Education, Science, Technology, Innovation and Life
Open Access
Sign In
  1. Home
  2. Journals
  3. Accounting and Corporate Management
  4. Vol 5, Issue 9, 2023

Marketing Strategy of Sustainable Fashion B Corporations: Case Studies in China

Download as PDF

DOI: 10.23977/acccm.2023.050906 | Downloads: 68 | Views: 637

Author(s)

Lun Dai 1

Affiliation(s)

1 Department of Business English, Foreign Language School, Chengdu Neusoft University, Chengdu, China

Corresponding Author

Lun Dai

ABSTRACT

The B Corporation (also referred as B Corp) movement is a relatively new phenomenon in China, with many verified B Corporations falling into the sustainable fashion or sustainable textile category. This paper aims to study these sustainable fashion B Corporations in China (SFBCs) from a marketing strategy perspective. To achieve this, the paper conducted effective qualitative research on 7 SFBCs, based on a substantial review of existing literature on sustainable fashion marketing. The qualitative research included analyses of secondary data on SFBCs, as well as interviews with relevant staff and on-site observations. Purposive sampling was also used to collect primary data (N=56) in order to explore relevant consumer behaviour for SFBCs products. The study found a mismatch between the supply and demand in terms of sustainability and affordability consciousness. To address this, the paper developed a tool called the Affordability-Sustainability Segments to clarify the positions of SFBCs and provide suggestions for their future development. The study of SFBCs can serve as a guide for the development of other B Corporations in China, particularly those in the sustainable fashion and textile industry.

KEYWORDS

B Corporation, Sustainable Fashion B Corporations in China (SFBC), Marketing Strategy, Affordability-Sustainability Segments

CITE THIS PAPER

Lun Dai, Marketing Strategy of Sustainable Fashion B Corporations: Case Studies in China. Accounting and Corporate Management (2023) Vol. 5: 37-50. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/acccm.2023.050906.

