The purpose of this study is to investigate corporate strategies promoting sufficiency-oriented consumption (sufficient consumption) across various fashion segments, analysing strategies adopted, identifying patterns, assessing communication consistency across channels, detecting potential anti-consumerist washing practices, a form of greenwashing and offering managerial lessons.
This exploratory qualitative study assesses corporate communication through the lens of the promotion of sufficient consumption, utilising a three-pillar framework from contemporary literature. It analyses the latest annual reports, websites and social media content on Facebook and Instagram from 15 prominent companies representing fast fashion, luxury and born-sustainable fashion segments.
The study reveals varying degrees of strategy adoption, with limited implementation undermining potential synergies. Companies across segments, including born-sustainable firms, exhibit inconsistent communication, compromising their credibility and sustainability efforts. This indicates widespread anti-consumerist washing and highlights difficulties and resistance in effectively integrating sufficiency into their corporate sustainability strategies.
The study encourages scholars to expand the sample and timeframe and urges fashion firms to prioritise more holistic, consistent, genuine commitment to sufficiency.
It enriches and validates the adopted framework applicability, offers new empirical evidence in business promotion of sufficient consumption and anti-consumerist washing, extends the paradox of sustainability in fashion to born-sustainable firms despite their natural inclination to adopt innovative business models and initiatives and provides clues to help managers and stakeholders support sufficient consumption effectively, guiding the industry towards a more circular, sustainable future.
