Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Who Advocates #sustainablefashion? Role of the Message Sender and Message Type on Sustainable Fashion Communication on Twitter

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Abstract

Sustainability issues in the fashion industry have received incremental attention from diverse stakeholders, yet sustainable fashion communication is still confusing. Due to the complexity of its nature, prior literature has addressed the challenges of comprehending sustainable fashion and its impacts on consumers. Thus, we explore how sustainable fashion is communicated in the most influential opinion/thought-sharing platform (i.e., Twitter). In particular, this study examined the relationship between the message sender (e.g., governments, nonprofits, for-profits, media organizations, and individuals) and types of sustainable messages (environmental, social/ethical, and economic/business-related messages). Analyzing 7,366 conversations (i.e., original tweets) of opinion leaders with more than 1,000 followers revealed that for-profit and media organizations often publish environmental messages. Nonprofits and individuals share social- and economic-relevant sustainable messages.

Keywords: Twitter, metadata, opinion leader

How to Cite:

Lyu, J. & Shin, s., (2022) “Who Advocates #sustainablefashion? Role of the Message Sender and Message Type on Sustainable Fashion Communication on Twitter”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 79(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.15734