REFERENCES

[1] Anupam Das, Shriram Venkatraman, Sumit Mitra & Naveen Amblee (2022) "Who Are My Customers? ": The Case of Social Marketing a Social Entrepreneurship Venture in India, Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, DOI: 10. 1080/ 19420676. 2022. 2091644
[2] Athwal, N., Wells, V., Carrigan, M. and Henninger, C. (2019), "Sustainable luxury marketing: a synthesis and research agenda", International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 405-426. 
[3] Bandyopadhyay, C. and Ray, S. (2020 a). "Social enterprise marketing: review of literature and future research agenda", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 121-135. https://doi. org/10. 1108/MIP-02-2019-0079. 
[4] Bandyopadhyay, Chinmoy & Ray, Subhasis. (2020 b). Finding the Sweet Spot between Ethics and Aesthetics: A Social Entrepreneurial Perspective to Sustainable Fashion Brand (Juxta)Positioning. Journal of Global Marketing. ahead of print. 10. 1080/08911762. 2020. 1772935. 
[5] BCorpsCN (2023, March, 11). "Official Announcement of the 46th B Corp in Chinese Mainland". https://mp. weixin. qq. com/s/YC5pYZQbFtS5N80duyOV4Q. 
[6] Beard, Nathaniel D. (2008), "The Branding of Ethical Fashion and the Consumer: A Luxury Niche or Mass-market Reality? " Fashion Theory, Vol. 12/4, pp. 447-468. 
[7] Bianchi, C., Reyes, V., & Devenin, V. (2020). Consumer motivations to purchase from benefit corporations (B Corps). Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27, 1445-1453. 
[8] Bianchi, C., & Gonzalez, M. (2021). Exploring sustainable fashion consumption among eco-conscious women in Chile. International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 31(4), 375–392
[9] Brandão, Amélia & Costa, Ana. (2021). Extending the Theory of Planned Behaviour to understand the effects of barriers towards sustainable fashion consumption. European Business Review. ahead-of-print. ahead-of. 10. 1108/EBR-11-2020-0306. 
[10] Cespedes-Dominguez, Constanza & Fernández Robin, Cristóbal & McCoy, Scott. (2021). The Effects of Celebrity Characteristics on Purchase Intentions: A Focus on Consumer Concern of Environmental Issues. Sustainability. 13. 4083. 10. 3390/su13084083. 
[11] Davies, Iain. (2015). The values and motivations behind sustainable fashion consumption. Journal of Consumer Behaviour. 15. 10. 1002/cb. 1559. 
[12] Davies, I. A., Haugh, H. and Chambers, L. (2018), "Barriers to social enterprise growth", Journal of Small Business Management ( forthcoming), doi: 10. 1111/jsbm. 12429. 
[13] Evans, S. and Peirson-Smith, A. (2018), "The sustainability word challenge", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 252-269. 
[14] Gliga, Gabriela & Evers, Natasha. (2022). Marketing Capability Development through Networking -An Entrepreneurial Marketing Perspective. Journal of Business Research. 156. 10. 1016/j. jbusres. 2022. 113472. 
[15] Haines, Shelley & Fares, Omar & Mohan, Myuri & Lee, Seung. (2023). Social media fashion influencer eWOM communications: understanding the trajectory of sustainable fashion conversations on YouTube fashion haul videos. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management. 10. 1108/JFMM-02-2022-0029. 
[16] Han, S. L. -C., Henninger, C. E., Apeagyei, P. and Tyler, D. (2017). "Determining effective sustainable fashion communication strategies' ", in Henninger C., Alevizou P., Goworek H. and Ryding D. (Ed. ), Sustainability in Fashion, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp. 127-149. 
[17] Harris, F., Roby, H. and Dibb, S. (2016), "Sustainable clothing: challenges, barriers and interventions for encouraging more sustainable consumer behaviour", International Journal of Consumer Studies, Vol. 40 No. 3, pp. 309-318. 
[18] Hasbullah, Nornajihah & Sulaiman, Zuraidah & Mas'od, Adaviah & Ahmad Sugiran, Hanis Syuhada. (2022). Drivers of Sustainable Apparel Purchase Intention: An Empirical Study of Malaysian Millennial Consumers. Sustainability. 14. 1-24. 10. 3390/su14041945. 
[19] Hassan, Siti & Yeap, Jasmine & Al-kumaim, Nabil. (2022). Sustainable Fashion Consumption: Advocating Philanthropic and Economic Motives in Clothing Disposal Behaviour. Sustainability. 14. 1875. 10. 3390/su14031875. 
[20] Henninger, C. E., Alevizou, P. J. and Oates, C. J. (2016), "What is sustainable fashion?" Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 400-416. 
[21] Hugo, Andreza & Nadae, Jeniffer & Lima, Renato. (2021). Can Fashion Be Circular? A Literature Review on Circular Economy Barriers, Drivers, and Practices in the Fashion Industry’s Productive Chain. Sustainability. 13. 12246. 10. 3390/su132112246. 
[22] Kang, J., Liu, C. and Kim, S. -H. (2013), "Environmentally sustainable textile and apparel consumption:the role of consumer knowledge, perceived consumer effectiveness and perceived personal relevance", International Journal of Consumer Studies, Vol. 37 No. 4, pp. 442-452. 
[23] Kang, J. and Choi, W. (2016), "Endorsed sustainable products: the role of celebrity ethicality and Brand ethicality", Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, Vol. 34 No. 4, pp. 303-319. 
[24] Kim, H., Choo, H. J., Yoon, N., Jung Choo, H. and Yoon, N. (2013), "The motivational drivers of fast fashion avoidance", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 243-260. 
[25] Lee, Ellen & Weder, Franzisca. (2021). Framing Sustainable Fashion Concepts on Social Media. An Analysis of #slowfashionaustralia Instagram Posts and Post-COVID Visions of the Future. Sustainability. 13. 9976. 10. 3390/su13179976. 
