „[...] meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (paragraph 1.3). The concept acknowl-edges that resources are finite, but also reinforces that development and growth are important and possible when resources are managed wisely. Organizations need to be profitable and pro-vide employment while respecting the environment and workers (WCED, 1987). The prereq-uisites for sustainable development can be divided into the ecological, economic, and social dimensions (Hedenus, Persson & Sprei, 2018). All three dimensions play a role in the fashion industry. However, the present research focusses mainly on the ecological and social dimen-sions when it comes to sustainability in the fashion industry. The ecological dimension con-centrates on preserving natural systems, which contradicts with the effects the fashion industry often has on the environment. The social dimension builds on the social structures which are required for people to meet their needs and for the preservation of those in the future. Again, the practices of the fashion industry are mostly not in alignment with the objective of the social dimension since the industry often exploits their workers (Hedenus et al., 2018).

In line with sustainable development, the concept of sustainable communication works to-wards preserving, instead of dominating nature. Sustainable communication describes a com-municative act that substantially deals with sustainability affairs. It is a communication ap-proach away from anthropocentric (human centeredness) towards ecocentric (inclusion of planet and animal preservation) grounds (McDonagh, 1998). Sustainable communication con-flicts with the operations of the fashion industry and therefore might carry the chance to shift

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prevailing unsustainable consumer patterns towards a more sustainable consumption. Accord-ing to the United Nations (2017), sustainable consumption refers to coverAccord-ing basic needs and ensuring quality of life while reducing resource use and waste production to guarantee a wor-thy life for future generations.

To seek insights on how fashion consumers respond to sustainable communication and how it may carry the chance to challenge the dominant social paradigm of fashion brands’ customers, the case of Nudie Jeans will be considered. To constitute understanding about consumer rea-soning of the brand’s sustainable communication strategy, including the communication about cotton, their customers’ attitudes and behavior will be investigated in more detail.

1.2 The Fashion Industry: Social and Environmental Impacts

The clothing industry is one of the most polluting industries, accounting for two to ten percent of the European Union’s consumption (Šajn, 2019). With the usage of immense amounts of water and chemicals, it has an enormous impact on the environment. However, this impact is mostly not felt in Europe, but in developing countries, where the production often takes place. Not only the environment suffers, but very importantly the people that are being exploited and not taken care of regarding their well-being. Several trends are causing this dilemma, especially the rise of fast fashion, offering a large variety of clothes for low prices whilst compromising quality. This results in the increase of clothes being purchased and thrown away quickly (Šajn, 2019). One wakeup call was the collapse of the clothing factory Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, kill-ing 1,134 people, demandkill-ing transparency, safety, and ethical practices (York, 2018). Although the urgency is omnipresent, the worldwide textile production has doubled since the year 2000 (Remy, Speelman & Swartz, 2016). Even advertising sustainably produced goods does not make a difference because the company’s intention and desire is still unlimited consumption (Kilbourne, 2004). To radically change the predominant consumption habits and the impact the fashion industry has on both environment and social well-being, the whole industry, with its predominant capitalist production practices, needs to be revolutionized.

One example that mirrors the paradigm of humans placing themselves superior to natural re-sources and demands change, is the relation between organic and conventional cotton in the fashion industry. The example of cotton production represents how the fashion industry is not in alignment with the ecological and social dimensions of sustainable development. The pro-duction of cotton provides income for approximately 250 million people worldwide, especially in developing countries. However, the present production methods of conventional cotton, the usage of agrochemicals, pollution of water, and degradation of soil harm the environment greatly and threaten the maintenance of future production. The usage of pesticides does not only endanger water and soil quality, but the health of workers and the local population (WWF, 2020). Contrary, the production of organic cotton does not rely on the usage of pesticides and

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fertilizers and therefore does not harm the environment and producers in a way conventional cotton does (Textile Exchange, 2020). The provision of information about cotton educates con-sumers about such a grass-root issue in the fast fashion industry. This is one example of how sustainable communication demonstrates that humans and the environment ultimately need the same protection. By seeing the social and environmental consequences of cotton produc-tion, the consumers’ perception that it is justifiable to support fast fashion may be challenged. 1.3 Consumer Culture and Behavior

When shedding light on the influences of cultures on consumer behavior, the difficulties of changing consumption habits ad infinitum becomes visible. Humans are shaped by cultures and the cultural norms, values, traditions they grow up with feel natural to them. Living in a consumer culture, people perceive consumption as a natural part of their life. Therefore, changing consumer habits means redefining cultural identities – rejecting consumerism, and establishing a new sustainable cultural framework. Considering the costs consumerism comes with, an intended shift to a new cultural paradigm appears reasonable – a paradigm where consumption serves both: satisfying human well-being while restoring planetary well-being (Assadourian, 2010). Meadows (1997) points out that to change a system, the paradigm, shared ideas, and basic assumptions within the system need to be changed. In consumerism, those shared ideas include the perception that the accumulation of products makes one happy and that humans are separate from nature. Even though paradigms and peoples’ habits are difficult to change, the efforts that come along with it are most likely worth it, because it may result in a transformed system (Meadows, 1997). To bring upon change, society needs to be discouraged to make purchasing decisions that harm humans’, animals’, and nature’s well-being. Further-more, products that are supposed to last a long time should be designed and produced to last and be entirely recyclable eventually. The main actors when it comes to redirecting cultural norms are the government, media (communication), and education (Assadourian, 2010). It remains important to convince the society to buy less, but high quality (slow fashion) and re-use/recycle more (circular fashion) (Cobbing & Vicaire, 2017). For brands, it is essential to reduce the production speed by producing high-quality, long-lasting and repairable clothes and to not only promote their ethically made clothes, yet to teach consumers about the concept of sustainable consumption, including the ideas of slow and circular fashion.

The sustainable fashion movement does signal a shift of the dominant social paradigm, from a consumption-oriented society to a society that consumes sustainably (Henninger, Ryding, Al-evizou & Goworek, 2017; Šajn, 2019; Cavender, 2018). Over the past years, a rising number of customers have been rethinking their habits and calling for sustainable fashion alternatives that are less harmful to the society and environment, and companies have reacted to it by pro-ducing and advertising those alternatives. Yet, consumers’ intentions often do not result in

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ethical purchases. Researchers have described this as the attitude-behavior gap (Bray, Johns & Kilburn, 2011). The factors keeping consumers from making ethical decisions, in the end, include information. Therefore, the transformation of consumer culture demands media and education, and sustainable communication possibly carries the chance to decrease the atti-tude-behavior-gap and lead towards change in today’s consumer society.

