Selling sustainability: investigating how Swedish fashion brands communicate sustainability to consumers

Over the last thirty years, sustainability has become a growing concern in fashion industry. While there is agreement among range of actors regarding need to engage with social and environmental challenges created by industry, less consent what entails. Although “sustainability” may be intuitively understood, it different meanings, depending on how applied, who applied by. Without clear-cut definition, becomes subjective. In this context, for research at intersection brand-sustainability initiatives their communication consumers, play vital role transition. Drawing case study Swedish we explore evolving industrial business models emerging best practices are informed robust understanding sustainability. We evaluate brands communicate consumers across three key sites: brand websites (including corporate responsibility reports), media platforms, in-store campaigns. found that not only do use define differently, but furthermore, these definitions vary context. Considering industry’s ongoing history greenwashing, address confront issue head on. argue determine constitutes industry and, turn, hold businesses standard. As COVID-19 magnified intensified challenges, article explores implications more approach both theory practice.