Sustainability as Identity

The concept of sustainable fashion has gained prominence due to growing concerns about waste production and excessive clothing consumption. A new market segment called sustainable fashion has emerged emphasizes incorporating fair trading principles, ethical labor practices, and organic materials to minimize environmental harm. Fashion companies have recognized the increasing interest in green and sustainable products, leading them to manufacture more environmentally friendly collections, while other companies, like Patagonia, have made sustainability a core objective and built their business and marketing strategies around it, focusing their branding efforts on sustainability. Brand identity is crucial for brands to stand out in a crowded market. In the past, physical marketing channels like billboards and printed magazines were used, but with the digitalization of the fashion industry, social media has become a powerful tool for brand establishment and reputation building. Social media branding has emerged as a relevant topic, offering online platforms for creating, sharing, and interacting with information. This shift offered consumers the ability to make informed, selective, and autonomous purchasing decisions by relying on recommendations from peers and brands on social media. However, that also made it harder for brands to keep the interest of customers and distinguish themselves from the rest. Despite the growing interest in sustainable fashion, academic research on how slow fashion companies succeed in constructing their brand identity on platforms like LinkedIn remains limited. LinkedIn, initially a job-hunting and recruitment platform, has evolved into an identity facilitator for companies. It offers an opportunity for businesses to not only recruit top talent but also build their brands. Furthermore, this project presents an external view of the brand identity and social media strategy of Patagonia in relation to sustainability that could guide other brands in implementing a similar approach on LinkedIn. The study establishes that the brand is strategically utilizing LinkedIn as a platform to illustrate its social and corporate responsibility by highlighting its sustainability actions through political discussions, leading to expanding its brand community. Patagonia possesses a strong connection with its audience by putting a face to the brand and offering a space where users can experience both activism and fashion.