1.4 The Case of Nudie Jeans

As addressed above, fashion brands are playing a key role when it comes to tackling this soci-etal consumption problem and educating consumers. To gain knowledge about the perfor-mance of sustainable communication in this scenario, the example of Nudie Jeans is used. Nudie Jeans is a Swedish fashion brand that was founded in Gothenburg in 2001 and since then has been recognized for its social and environmental sustainability work. Since 2012 their denim is made from only organic cotton. Nudie Jeans was chosen for this research because they use production methods that do not harm the Earth or the workers involved, they address social and environmental impacts of the fashion industry in their communication and educate customers about what it means to use fashion in a slow and circular way (Velasquez, 2019). The following will give a brief overview of what factors determine that Nudie Jeans’ communi-cation strategy can be classified as sustainable communicommuni-cation. This overview consists of the brand’s website and is then expanded by independent sources. The awareness that material about Nudie Jeans’ communication partly stems from the brand’s website needs to be high-lighted. This material is used for marketing purposes and to indicate corporate social respon-sibility actions and therefore can be viewed as biased. However, for the extent of this study, the information is fruitful to identify Nudie Jeans’ communication about sustainability.

The brand’s website is divided into Shop, Sustainability and This is Nudie Jeans. The sustain-ability section gives information about Materials, Production, Products, and Report & Policies. The circumstance that the majority of the website’s written content provides information about sustainability shows how thorough Nudie Jeans’ communication about sustainability is. Two factors that show how Nudie Jeans is paying attention to sustainability are:

1. The information about material use and production practices, with the focus on social and environmental conditions of both. Alongside, they are explaining what is done well in that regard, but also mention factors that need improvement.

2. The education of their customers about the importance of caring, repairing and reusing. Nudie Jeans is offering free repairs in their shops and have assigned repair partners. They also send out free repair kits. In their shops, they collect worn jeans to either resell as se-cond-hand or recycle the material. They intend to sell jeans that last a long time, repair the

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ones that have ripped and take care of the ones that became unusable. Consequently, cus-tomers do not have to purchase a new product soon, thus the resource use and the impact on the environment remains low (Nudie, 2020).

The following sources elaborate on Nudie Jeans’ focus on sustainability. Borromeo (2014) points out that “Nudie appears to be shifting the public gaze towards something akin to re-sponsible consumerism” (paragraph 2). It appears that the business model is based on the founder’s initial aim – to focus on the ethical side of the denim production first (Borromeo, 2014). Further, websites that concentrate on independently reviewing brands regarding their sustainability claims state that Nudie Jeans is a “role-model brand that does not only focus on fair and transparent production, but on sustainable ownership as well” (gofrank, 2017, n.p.) and rate the brand’s impact on the planet and people with four out of five (Kennedy, 2015). The provided information shows that the brand’s communication seems to not correspond to a typical marketing strategy with the aim to make as much profit as possible. It rather matches the principles of sustainable communication as described by McDonagh (1998). The brand is informing its customers about sustainable consumption and is working towards ascribing the environment a cultural significance in society. Of course, Nudie Jeans’ goal is to sell products, but they take responsibility for the environment and society while doing so, which resembles the values of sustainable development, defined by the WCED (1987).

In this scenario, an ethical consideration of the researcher’s relationship with Nudie Jeans seems appropriate. The study was proposed and contact with the brand’s sustainability coor-dinator was established. The conversation simply consisted of an exchange of ideas via e-mail. In the interaction with Nudie Jeans, it was clear that the research does not belong to marketing research, but aims to contribute meaning to the research field of sustainable communication. Therefore, Nudie Jeans made neither requirements nor influenced the research process. The coming chapters will focus on the aim and research questions, which are ought to guide the research process. Previous research in the field of sustainable communication and con-sumer behavior in the fashion industry will be reviewed and the research gap this study intents to fill will be defined. Furthermore, the theoretical framework for the study will be introduced, which then leads to the methodology used in the empirical part of the research. Here, the choice of qualitative interviews as a method will be explained and justified, and understanding about the role of Nudie Jeans’ communication measures concerning the dominant social paradigm of their customers will be provided. In the two finishing chapters, the empirical findings will be analyzed with the help of the chosen theoretical framework. Finally, the research questions will be put into context.

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2 Aim and Research Questions

The aim of the present study is to add value to the research field of sustainable communication by striving for insights about how a brand that educates consumers about purchasing and using garments in a sustainable manner challenges their customers’ attitude towards the fast fashion industry. For this, the analysis will use the example of the fashion brand Nudie Jeans to reach a deeper understanding of the application of sustainable communication and in that context, emerging consumer reasoning. The research aspires to comprehend how sustainable commu-nication, including the communication about the relation of organic and conventional cotton, encourages customers to argue about the predominant paradigm of humans placing them-selves superior to natural resources.

To see what factors are playing a role respecting the dominant social paradigm of the custom-ers, their attitudes will be studied. This will be done using the qualitative method of in-depth interviews. The analysis of the interview data promises to provide rewarding information about the customers’ perception of sustainable communication and its role concerning the custom-ers’ dominant social paradigm.

The research gap that the study strives to fill lies in investigating the customers’ reactions to a fashion brand’s sustainable communication strategy. Sustainable fashion in general, the relat-ing communication, as well as consumer behavior in that domain have been studied. However, studies understanding the consumers’ perception of fashion brands’ sustainable communica-tion and in this context, the emergence of certain attitudes, comprising possible shifts of con-sumers’ dominant social paradigm as proposed here are non-existent or if they are, they are scarce. Therefore, this research aims to fill this gap by using qualitative research to explore the following research questions:

RQ1: How is a fashion brand’s sustainable communication perceived and how does it

encour-age its customers to reason about their consumption patterns?

RQ2: In what way does the brand’s sustainable communication inspire a more sustainable

consumer behavior?

RQ3: How can sustainable communication about the cotton production within the fashion

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3 Previous Research

The following research review concentrates on what research has been conducted in the areas of communication in sustainable fashion and ethical fashion consumer behavior. Both areas are relevant for the present research, because the two connected frame the field this study aims to be situated in. Furthermore, the review sheds light on the communication about the cotton industry and its effects on purchase practices of fashion customers. Since the field of sustaina-ble fashion and thereby communication practices and customer behavior are constantly evolv-ing, the review focusses on recent research of the past five years.

