The Influences of Parasocial Relationship and Sources Credibility in Promoting Sustainable Fashion in Social Network Sites

Abstract

Fashion industry is the second most polluted industry in the world that has caused social and environmental issues. Pointing to the fact, sustainable fashion has been designed to reduce pollution and to improve working conditions in the industry. Concurrently, many consumers have claimed that they are concerned about the impact of major fashion brands on the planet. However, beyond the concerned, the market share produced on this fashion concepts are still lagging. In reaching potential consumers, advertisement via social network sites (SNS) appears to be the most effective medium to reach them. Due to this reason, this study designed the most persuasive ways of promoting sustainable fashion advertising. By engaging the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM), this conceptual paper demonstrates the relationships between parasocial relationship, sources credibility, and sustainable fashion consumption. This study proposes three hypotheses based on the growth of sustainable fashion within the Malaysian context. As this study will involves with quantitative analysis, the researchers will employ the PLS software for data analyses in future. Although the sustainable fashion scene in Malaysia is still slow, its growth is promising. The findings can be leveraged to gain deeper understanding on how to create effective digital advertising with the implementation of persuasive knowledge, parasocial relationships, and sources credibility. Accordingly, the study outcomes contribute to various practical implications that may be beneficial for marketing, policy making, and non-governmental action aimed at stimulating sustainable fashion consumption from a dyadic perspective.

Drivers of Sustainable Apparel Purchase Intention: An Empirical Study of Malaysian Millennial Consumers

“…Simultaneously, non-profit organisations around the world, through their fashion revolution campaigns, have begun to advocate for sustainable, ethical, and fair fashion. The Fashion Revolution has spread to over 100 countries around the world, including Malaysia [24].…”

Exploring Consumer Engagement in Response to Sustainable Social Media Content and Brand Identity of Fashion Brands

“…Generally, any type of consumer engagement is helpful to brands because it increases the chances that their marketing message will reach more people. However, creation engagement, or user generated content (UGC), is often most valuable to brands because it has the added benefit of trend-setting and can facilitate long-term relationships between consumers and organizations (Hasbullah, Sulaiman, Mas'od, 2020). All three levels of consumer engagement behavior are positively affected by media richness in different capacities.…”

“…However, employing emotional branding strategies can help brands connect to consumers' emotions and secure loyalty and sales (Kim & Sullivan, 2019). Intention to purchase sustainable fashion is often motivated by two intrinsic values; self acceptance and community feeling (Hasbullah, Sulaiman, Mas'od, 2020). Purchasing sustainably causes consumers to feel that they have done something good and contributed to a greater mission.…”

Barriers to sustainable development in the fashion industry: Supply chain complexity and consumers' attitude-behavior gap

“…Poor media promotion of sustainable fashion is another cause of the lack of consumer interest. Social media today are the most responsible for the dissemination of such information (Hasbullah, Sulaiman, & Mas'od, 2020). Adequate communication could encourage people to buy and recycle sustainable clothing.…”