Style is an art form : The Role of Instagram Affordances in Promoting Sustainable Fashion as a Service

This study investigates new and alternative communication models of sustainable fashion within Instagram thrift stores in India using digital affordances of social media platforms. Drawing from interdisciplinary areas of fashion, media, and sustainability, we explore how social media platforms, such as Instagram, enable sustainable fashion systems of creation and consumption in distinct socio-ecological contexts. Addressing the current gap in the study of environmental communication and consumer behaviour, the study explores how Instagram affordances facilitate the promotion of fashion as an experience service through affective communication. Based on qualitative interviews with eight Instagram thrift store owners in India, our analysis reveals how these small businesses leverage Instagram to engage, interact, and foster a community with their customers to drive sustainable fashion consumption, contributing to the broader social and ecological well-being.