3.1 Communication in Sustainable Fashion

The following reviewed studies focus on communication in sustainable fashion.

The study by Han, Henninger, Apeagyei & Tyler (2017) sees a lack of understanding about how sustainable brands communicate and how consumers perceive those messages. Therefore, the aim of the qualitative research is to investigate sustainable fashion brands’ product communi-cation techniques and their value to customers and society. Based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with nine ethical fashion brands and five sustainable fashion experts the research concludes that for effective communication, research should be conducted first to identify the wants, needs, and lifestyle preferences of the audience. According to the study, sustainable fashion communication needs to be creative, clear, coherent, and should take the eight ele-ments relevant research, target audience, clear message, multi-channel, coherent values,

vis-ually engaging, compelling products, and feedback loops into account (Han et al., 2017).

Moreover, Dickenbrok & Martinez (2018) perceive communication as a cause for the attitude-behavior gap. Thus, the aim of their study is to contribute to a better comprehension of com-munication patterns in green fashion and to generate comcom-munication advice for conscious brands around the globe. The study chooses to conduct semi-structured interviews with (co-)founders of eco-friendly fashion start-ups from five different countries. The interview re-sults are summarized into the four synergies transparency, influencers, acculturation, and

self-esteem, which are accounted as important for balancing the attitude-behavior-gap and

therefore essential for successful ethical brand communication (Dickenbrok & Martinez, 2018).

Additionally, Vehmas, Raudaskoski, Heikkilä, Harlin & Mensonen (2018) pick up on consum-ers’ views on re-use and recycle in the textile industry and aim their study towards how infor-mation should be communicated in order to increase the popularity of circular garments. For this, a qualitative approach, consisting of semi-structured interviews and group discussions with consumers and workshops with project partners and external stakeholders is chosen. All

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in all, the study demonstrates a positive attitude towards circular clothing. However, the re-sults show that more transparent information, especially about environmental impacts of the fash-ion industry needs to be provided in an attractive, non-dramatic way to affect consumer behav-ior. It is advised to be aware of the needs and expectations of the consumers and to use those as a starting point when developing communication strategies (Vehmas et al., 2018).

Furthermore, the study by Da Giau, Macchion, Caniato, Caridi, Danese, Rinaldi & Vinelli (2016) concentrates on twelve Italian fashion companies’ social and environmental practices and their online communication. The case study research categorizes the companies in low commitment, low disclosure, high commitment, and high marketing. Only ethically engaged companies align their communication with their sustainability practices (high commitment). Companies without constant sustainability practices are reluctant to communicate anything sustainability-related (low commitment). Some brands only communicate sustainability be-cause the market requires it, but not bebe-cause they are committed (high marketing). Other com-panies are certain of the benefits sustainable practices carry, but do not want to communicate them yet to avoid image damage (low disclosure) (Da Giau et al., 2016).

3.2 Consumer Behavior in Sustainable Fashion

The ensuing studies target consumer behavior in the realm of sustainable fashion.

Rathinamoorthy (2019) analyzes consumer’s awareness of sustainable fashion and aims to paint a picture of consumers’ attitudes towards clothing purchase, use, and disposal through quantitative research. The research is based on consumer behavior theory, focusing on the in-ternal and exin-ternal factors influencing consumer decisions. The results of the survey show that most of the 400 respondents are aware of the impact the fashion industry has on the environ-ment, but would not reconsider their purchase behavior because of it. The two focus points for a purchase are quality and style. The motivation to look for more ethical apparel remains low, even though respondents are aware of alternatives (Rathinamoorthy, 2019).

James & Montgomery (2017) qualitatively study the influences of consumer knowledge on so-cially responsible fashion purchasing. The research purpose is to investigate what issues are standing in the way of a sustainable consumer behavior. To see the effects of the communica-tion used by fashion retailers, their corporate social responsibility activities, with the focus on communicated information and the used communication channel, are researched through case studies. The study shows that the communication varies a lot among the analyzed cases and that there is a link between elevated communication and informed customers’ decisions. The research advises a transformation of the supplier, retailer, and consumer relationship – involv-ing the customer in every step of the way. A more transparent supply chain will help the con-sumer to make more responsible purchasing decisions (James & Montgomery, 2017).

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The study by Kjellevand & Kjellevand (2018) researches the effects of information on consumer practices in the realm of sustainable fashion, using the theory of the attitude-behavior gap and the theory of planned behavior. The quantitative research method survey is chosen and ex-panded by an experiment. The experiment’s purpose is to see if more information increases the willingness to pay for an ethical garment. The results of 110 surveys show that the information about sustainability practices influence conscious purchase choices positively. The research emphasizes that consumers need details about the sustainability of the product. Further, the respondents do not feel as they could influence the fashion industry practices, but the industry itself needs to take responsibility (Kjellevand & Kjellevand, 2018).

Wiederhold & Martinez (2018) focus on qualitatively studying the attitude-behavior gap and highlight that past studies researching the gap have failed to understand the motivations of ethical fashion consumers and factors influencing them. Based on that, they conduct 13 semi-structured interviews. Their identified key themes contributing to the attitude-behavior gap are price, lack of availability, transparency, image, lack of information, inertia, and

consump-tion habits. The participants wish to be better informed and see it as the retailer's responsibility

to do so. Participants often go back to their familiar shopping environment. All in all, partici-pants have a positive attitude towards ethical fashion, but the actual behavior is influenced by personal circumstances. The study advises the ethical fashion industry to close the gap by fo-cusing on communication and accessibility (Wiederhold & Martinez, 2018).

Another study that revolves around the attitude-behavior gap is the one by Lai, Henninger & Alevizou (2017). It explores how consumers in the United Kingdom perceive sustainable fash-ion through in-depth interviews, paying special attentfash-ion to age and gender. The 16 interviews show that price, quality, availability, and convenience often hinder consumers from purchasing sustainable fashion. The research findings suggest that the industry needs to improve the in-formation about and accessibility of ethical garments. Generally, the industry is advised to paint a clearer picture of sustainable fashion through communication (Lai et al., 2017). Alike the research before, the study by Blazquez, Henninger, Alexander & Franquesa (2020) examines consumer behavior towards sustainable fashion, concentrating on the Spanish fash-ion industry. Constructed around the theory of planned behavior, a quantitative (survey) and a qualitative (semi-structured interview) research approach is chosen. The quantitative study tests how sustainable knowledge influences consumers’ behavior and the qualitative study adds understanding about the relation. The results show that most of the participants are aware of sustainable fashion, however, it does not greatly influence their decision-making. The main research implications for retailers are clear communication of sustainability practices in the fashion industry and information about sustainability in general (Blazquez et al., 2020).

