The fashion industry, a major global polluter, has been paying more attention to the environmental and ecological impacts of clothing production. A subset of established brands — some supported by the US group Cotton Incorporated — have pushed programmes where denim and other types of clothing can be turned in at a store, collected, and then sent for recycling. Often, these recycling efforts are supported with promotional offers that allow customers to purchase new items at a discount. This is potentially paradoxical as in this way recycling is used to promote further consumption. This paper interrogates the promotion of recycling programmes from four US brands: American Eagle, H&M, Madewell and The North Face. To do so, this paper uses a textual analysis and deconstruction of the brands’ websites and in-store advertising, as well as a KWIC analysis of Twitter messages. By examining the tangible communication components that support the recycling efforts, this analysis highlights the ‘complicated greenness’ (Hepburn, 2013) within the process as consumer incentives for recycling promote further consumption and often leave consumers confused as to the environmental efficacy of such practices. This paper offers considerations for ways fashion brands might be more impactful in their foray into environmentalism.
The fashion industry shrugs at the circular economy
Second-hand clothing: Separating fact from fiction
Recycling Information
Clothing reuse: The potential in informal exchange
Recycling Practices in the Fashion and Textile Industry
ADVERTISING FOR THE HUMAN GOOD – new WPCC issue published – University of Westminster Press blog
Myles Ethan Lascity - Assistant Professor of Journalism; Director of Fashion Media - Southern Methodist University
Second-hand clothing: Separating fact from fiction
Lascity, Complicated Green Advertising: Understanding the Promotion of Clothing Recycling Efforts
