CSR communication and the use of recycled synthetic fibres in the fashion industry: A content analysis study of two Swedish fashion brands

Sammanfattning: The fashion industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental issues and has a significant part of plastic production due to the use of synthetic fibres. Much scientific research indicates that the fast fashion model is a significant part of using synthetic fibres; however, slow fashion brands are also using the fibres. Communicating products' sustainable footprint has become an essential focus for brands in the fashion industry in recent years. One of the most well-used communication strategies is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communication. This study investigates how two Swedish fashion brands, one fast fashion brand and one slow fashion brand, are using CSR to communicate the use of recycled synthetic fibres and how it has developed throughout the years. This study shows that the recycling and synthetic fibres have increased since they first appeared in the two brands' sustainability reports. However, this study did not identify remarkable communication differences between fast and slow fashion brands. Nevertheless, the results show that the slow fashion brand is using a higher percentage of recycled synthetic fibres than the fast fashion brand, the difference was approximately 20% in 2021.