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The study by Geiger & Keller (2018) is centered around psychological research, with a focus on the environment. Using a survey and an experimental study, the researchers test to what extent compassion for the suffering of others and the altruistic and biospheric (self-transcendental), as well as egoistic and hedonic (self-enhancement) values influence sustainable fashion con-sumption. The findings show that, whereas self-transcendental values predict sustainable be-havior, hedonic values do not. In contrary, egoistic values expose no negative effects. The re-search finds a rather limited compassion effect and highlights the importance of enhancing the aspect of social sustainability to be able to use compassion as an educational means to support sustainable consumption (Geiger & Keller, 2018).

3.3 Communication about Cotton Production

The next two reviewed researches explore the consumers’ cognition of organic cotton.

The study by Bucklow, Perry & Ritch (2017) examines the communication practices of organic cotton, using eco-labeling and how it is perceived by British fashion consumers. Based theo-retically on the attitude-behavior gap, the critical analysis of the literature on ethical consump-tion shows that there is a challenge to market organic cotton to consumers, because of no dis-cernible benefit, as well as unfavorable connotations of sustainable fashion with price, aesthet-ics, choice and image (Bucklow et al., 2017).

Ritch (2015) explores consumer understanding of sustainable fashion concepts. Based on de-cision making theory, the research makes use of phenomenological interviews. The findings expose a limited consciousness of sustainable fashion and that consumers require more sus-tainable implications. Anyhow, it is demonstrated that sussus-tainable principles can transfer among consumption contexts. When the research takes organic cotton into consideration, it becomes visible that participants cannot recall the benefits of such products due to the lack of information, but see it as an expensive garment they would not like to invest in. The research suggests emphasizing societal and environmental benefits of organic production through clear labeling and the catering of further information on the retailers’ website (Ritch, 2015).

3.4 Research Field Overview

All in all, the research field is predominantly qualitative as studies focus on conducting inter-views. However, in the studies surrounding sustainable consumer behavior, the field contains some methodological variety with the choice of surveys at times. The most commonly used theory is the attitude-behavior gap, but occasionally alternative consumer behavior theories, such as decision-making theory and the theory of planned behavior, are used. The main find-ings of the reviewed researches relating ethical fashion communication are the need for prior research of customers to identify their needs and wants. Based on that, a clear, transparent, and coherent communication strategy should be established. Further, the central discoveries

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of sustainable consumer behavior and organic cotton research are that many consumers are aware of the impact the fashion industry has on the environment, but do not want to reconsider their behavior. However, the researches demonstrate that a more informed fashion consumer tends to act more consciously. Consumers see it as the responsibility of retailers to provide this information. In regards to organic cotton, a lack of information becomes visible. Overall, the reviewed researches recommend to involve customers; transparency of the supply chain; for retailers to focus on communication and accessibility; to enhance the aspects of social sustain-ability within the fashion industry and based on that use compassion for the educational pro-cess of customers; and regarding cotton, to counteract the unawareness of benefits and unfa-vorable connotation of organic cotton through labeling and online information supply.

Some of the reviewed studies can be assigned to the field of marketing research. Although the present study is situated in the research field of communication, more marketing-related re-searches (Lai et al., 2017; Blazquez et al., 2020) are relevant as they provide an understanding of communication and consumer perceptions in the fashion industry. The findings indicate starting points for not only marketing, but also media and communication research.

3.5 Research Gap

As the review has shown, the communication practices of sustainable fashion brands and the consumer perceptions in the context of sustainable fashion have been studied. Yet, current research lacks a thorough understanding of how sustainable communication is used to encour-age customer reasoning about predominant societal consumption habits. Previous research has not addressed customer argumentation and behavior based on sustainable communica-tion. Furthermore, no research could be found that particularly contributes knowledge on how customers perceive and react to sustainable communication practices of a certain ethical fash-ion brand – especially when the sustainable communicatfash-ion strategy uses a specific example of the cruel practices in the fashion industry, such as the cotton production situation.

Consequently, the present research uses the example of Nudie Jeans and focusses on qualita-tively investigating how the customers of the ethical fashion brand perceive and interact with sustainable communication, inclusive of the communication about cotton. The aim of the pre-sent research is to fill the gap and build a bridge between the two areas of sustainable fashion that have been widely studied – brand communication and customer behavior. With the back-ground of the aim and the research review, the present research will build on the back-grounds of the theories concerning the attitude-behavior gap and sustainable communication.

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4 Theoretical Framework

In this section, the main concept for the research at hand will be presented. To provide a suit-able scientific base for the study and its aim, the theories of the attitude-behavior gap and sus-tainable communication are chosen.

4.1 Attitude-Behavior Gap

Ethical consumption can be defined as “[...] the conscious and deliberate choice to make cer-tain consumption choices due to personal moral beliefs and values” (Crane & Matten, 2007, p. 341). However, even though fashion consumers are oftentimes aware of the immoral practices and believe a reformation of the industry is needed, they are not changing their consumption habits and practice ethical consumption in the end (Blazquez et al., 2020, Wiederhold & Mar-tinez, 2018). Research has defined this incongruent behavior as the attitude-behavior gap and repeatedly picked up on this disparity, considering various contexts, over the past 20 years. In the earlier research stages, a connection between information about corporate behavior and consumer purchase decisions has not been proven. Even though consumers care about ethical business practices, the main concerns for purchases are price, quality, and branding (Boul-stridge & Carrigan, 2000). It is emphasized by Auger & Devinney (2007) as well that ethical affairs have a low impact on consumer decision making. Further, it is discovered that consum-ers make use of neutralization methods to justify their unethical behavior. However, the impli-cation is that the awareness of those neutralization techniques may help to identify successful communication approaches to disrupt them (Chatzidakis, Hibbert & Smith, 2006).

Whereas older studies have concentrated mostly on researching the existence and defining the attitude-behavior gap itself, more recent research appears to be quite set on the presence of the gap and focusses oftentimes on the circumstances impeding ethical consumption and strat-egies for overcoming the gap. The study by Bray et al. (2011) contributes to the understanding of the ethical purchasing discrepancies and identifies factors that are impeding the consump-tion of ethical products. The identified factors include: price sensitivity, personal experience,

ethical obligation, lack of information, quality, inertia, and cynism.

