Literature on luxury brands’ channels for sustainability communication
| Author | Channel | Objective | Main findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrigo, 2017 | Store | Examine luxury flagship stores as communication channels, supported by a case study on Kering’s “Smart Sustainable Store” initiative | Sustainable flagship store design reduces operational environmental impact and strengthens stakeholder awareness and brand reputation regarding the company’s environmental sustainability commitment |
| Arrigo, 2018 | Examine how flagship stores function as a communication channel for conveying luxury fashion retailers’ sustainability | Identify the unique features of sustainability communication in flagship stores and shows that in-store messaging helps luxury retailers raise stakeholder awareness of their sustainability commitments | |
| Luo et al., 2025 | Website | Understand how consumers perceive and engage with the information broadcasted on luxury companies’ websites | Three distinct layers of sustainability communication with different effects on awareness and action, and offers guidance for luxury fashion brands on effectively managing sustainability messaging on their websites |
| Luo et al., 2021 | Explore the role of corporate websites in communicating material innovations | Terminology strongly influences the accessibility of sustainability information | |
| Da Giau et al., 2016 | Examine which environmental and social sustainability practices companies in the Italian fashion industry adopt and how these companies communicate their sustainability commitment through their corporate websites | Links supply-chain sustainability practices with Web-based communication by identifying four approaches used by Italian fashion companies, addressing a gap in the literature | |
| Kong et al., 2021 | Social media Social media | Explore sustainability claims on social media to identify cultural, economic, environmental and social sustainability effects on brand attitudes, eWOM and purchase intentions regarding luxury and non-luxury fashion brands | Luxury and non-luxury fashion brand advertisers should carefully consider cultural settings when providing sustainability information |
| Perez‐Vega et al., 2025 | Examine luxury market brands’ communications related to the sustainable development goals on the social media platform “X,” and their impact on online consumer engagement | The study highlights the importance of sustainability communication in branded owned media, while emphasising the role of the brand in shaping the public agenda through the content consumers like and share | |
| Eastman et al., 2024 | Identify and compare which configurations of luxury brands’ social media posts generate positive consumer affect when communicating environmental versus social sustainability | Reveal distinct sets of post configurations that successfully generate positive consumer affect for environmental and social sustainability messages, measured by the share of comments containing a red heart emoji | |
| Klaus et al., 2025 | Analyse the role of sustainability in luxury consumption | Identify what online audiences consider sustainable, show the relevance of these perceptions for different luxury sectors and reveal the emotions triggered by sustainable luxury perceptions | |
| This study | Omnichannel approach | Understand how luxury brands communicate their sustainability initiatives through an omnichannel approach | Highlight the importance of delivering coherent and consistent sustainability content across multiple touchpoints to maintain brand consistency and narrative integrity across channels |
| Author | Channel | Objective | Main findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Store | Examine luxury flagship stores as communication channels, supported by a case study on Kering’s “Smart Sustainable Store” initiative | Sustainable flagship store design reduces operational environmental impact and strengthens stakeholder awareness and brand reputation regarding the company’s environmental sustainability commitment | |
| Examine how flagship stores function as a communication channel for conveying luxury fashion retailers’ sustainability | Identify the unique features of sustainability communication in flagship stores and shows that in-store messaging helps luxury retailers raise stakeholder awareness of their sustainability commitments | ||
| Website | Understand how consumers perceive and engage with the information broadcasted on luxury companies’ websites | Three distinct layers of sustainability communication with different effects on awareness and action, and offers guidance for luxury fashion brands on effectively managing sustainability messaging on their websites | |
| Explore the role of corporate websites in communicating material innovations | Terminology strongly influences the accessibility of sustainability information | ||
| Examine which environmental and social sustainability practices companies in the Italian fashion industry adopt and how these companies communicate their sustainability commitment through their corporate websites | Links supply-chain sustainability practices with Web-based communication by identifying four approaches used by Italian fashion companies, addressing a gap in the literature | ||
| Social media Social media | Explore sustainability claims on social media to identify cultural, economic, environmental and social sustainability effects on brand attitudes, eWOM and purchase intentions regarding luxury and non-luxury fashion brands | Luxury and non-luxury fashion brand advertisers should carefully consider cultural settings when providing sustainability information | |
| Examine luxury market brands’ communications related to the sustainable development goals on the social media platform “X,” and their impact on online consumer engagement | The study highlights the importance of sustainability communication in branded owned media, while emphasising the role of the brand in shaping the public agenda through the content consumers like and share | ||
| Identify and compare which configurations of luxury brands’ social media posts generate positive consumer affect when communicating environmental versus social sustainability | Reveal distinct sets of post configurations that successfully generate positive consumer affect for environmental and social sustainability messages, measured by the share of comments containing a red heart emoji | ||
| Analyse the role of sustainability in luxury consumption | Identify what online audiences consider sustainable, show the relevance of these perceptions for different luxury sectors and reveal the emotions triggered by sustainable luxury perceptions | ||
| This study | Omnichannel approach | Understand how luxury brands communicate their sustainability initiatives through an omnichannel approach | Highlight the importance of delivering coherent and consistent sustainability content across multiple touchpoints to maintain brand consistency and narrative integrity across channels |
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