Sustainable Fashion Undressed : An Ecofeminist Critical Sustainability Semiotic Analysis of German Sustainable Fashion Brands’ Advertising

Fashion is deeply entangled with socio-ecological injustice. Following Marxist theory, this problem stems from a society built on consumerism, leading to people's alienation from their (social) environment. Ubiquitously promoting fashion trends, wrapped in cultural messages creating desire, social media exacerbates this dynamic. Although the sustainable fashion industry argues to combat sustainability issues, it operates within a paradox, promoting sustainability while depending on economic success. In Western countries, like Germany, where fashion originally emerged as a marker of class, people nowadays show a greater commitment to sustainability practices in fashion. Nevertheless, fashion consumption remains high. Accordingly, this paper explores ads of three German sustainable fashion brands and their representations of sustainability notions. An ecofeminist-critical sustainability semiotic analysis was conducted to uncover how sustainable fashion brands construct sustainability narratives, particularly human-nature and social relationships. The findings reveal that the advertising narratives do not challenge conventional societal value systems. Instead, neoliberal-patriarchal social ideals are presented in conjunction with promoting sustainable clothing consumption as a solution to sustainability problems. In a discussion, these elements were evaluated regarding their negative impact on socio-ecological well-being.