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.