The present research strives to put the central ideas of the attitude-behavior gap into the con-text of ethical fashion communication and consumption. Later, the analysis aims to present fashion customers’ purchasing concerns, potential factors reinforcing the gap, and possible neutralization techniques; as well as how information about ethical affairs is perceived by cus-tomers and translated into consumer decisions. Does information about ethical affairs indeed have a low impact on consumer decision making as proposed by Boulstridge & Carrigan (2000) and Auger & Devinney (2007)?

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Although the theory of the attitude-behavior gap is more popular in marketing research, it is also applicable for communication research as demonstrated by for instance Dickenbrok & Martinez (2018) who research communication patterns in ethical fashion to give advice on how to overcome the gap by using effective communication. Further, Tölkes (2020) focusses on how sustainability communication can contribute to overcoming the attitude-behavior gap when it comes to booking sustainable travels.

As identified in the previous research review, the principles of the attitude-behavior gap are applied in the context of sustainable marketing and fashion consumer behavior research to recognize justifications why consumers are not acting according to their beliefs and to seek for solutions that support overcoming the gap. The majority of the reviewed researches regarding the attitude-behavior gap determine communication as the main influence standing in the way of ethical consumer decisions (James & Montgomery, 2017; Lai et al., 2017; Wiederhold & Martinez, 2018). Additionally, researches not addressing the attitude-behavior gap in particu-lar as well highlight the importance of transparent communication for the fashion industry in general (Vehmas et al., 2018; Sádaba, SanMiguel & Gargoles, 2019). As the overall research states, all-encompassing communication is rudimentary for minimizing gap, especially when the focus lies on sustainable consumption and fashion. Therefore, the following section will shed light on the second theory this research is based on and that might have the feasibility to counteract the attitude-behavior gap: sustainable communication.

4.2 Sustainable Communication

As earlier proposed, the concepts of the dominant social paradigm and sustainable communi-cation clash. Based on this and the extended research, which affirms the importance of com-munication in ethical fashion consumption, it is proposed that sustainable comcom-munication has the ability to challenge dominant, unsustainable fashion consumer behavior to some extent. McDonagh (1998) saw a need for the transformation of conventional marketing communica-tions and developed a tool with the intention to support ecological societal change. Before the researcher first proposed the theory of sustainable communication, marketing communica-tions were aimed at persuading customers, presenting little ecological consideration. Accord-ing to his research, sustainable communication can be defined as “communicative acts […], that have issues of sustainability as their focal point” (p. 591), a “communicative process to facilitate ecological change” (p. 594). Sustainable communication aims to be a process that works towards sustainable consumption and making society attentive to the environment’s significance. Consequently, the focal point of the theory is ecocentrism, “the opposite of an-thropocentrism” (McDonagh, 1998, p. 591), accounting for human and nonhuman life on earth. For a fundamental change in society, sustainable communication is vital, but it is also

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granted that it is not an easily developed process – societal, organizational and marketing bar-riers do exist and a restructuring of business, government, and economy is required (McDonagh, 1998).

Kilbourne (2004) picks up on sustainable communication. The researcher takes it one step further by pointing out that to judge if sustainable communication is likely to stimulate sus-tainable consumption, a better understanding of the dominant social paradigm and its corre-lation to advertising is necessary. Advertising reinforces consumption and thus progress – the superior goal of the dominant social paradigm of western societies. This circumstance unifies advertising and the dominant social paradigm. While sustainable communication however is a threat to the paradigm – it is undermining the coherency of the two and has an ecocentric view as its premise. If sustainable communication operates as a radical, successful opposition, a transformation of the paradigm can become feasible. Though, as it is, a transformation is likely to fail. Therefore, a concept that gives an understanding of the dominant social paradigm and its functions within society is advised to be developed. Kilbourne (2004) finalizes his re-search if sustainable communication and the dominant social paradigm can be integrated with:

The success of sustainable communication in engendering sustainable consumption rests on three pillars. The first is the development of the theory of sustainable communications that McDonagh (1998) has begun. The second is a thorough understanding of the DSP of Western society and its role in sustainability. And finally, a compelling narrative must be developed incorporating the two (p. 205).

Finally, especially when making use of sustainable communication, communicators need to be aware of their audience’s sustainability understanding and think about a fitting and accessible way to introduce information (Allen, 2016).

The central ideas of the theoretical concept of sustainable communication are intended to put to use when analyzing how consumers are reasoning with themselves about their personal fashion consumer behavior after being exposed to a sustainable communication strategy. Does the sustainable communication strategy carried out by Nudie Jeans work as an opposition to unsustainable operations and towards creating an understanding of the dominant social para-digm and its consequences among customers as advised by Kilbourne (2004)? The later anal-ysis will also evaluate the customers’ sustainability understanding and appropriate ways of spreading information about sustainability.

With the awareness of the theories of the attitude-behavior gap and sustainable communica-tion, the present study aims to contribute in-depth knowledge about how sustainable commu-nication is perceived by fashion consumers and how such information possibly minimizes pre-vailing attitude-behavior gaps.

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5 Method and Material

This chapter will describe the choice of semi-structured interviews as a method. The interview design, selection of respondents, conduct, and analysis of the interviews will be laid out. 5.1 Choice of Method and Research Approach

Qualitative research is insightful, interpretive and theoretical. Language is used to understand experiences and relationships in a larger sense. Qualitative media researchers examine the va-riety of created meaning and value, they pursue to understand the diverse relationships, look-ing at how society comprehends certain media messages (Brennen, 2013). For this study, a qualitative research method is chosen to get the best possible insights in the investigated sub-ject. The research questions seek to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between sustainable communication and ethical consumer behavior, what values are created through sustainable communication, and how consumers understand the sent messages. Altogether, the qualitative research strives to cater to interpretations of those issues.

When pointing out the strengths of qualitative research, Tracy (2019) highlights that

[…] qualitative research is especially well suited for accessing tacit, taken-for-granted, intuitive understandings of culture. Rather than merely asking about what people say they do, researching in context provides an opportunity to see and hear what people actually do (p. 7).

