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The Use of Social Media to Promote Sustainable Fashion and Benefit Communications: A Data-Mining Approach

Author

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  • Li Zhao

    (Textile and Apparel Management, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA)

  • Stacy H. Lee

    (Department of Hospitality and Retail Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA)

  • Muzhen Li

    (Textile and Apparel Management, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA)

  • Peng Sun

    (The Climate Corporation, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA)

Abstract

Numerous brands utilize social media to capture consumers’ interests while promoting their sustainability goals. To understand how sustainable fashion brands communicate with their consumers, this study explored the visual and textual information sustainable fashion brands post on social media. Data were collected from sustainable fashion brands’ social media pages, and a total of 1525 images and captions and 140,735 comments were analyzed. By employing color theory and the theory of speech acts, HSV color analysis and the SVM classification model were used to extract information. The results showed that the images and captions posted by all three brands were consistent with their brand identities and sustainability goals. We also found that there were significant differences among the three brands when comparing posts employing expressive and assertive acts with posts using directive and assertive acts. These results indicate that social media users are more likely to leave comments when they read posts containing expressive and directive acts. These findings will allow fashion social media marketers to select appealing images and colors to engage consumers as well as to choose appropriate speech acts to deliver information to achieve their sustainability goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Li Zhao & Stacy H. Lee & Muzhen Li & Peng Sun, 2022. "The Use of Social Media to Promote Sustainable Fashion and Benefit Communications: A Data-Mining Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:3:p:1178-:d:729665
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lauren Reiter & Joy Kozar, 2016. "Chinese Students¡¯ Knowledge of Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Apparel and Sustainable Purchase Intentions," International Journal of Marketing Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(3), pages 12-21, June.
    2. repec:gdk:wpaper:12 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. Xue, Zhebin & Li, Qing & Zeng, Xianyi, 2023. "Social media user behavior analysis applied to the fashion and apparel industry in the big data era," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    2. Liu, Chih-Hsing & Horng, Jeou-Shyan & Chou, Sheng-Fang & Yu, Tai-Yi & Lee, Ming-Tsung & Lapuz, Maria Carmen B., 2023. "Discovery sustainable servicescape on behavioural intention practices and nationality: The moderating role of parasocial interaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. Enikő Korcsmáros & Bence Csinger, 2022. "Sustainable Competitiveness in the Case of SMEs—Opportunities Provided by Social Media in an International Comparison," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-18, September.

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