“It’s Not Just Fashion For Fashion’s Sake”: Sustainable Fashion Social Media Influencer Ecosystem

Globally we are witnessing the environmental demise of our planet. Simultaneously, consumers have shown a greater interest in shopping second-hand and the sustainable fashion industry is experiencing rapid growth, which is estimated to reach $8.25 billion by 2031 (Businesswire, 2020). This market acceleration led to the exploration of sustainable fashion social media influencers. 

Using semi-structured interviews with 20 sustainable fashion social media influencers, the research analyzes the ecosystem of sustainable fashion social media influencers and makes three unique contributions. First, the research introduces a three-part typology of sustainable fashion social media influencers: 1) sustainable lifestyle influencers, 2) sustainability influencers, and 3) thrifting influencers. Second, the research uncovers how sustainable fashion social media influencers perform vulnerability and sustainability failures in a strategy to portray curated authenticity. Finally, the research identifies "the entrepreneurial dichotomy," which refers to the challenge that sustainable fashion influencers face when they harmonize their ethos of sustainability and ethics along with their desire to leverage their social media platforms for profit.