She emphasizes that the interpretation of participants’ viewpoints can contribute to under-standing about issues in society and finally aid humanity to some extent (Tracy, 2019). In con-nection to the earlier elaborated theory of the attitude-behavior gap, this pinpoints why quali-tative research is the appropriate approach for the present study. The goal is exactly that – to seek a deeper understanding of how and why customers are (not) purchasing sustainable fash-ion and contribute societal knowledge that supports a shift of fashfash-ion consumer behavior. 5.2 Tool of Data Collection: Semi-structured Interview

The present research is pursuing to gather insights from customers of an ethical fashion brand about their perception of the brand’s sustainable communication. Therefore, in-depth, semi-structured interviews are considered the most appropriate qualitative method. The interview itself can be described as a conversation between a researcher and an informant. The re-searcher looks for certain information and the informant is likely to have the wanted infor-mation (Berger, 2014). In research interviews, a conversation attempts to uncover peoples’ de-scriptions of experiences and articulation of reasons for actions. The interview draws on cul-tural and day-to-day aspects of human learning, thinking, and acting (Brinkmann & Kvale, 2015). This description agrees with the intent of the study, to shed light on how fashion

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sumers think, but also on their intentions to act after being exposed to sustainable communi-cation. The promise of interviews is to gather information from respondents that help to com-prehend their various points of view as fashion consumers. Another, more functional ad-vantage of interviews is the circumstance that the conversation can be recorded and the tran-script with its details and depth can be analyzed afterward (Berger, 2014).

5.3 Interview Design

For the design of the interviews, a set of pre-established questions has been developed. Semi-structured interviews offer flexibility because the order of questions can be varied and follow-up questions to gain depth can be implemented spontaneously (Brennen, 2013). Although flex-ibility is important to have room for interviewees to express their viewpoints, for a systematic comparison of data it is valuable to include several structured questions (Tracy, 2019). Before the questions are asked, each of the respondents gets a brief introduction about the measures Nudie Jeans is taking to communicate sustainability on their website (see appendix). The introduction consists of information Nudie Jeans is providing about sustainability in the realm of materials, production, and products. The preface then focusses on how Nudie Jeans is framing organic and recycled cotton and its difference to conventional cotton. The introduc-tion is provided regardless of the respondents’ knowledge level to make sure that all the inter-viewees have the same awareness starting point when responding to the questions. In the qual-itative research process, the researcher and the instrument are the same – the researcher is the one mentally and physically registering observations. Thus, being self-reflective about interests and biases is of special importance as a qualitative researcher (Tracy, 2019). Consequently, it is crucial to reflect on the possible effects of such an introduction and the role of the inter-viewer. On the one hand, the introduction can be beneficial for the research. The purpose of it is to encourage the customers’ reasoning with the information about sustainability Nudie Jeans provides. It promises to stimulate insightful argumentations and elaborate responses that can be used for the analysis. On the other hand, even though the introduction is meant to be presented as neutral as possible, the interviewer may appear as an advocate for Nudie Jeans. This could unintentionally influence the responses in a way that interviewees are less critical in their reasoning. This circumstance will be considered in the analysis of the interviews and further elaborated on in the conclusion.

To create a red thread throughout the interview and to lead the respondent to the more sub-stantial part of the inquiry, the interview questions are divided into three sections. In the first section, questions regarding sustainability and fashion consumer behavior are asked, such as:

- Please describe your attitude when it comes to sustainability. - How would you describe your fashion consumer behavior?

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Those are followed by questions about the respondents’ impressions and interests regarding Nudie Jeans’ sustainable communication and the level of knowledge they have had about the cotton production before the introduction.

- Have you read through the information Nudie Jeans provides about sustainability on

their website before this interview?

- Did you know about the predominant cotton practices in the fashion industry? The last section of the interview concentrates on the interviewees’ feelings and thoughts after receiving such information and their assessment if the communication measures may carry the chance of prompting their fashion consumer behavior.

- How does the provided information about sustainability, especially about the cotton

practices make you feel and think about the fashion industry?

- Do you think Nudie Jeans’ communication about sustainability carries the chance to

change your behavior when it comes to purchasing clothes? In what ways?

Finally, the respondent is asked if there is a desire to add something to the conversation. Concerning the wording of the interview questions, the questions are kept as clear, straight-forward, and neutral as possible to keep the interviewees focused on the details and encourage them to express their personal opinion. Yes or no questions are tried to be avoided and in the case those are asked, they are accompanied by follow-up questions such as “How…?”, “Can you name examples?”, “In what ways?” (Tracy, 2019). To ease the participants into the interview introductory questions such as “Can you tell me about …?” and “Please describe …” are asked. The more thought-provoking questions are postponed until the later part of the consultation, with the assumption in mind that the participants are by then more familiar with the topic and comfortable with the situation to answer such questions (Brinkmann & Kvale, 2015).

5.4 Selection of Respondents and Conduct of Interview

The type of the interviews at hand can be defined as respondent interviews. Those are charac-terized by interviewees holding similar positions that correspond with the research goal. They are ought to speak about their motivations and behaviors (Tracy, 2019). For the present re-search, respondent interviews are considered the best fit. The intention is for each interviewee to have the same characteristic, namely being a Nudie Jeans customer and based on this ground for them to express their opinions and elaborate on sustainability and consumer prac-tices. Overall, all respondents having the same background in that sense makes for an estima-ble comparison of the results later on. Besides respondent interviews being the best fit for this study for the named reasons, it also facilitates the selection of respondents. Since the clear aim is to only interview Nudie Jeans customers, a strategy to encounter those has been developed. With the time and cost limitations and the special circumstances in the world during the time

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this research is conducted1 it is particularly difficult to approach customers in natural settings

such as Nudie Jeans stores. Therefore, the convenience sampling method is chosen. In times where social interactions are restricted more than ever, approaching customers online seems to be the exclusive and most appropriate way. When it becomes extremely difficult to enter specific groups, choosing convenience samples for research purposes is considered legitimate (Jensen, 2011). Four interviewees were found through the researcher’s network. Six respond-ents were approached through the Nudie Jeans Instagram account. Here it is important to dis-tinguish between the two channels used for this research – the Nudie Jeans’ Instagram account and the website. Even though some interview respondents seem to be more active on Insta-gram, this channel is simply used to identify Nudie Jeans customers. As described in the inter-view design section (5.3), during the interinter-view the focus lies on the website of which customers are not necessarily aware. This focus is chosen because the website comprises most infor-mation about sustainability. For the selection of interviewees, several Instagram posts were inspected, whether the person commenting could be identified as a customer and the Insta-gram profile is public (Nudie InstaInsta-gram, 2020). With those who met the criteria and agreed to an interview, a meeting via the online meeting platform Zoom was arranged (Zoom, 2020). Before carrying out the interviews, all respondents have been asked to sign a consent form – a written agreement that protects the researcher and participant. The form itself informs the participant about the voluntary participation, right of withdraw, the purpose, confidentiality, and consequences of the research (Brinkmann & Kvale, 2015). The interviews were finally con-ducted in week 17, with a duration between 20 and 40 minutes, including the introductory information about Nudie Jeans’ sustainable communication. In total ten Nudie Jeans custom-ers were interviewed. This can be considered satisfactory. Although deciding the right number of interviews is challenging, ultimately the gathered insights about consumer perception and behavior give a good orientation about how many interviews should be conducted. Once the feeling arose that more interviews would not provide more fruitful information, the interview process was ended (Brennen, 2013).