[26] Li, J., Zhao, M., Xu, C. (2023). Social Enterprises and Benefit Corporations in China. In: Peter, H., Vargas Vasserot, C., Alcalde Silva, J. (eds) The International Handbook of Social Enterprise Law. Springer, Cham. https://doi. org/10. 1007/978-3-031-14216-1_24. 
[27] Lin, Carolyn & Wang, Xihui & Yang, Yukyung. (2023). Sustainable Apparel Consumption: Personal Norms, CSR Expectations, and Hedonic vs. Utilitarian Shopping Value. Sustainability. 15. 9116. 10. 3390/su15119116. 
[28] Lundblad, L. and Davies, I. A. (2016), "The values and motivations behind sustainable fashion consumption", Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 149-162. 
[29] Mendoza, Carmen & Pinillos, Luis & Macarachvili, Andres. (2021). Inbound marketing as a strategic approach in the context of technological start-ups aimed at businesses. Universidad y Sociedad. 13. 526-533. 
[30] Michel, Gwendolyn & Feori-Payne, Meegan & Damhorst, Mary & Lee, Young-A & Niehm, Linda. (2019). Stories We Wear: Promoting Sustainability Practices with the Case of Patagonia: Patagonia's Stories We Wear Blog. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal. 48. 10. 1111/fcsr. 12340. 
[31] Mishra, Anubha & Borin, Norm & Lindsey-Mullikin, Joan & Krishnan, Ram. (2023). Understanding Consumers' Motivations and Product Preferences for Deconsumption. CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change. 2. 10. 55671/2771-5582. 1022. 
[32] Mohr, I.; Fuxman, L.; Mahmoud, A. B. A triple-trickle theory for sustainable fashion adoption: The rise of a luxury trend. J. Fash. Mark. Manag. Int. J. 2022, 26, 640–660
[33] Morais, Cláudia & Pires, Paulo & Delgado, Catarina. (2022). Determinants of Purchase Intention for Sustainable Fashion: Conceptual Model. 10. 4018/978-1-6684-5523-4. ch005. 
[34] Munir, Sufia. (2020). Eco-Fashion Adoption in the UAE: Understanding Consumer Barriers and Motivational Factors. Fashion Practice. 12. 1-23. 10. 1080/17569370. 2020. 1777729. 
[35] Mukendi, Amira & Davies, Iain & Glozer, Sarah & McDonagh, Pierre. (2019). Sustainable Fashion: Current and Future Research Directions. European Journal of Marketing. 10. 1108/EJM-02-2019-0132. 
[36] Nekmahmud Argon, Md & Naz, Farheen & Ramkissoon, Haywantee & Maria, Fekete Farkas. (2022). Transforming consumers' intention to purchase green products: Role of social media. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 185. 122067. 10. 1016/j. techfore. 2022. 122067. 
[37] Nygaard, Arne. (2023). Is sustainable certification's ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability. 4. 10. 3389/frsus. 2023. 1188069. 
[38] Overdiek, A. (2018), "Opportunities for slow fashion retail in temporary stores", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 67-81. 
[39] Perry, A. and Chung, T. (2016), "Understand attitude-behavior gaps and benefit-behavior connections in Eco-Apparel", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 105-119. 
[40] Pristl, Ann-Catrin & Kilian, Sven & Mann, Andreas. (2020). When does a social norm catch the worm? Disentangling social normative influences on sustainable consumption behaviour. Journal of Consumer Behaviour. 20. 635-654. 10. 1002/cb. 1890. 
[41] Ramus, Tommaso & Vaccaro, Antonino. (2017). Stakeholders Matter: How Social Enterprises Address Mission Drift. Journal of Business Ethics. 143. 1-16. 10. 1007/s10551-014-2353-y. 
[42] Riesgo, Silvia & Lavanga, Mariangela & Codina, Mónica. (2022). Drivers and barriers for sustainable fashion consumption in Spain: a comparison between sustainable and non-sustainable consumers. International Journal of Fashion Design Technology and Education. 16. 10. 1080/17543266. 2022. 2089239. 
[43] Ritch, E. L. and Schröder, M. J. (2012), "Accessing and affording sustainability: the experience of fashion consumption within young families", International Journal of Consumer Studies, Vol. 36 No. 2, pp. 203-210. 
[44] Salido-Andres, Noelia & Rodríguez, Nuria & Cachero-Martínez, Silvia. (2022). Connecting Social Enterprises and Sustainable Consumption: Systematic Review, Bibliometric Analysis, and Conceptual Framework. Sustainability. 14. 10. 3390/su142013428. 
[45] Sevik, Neslihan & Yıldırım, Seda. (2023). Sustainable Enterprises Post COVID-19 Pandemic: The Rise of Sustainable Fashion Enterprises. 10. 4018/978-1-6684-7020-6. ch017. 
[46] Strähle, J. and Sfameni, M. C. (2017), "Potentials of a fashion fTRACE app", in Strähle, J. (Ed. ), Green Fashion Retail, Springer, Singapore, pp. 249-268. 
[47] Telyčėnaite, Austė. (2023). Communication Features of Sustainable Fashion on Instagram: Use of the Hashtag #sustainablefashion. Information & Media. 95. 70-93. 10. 15388/Im. 2023. 95. 58. 
[48] Testa, Danielle & Bakhshian, Sonia & Eike, Rachel. (2021). Engaging consumers with sustainable fashion on Instagram. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal. ahead-of-print. 10. 1108/JFMM-11-2019-0266. 
[49] Williams, Annie & Hodges, Nancy. (2022). Signaling Sustainability: Exploring Consumer Perspectives on Communicating Apparel Sustainability Information. Journal of Sustainable Marketing. 26-40. 10. 51300/jsm-2022-49. 
[50] Visser, M., Gattol, V., Helm, R. and Vander, (2015), "Communicating sustainable shoes to mainstream consumers: the impact of advertisement design on buying intention", Sustainability, Vol. 7 No. 7, pp. 8420-8436. 

Subscription
E-Mail Alert
Most popular papers
Call for Special Issue
Publication Ethics & OA Statement
Plagiarism Policy
Contact Us
Downloads: 13419
Visits: 181151

All published work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright © 2016 - 2031 Clausius Scientific Press Inc. All Rights Reserved.