The Social Influencer and the Fast Fashion Haul
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The social influencer and the fast fashion haul: Understanding online awareness about climate change Laura Elisa Briganti MA Thesis New Media & Digital Culture Bogna Konior 23.753 words 1 Contents Abstract 3 1. Introduction 4 2. Theoretical framework 6 2.1 The Rise of the Social Influencer 13 2.2 The Fashion Industry and Climate Change 19 2.3 From Mass Media to Web 2.0 22 3. Case studies 30 4. Conclusion 40 Bibliography 48 2 Abstract This thesis explores the link between social influencer marketing and online awareness about the fast fashion industry and its impact on climate change. While much has been written on both of these topics separately, the link between them has been underexposed. It deserves to be focused on because social influencer marketing is a contemporary business that is growing rapidly and climate change is a pressing issue that is largely impacted by the fast fashion industry. This thesis will do so by shedding light on the haul video, in which social influencers recommend fashion items to their audience and their (lack of) awareness around the influence that these videos have on purchases which in turn affect climate change. Web 2.0 has allowed for new ways of communication and it is intriguing to zoom in on the moral responsibility some social influencers feel like they have, or do not have when they have grown from “the girl next door” to an online personality with brand deals involving great amounts of money. It is argued that although ethical consumerism on an individual level promoted by social influencers does impact climate change positively, it is essential to see this impact within the larger context of climate change responsibility in which corporations and businesses play a large role too. Keywords: social influencer marketing, fast fashion, climate change, YouTube, Instagram 3 1. Introduction The new media scene has seen an enormous rise in the popularity of the social influencer in the last few years. The bigger social influencers can have large audiences that frequently, but not always, look up to them and are inspired by them when it comes to their behaviour and purchasing decisions. In the fashion industry, the fashion influencer’s content on platforms is now the place where people get their style information from, instead of the more traditional media people used to get their inspiration from before, such as magazines, fashion shows and television. Fashion influencers are popular on platforms that have risen to great popularity in the new media scene. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are the biggest platforms on which social influencers present themselves, but within the fashion industry there are smaller platforms such as United Wardrobe as well, that allow people to exchange fashion pieces, ideas and inspiration tips in ways that were impossible up until very recently. The fact that the entire world of advertising around fashion has changed so much impacts the way people perceive and buy fashion tremendously. With influencers always showcasing the most recent products on their profiles to find online for followers and the simultaneous increase of production of fashion worldwide, it is interesting that there seems to be little attention for the effects of this industry on the world by these same advocates for the products. Humans play a central role in the climate change that has been occurring for the last decades. This is largely due to the burning of fossil fuels and destruction of ecosystems, causing an imbalance in the way nature has functioned for millions of years. It appears that the fashion industry is a big part of this problem. Next to the transport and cattle industries, it is one of the most polluting industries in the world. This is mostly because of water consumption, the spreading of pesticides and the ever increasing need for higher production numbers. In Stephen A. Doyle’s paper Supplier management in fast moving fashion retailing he shows that the rapidly evolving industry has caused retailers to opt for the lowest price possible to be able to deliver to the market as soon as possible. According to him, this is largely due to “short product life cycles, high levels of impulse buying and high volatility of demand coupled with low predictability of demand” (Doyle, 272). In our modern globalised world, this has resulted in a system in which inequality is abound. The fashion industry is very large and its impact on people and the planet is devastating. Whether it is the soaking of the countryside with pesticides and birth defects in certain regions as a result of this, or garment workers living under harsh conditions having no other choice because the brands are officially not directly linked to these factories. The fast fashion industry has figuratively divided the world into two: one world with glossy magazines, celebrities promoting products and glamorous advertisements, and another world in which unhealthy factories and cheap labour cause immense pain and suffering. The low price of the fashion one finds in stores, causes a high price to be paid on the other side, especially when looking at this through an environmental lens. However, when it comes to the social influencers, they do not seem to represent much awareness on this topic on their channels. This is particularly interesting, because their lives take 4 place in the public eye and this causes people to be influenced by their style when choosing to buy or not to buy something. Therefore, they are given, in some ways, more power to change things within the industry than someone who does not have the same large following as them. This thesis first offers a comprehensive overview of the rise of the social influencer and of how they have grown to become so popular on the web. Secondly, the thesis demonstrates how these social influencers navigate within the fashion industry, and what their impact on consumer behaviour is. Third, it explains the rise of Web 2.0 and its impact on the aforementioned perceiving of the industry by its consumers. Lastly, an overview is presented of social influencers on Web 2.0 advocating for the fashion industry, and climate change and the question of who is responsible for it. This thesis tries to bridge a gap between the research that has been done on climate change and the fashion industry on the one hand, and feelings of morality, ethics and responsibility connected to social influencer marketing on the other hand. The theoretical framework is followed by three case studies that focus on the construction of an online identity and the portrayal of self through fashion and material possession. The most attention is paid to this because the construction of an identity and expression through fashion appears to be an important reason for people to desire more clothes, thereby increasing the demand for fast fashion. The social influencers are particularly interesting in this regard, because they form a separate group situated between the consumers and brands. They have a saying in which products get promoted more, what type of coverage is presented on their channels (positive or negative) and have an audience that – to a certain extent – trusts them. Exploring the role of the social influencer within the fast fashion industry sheds light on their unique position between individual and corporate responsibility. In these case studies, the focus will be on three large Dutch YouTubers who together form a representative group of social influencers within the Dutch fashion social influencer scene. They all show different levels of awareness around the topic of climate change, and in the case studies their construction of identity through fashion, ethical approach and views are analysed to paint a full picture. By analysing the haul video, a type of video in which people show what they have bought, the social influencer behaviour is linked to construction of identity and consumerism. The showing-off of their products on their channels allows social influencers to create a revenue stream of their followers getting inspired by their style. The haul is a type of video that demonstrates well how people show-off and construct identity through buying clothes in one specific video format. The popularity of this type of video is clear, as it is a big category for fashion YouTubers that famous fashion social influencers keep making again and again for different seasons, styles and price ranges. That is why it was chosen as video that represents part of the lack of awareness about the fast fashion industry and consumption on the planet’s climate very well. The theoretical framework and case studies show that ethical consumerism, social influencers and their moral responsibility need to be viewed within the large, complicated and nuanced picture of climate change on Earth. A picture which not only consumers, but also corporations and businesses all are a part of. 5 2. Theoretical framework 2.1 The Rise of the Social Influencer In today’s rapidly changing media landscape, social influencers play an important role on social media platforms. These social influencers are users who have established a certain credibility in a specific industry and their opinions on certain matters within this industry are therefore valued. In combination with this credibility, social influencers have gathered a large following on the platforms they are active on and can consequently persuade the people that follow them. Recently, social influencer marketing has focused more and more on social influencers on social media, specifically on the platforms Instagram and YouTube. The combination of their large audience and the fact that they are a respected name within a certain industry, for example the fashion industry, allows social influencers to motivate people to do certain things like purchase a product or feel a stronger connection with one brand over another.