The online character of the interview operation allowed the locations of the respondents to be quite spread. Three interviewees are located in Sweden, two in Canada, three in Germany, one in the United States, and one in England. Out of all the respondents, one is female, while the rest is male. This clear gender bias can be ascribed to Nudie Jeans initially being a menswear brand. The brand states that all jeans are gender-neutral, but they aim to increase the focus on women (Nudie, 2020). The ages of the respondents range from 22 to 53 years.

1 In spring 2020 it was highly advised to practice social distancing to prevent transmissions of the virus

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In contrast to quantitative, statistical analysis, there is no standardized method for qualita-tively analyzing text (Brinkmann & Kvale, 2015). Literature offering support and procedures for qualitative analysis exists, however, these possess more of an accompanying nature (Miles & Huberman, 1984). The analysis also depends on the selected theory as Gubrium & Holstein (2001) highlight by stating: “Each theoretical perspective implicates a set of procedures or ways of organizing, categorizing, and interpreting data. There is no single approach to qualita-tive analysis” (p. 673). Most qualitaqualita-tive research method literature advises after transcribing the interviews to make sense of the transcripts by classifying, categorizing, or coding (the terms are used interchangeably) the contents. This process assists in identifying themes and evaluat-ing which information is important. Finally, the codevaluat-ing will be refined and fewer descriptive categories evolve (Berger, 2014; Brinkmann & Kvale, 2015; Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The data of the present research is analyzed using a (phronetic) iterative approach as synthe-sized by Srivastava & Hopwood (2009) and Tracy (2013). Along the way, the analysis ascribes to the concepts of the theories of the attitude-behavior gap and sustainable communication. Tracy (2013) describes the phronetic iterative analysis approach – phronesis not only impli-cates building theory, but provides practical insights and guidance for social procedures. Iter-ation is the process of revisiting data and refining understanding and meaning (Tracy, 2013). First, the interviews conducted for the present research were transcribed and the results as-sembled in substantive categories. For this, the strategy of the primary and secondary cycle of coding was used. In the first cycle, the data was examined and descriptive words assigned. In the second cycle, the most significant codes were interpreted and connected to theoretical con-cepts. In the process, a codebook, capturing key codes, explanations, and examples, was cre-ated (Tracy, 2013). Finally, for the analysis the main themes will be drawn from the codebook and implications, limitations and future research prospects will be acknowledged.

5.6 Strengths and Weaknesses

The strengths and weaknesses of the research method at hand can be defined as the following. The qualitative study succeeds in contributing a deep and rich understanding of the relation-ship between sustainable communication and ethical consumer behavior. The research allows to provide insights about consumer perceptions of a fashion brand’s sustainable communica-tion strategy, as well as the interaccommunica-tion with such messages. Due to its qualitative character the research however fails to demonstrate the causal effects a brand’s sustainable communication has on its customers. The study falls short when it comes to showing the direct influences sus-tainable communication has on fashion consumers. It is ascribed to quantitative research to identify those direct effects and influences.

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6 Analysis and Presentation of Results

In this chapter, the data of the ten in-depth interviews will be analyzed and presented. In the course of this, the focus will lie on the interpretation of the collected data, as well as on the relation to the theoretical concepts used for the present research. When assessed as beneficial, selected quotes from the interviews will be accentuated.

6.1 Sustainable Communication: Prerequisites

As the earlier definition of theory has shown, there are several prerequisites for a successful sustainable communication strategy. The communicator needs to hold an awareness of the au-dience’s level of sustainability understanding (Allen, 2016). Further, for communicators, it is important to create a detailed understanding of the dominant social paradigm and its function in society among the audience. To convey the messages regarding the dominant social para-digm in a successful manner a compelling narrative must be established (Kilbourne, 2004). To bring this narrative forward, an appropriate and approachable channel needs to be chosen (Al-len, 2016). Ethical fashion brands utilizing sustainable communication need to pay attention to the named prerequisites. The following will show to what extent Nudie Jeans executes these and reaches their customers in that regard. Furthermore, to gain insights into fashion custom-ers’ development of reasoning with sustainable communication, the customcustom-ers’ general sus-tainability understanding and predominant consumption patterns will be presented first. As described in the method section (5.3), at the beginning of the interview the respondents were introduced to the information about sustainability Nudie Jeans’ presents on their website to ensure all interviewees possess the same level of knowledge in that regard. However, with the demand to not consider Nudie Jeans’ sustainable communication, the interviewees were asked to describe their understanding of sustainability and their consumption habits. This was done to see then the process of themes arising after customers start to bear in mind Nudie Jeans’ sustainable communication in their answers. The following analysis aims towards pre-senting the course of consumer reasoning and the role of sustainable communication in the process.

First, information about the interviewees’ sustainability and consumption will be put forward. Then, the analysis will shed light on the respondents’ awareness of Nudie Jeans being a sus-tainable brand, Nudie Jeans’ sussus-tainable communication and the predominant cotton prac-tices in the industry to evaluate further on the customers’ sustainability knowledge, but also to identify how successful Nudie Jeans’ sustainability is in reaching the customers. Later, the fashion consumers’ relation with sustainable communication will be examined.

