En konstruerad verklighet : En kritisk diskursanalys av second hand inom svensk media

Sammanfattning: Sustainability is a term of significant relevance in today’s global context, permeating discourses and management decisions, and influencing decision-making at the head of most industries. This is particularly apparent in relation to fashion. Second hand clothing is often portrayed as a model towards sustainable consumption, reducing personal environmental impacts while signifying good ethics. Critique towards the fashion industry's environmental consequences is often aimed towards waste created and energy consumption necessary for the production of new clothing, and very rarely towards our discarded clothing. However, the impact our unwanted clothes have on our environment and social life in marginalized countries is severe. This argument is strengthened in the thesis by Andrew Brooks previous research and fieldwork. Furthermore this thesis will draw upon works by Raymond L Bryant and Michael K Goodman in order to investigate the reasons for consuming sustainable items. This thesis adheres to Norman Fairclough's three dimensional model of critical discourse analysis to investigate how Swedish media portrays second hand clothing. We believe that there is an overly positive view on second hand clothing that lacks critique and transparency. Furthermore, the thesis draws upon Patrik Aspers theories on fashion markets and how they function through status. In order to get a fair view of how Swedish media portrays the second hand-market, research on 100 articles were conducted by using the digital archive Mediearkivet. Two central themes were found in the articles and they are analyzed according to Fairclough's model. The results of the analysis shows how Swedish media primarily portrays the second hand-market as something positive, with limited hints towards the effects it has on our environment. The results also show how Swedish media is co-creating the second hand-market together with other agents in the industry to.... Media has a big part in forging what we see in any subject, which should not be overlooked. With this thesis, we want to show how this last statement is true.