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6.1.1

Sustainability Understanding

The theme of this section is the existence of sustainability understanding among interviewed Nudie Jeans’ customers. The patterns arising in regards to sustainability understanding are the presence of sustainability awareness and practices to some extent. In accordance with the theoretical perspective of Kilbourne (2004), this demonstrates that the topic of sustainability does not come as a surprise to Nudie Jeans customers when they are exposed to it and points towards an understanding of the dominant social paradigm within the fashion industry. When asked about the awareness of sustainability and actions taken in the realm of sustaina-bility, interviewees provide answers about their perception of sustainability and their individ-ual measures. Even though the respondents were told that the answers did not have to be con-nected to the fashion industry, some interviewees have referred to it and provide less personal responses. Some responses are more abstract, which makes it quite difficult to define their actual sustainability awareness. Overall, the responses show that all interviewees have some form of sustainability understanding. The respondents’ sustainability understanding can be categorized into customers with a thorough understanding of sustainability, some awareness of sustainability, and little understanding of sustainability. A profound understanding is, among other things, identified by expressing the core principles of sustainable development – the awareness of environmental and social aspects and the consideration of future generations (WCED, 1987), such as:

P2 – “I am aware that we should minimize our legacies as much as possible in order to leave an adequate place to live for future generations because everything is finite.”

P10 – “It's about the planet, people, profit. It's doing good for the people. It's doing good for the planet. And eventually, if you make a bit of profit, you invest in sustainability, you get to give something back.”

A more general sustainability knowledge is for example shown by the expression of: P3 – “Trying to do your part for the world.”

Statements that suggest interviewees’ measures for sustainability actions reach from not pri-oritized, little practices, whenever the interviewee feels like it; to simple daily applications, in-cluding waste reduction and more organic food choices; to extensive day-to-day deeds, such as a vegan diet, transportation choices and second-hand shopping; to extensive lifestyle choices, like a minimal lifestyle and growing own produce.

6.1.2 Impeding Factors of Sustainable Consumption

This section revolves around the consumption practices of the respondents and reveals the recurrent pattern of interviewees’ acting in alignment of the anthropocentric dominant social

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paradigm – they are not paying great attention to the influences fast fashion has on the envi-ronment and continue to support the industry. The understanding of the dominant social par-adigm and its unsustainable consequences appears to not be profound enough among respond-ents in order for them to focus extensively on sustainability while making shopping decisions – the attitude-behavior gap emerges.

The participants were asked how they consume fashion, what their interest in sustainable fash-ion is, and how they came to purchase from Nudie Jeans. Based on that, insights of the inter-viewees’ general (sustainable) fashion consumer behavior and purchase reasoning for buying from a sustainable fashion brand become visible. This shows to what extent the interviewees act according to the dominant social paradigm or else take sustainability in their purchasing decisions into consideration.

In the description of the participants’ fashion consumer behavior, different considerations and influences for the consumption of clothes can be found. Named factors that drive consumer behavior are necessity, quality, longevity, fit, likability, and sustainability. When looking at the sustainability factor more closely, two main findings among the participants arise. One finding describes the more elaborate consideration of sustainability when purchasing clothes. The other is advocated more extensive and acknowledges the argumentation of alternative pur-chase ambitions of customers.

P10, for example, represents the first finding and highlights that the main priority when shop-ping is to support small, sustainable businesses:

P10 – “I tend to have some brands that are really trying to be sustainable. That are usually a bit like the one-man brands. When I do shop I tend to pay attention to brands that are sustainable or have a really, really convincing story and can explain how they are trying to minimize the impact.” Other participants move away from having sustainability as a main consideration when ping for clothes and exemplify a repeating scheme. Sustainability does play a role in their shop-ping, however, it is oftentimes considered a bonus. Interviewee P7 highlights this by stating that the priority when buying clothes is fit, but sustainability is used as a justification for a higher price of a piece of clothing.

P7 – “I buy stuff that in a sense will fit me well. I don't care too much if it has a big brand behind it or such. If it fits me well, even if it’s more expensive, I'll buy it. I maybe pay more for one good pair of jeans rather than having five other pairs of mediocre jeans. And I feel like I'm contributing to the well-being of Earth. […] Obviously, there's usually a higher price of that, but in the end, the price is justified by the way that they treat such stuff, harvest or they create such things.”

Another participant expresses to be quite sustainably conscious, but acknowledges the oddness of a deficient focus on sustainability when purchasing clothes by stating:

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P3 – “I tend to buy less, more expensive things and things that will last for longer. It's odd, because when I go about my daily business, I think about sustainability a lot. When I buy something, if it is sustainable, then great, but it's almost like a secondary thought. It really helps, it makes me like brands more and therefore I'll buy them.”

The results of the analysis, that interviewees value sustainability, but are oftentimes supporting fast fashion, point to themes which correspond to the theory of the attitude-behavior gap. Even though sustainability is (for some less, for some more) important when consuming fashion, it is not prioritized to such an extent – more than other valued aspects of clothes – that it makes consumers not support fast fashion at all. Here, the attitude-behavior gap as defined in previ-ous chapters becomes visible and some of the impeding influences of the attitude-behavior gap that were already identified in the study by Bray et al. (2011) are apparent in the interviewees’ responses as well. The interviewees’ reasons to not shop sustainably include price, availability, access, likability, convenience, laziness, and uncertainty about what is sustainable. The uncer-tainty is especially emphasized by the following rhetorical question of participant 2:

P2 – “How can someone even identify if something is produced in a sustainable way or not?” Overall, the interview participants scrutinize different factors when making fashion consumer decisions and sustainability plays a role, however often not a highly prioritized one. This can be understood as an indication for ethical fashion brands to highlight the importance of sus-tainability even more and discourage consumer behavior that harms humans and natures well-being as pointed out by Assadourian (2010). The main findings regarding the fashion con-sumption of the participants display that there is room for improvement of dominant social paradigm understanding to ensure the favorable utility of sustainable communication. Conse-quently, it is ascribed to ethical fashion brands to create an understanding of the dominant social paradigm and its relation to sustainability through communication.

As a next step, the purchase reasons of Nudie Jeans customers are determined. Those reasons allow to attain more depth about fashion consumption of ethical brands. Here, the theme emerges that ethical brands should not only highlight the broad spectrum of sustainability, but provide detailed information about quality, organic cotton, repairs and longevity in their sus-tainable communication to oppose the attitude-behavior gap.

For the consumers, oftentimes the combination of different components influence the pur-chase decision. The stated purpur-chase reasons include fit, ethos, quality, organic cotton, repairs, longevity, looks, trend, and dry denim. The customers P3, P6, and P10 point out that Nudie Jeans’ ethos and mission statements positively affect their decision to purchase from that exact brand. This is expressed through the following statements:

References

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