5 Effective Sustainable Fashion Marketing Campaigns to Get Inspired By
By Jharna Pariani
Take a look at these five marketing campaigns by responsible fashion brands who’ve communicated their sustainability efforts in the most memorable manner.
Whether you’ve just launched your sustainable fashion brand or find yourself in a marketing role for one, communicating the brand’s genuine efforts to be green in a way that leaves a lasting impression can be tough. As attention spans continue to shorten in an increasingly digitally stimulated world, how you choose to grab consumer attention and communicate your sustainable credentials matters now more than ever.
There’s also the potential trap of getting carried away and resorting to greenwashing, which is when a brand's marketing or communications makes them appear more sustainable than they really are.
Today, brands are facing tough regulatory standards and have to find a way to be conscientious with their communication and credibly back up any green claims or risk facing legal scrutiny. (If you’d like to avoid falling into this trap, here are seven steps that’ll help you identify greenwashing in your messaging that can be used as a filter to help evade it.)
When it comes to the consumer’s perspective, research insights by IBM claim that half of the consumers surveyed said they were willing to pay a premium for sustainability. However, less than one-third admitted sustainable products made up more than half of their last purchase.
To close that intention-action gap, the report claims that 21% of consumers would feel more encouraged to buy a sustainable product if they had a better understanding of how their purchase can help contribute to social responsibility, and if they had more information about where products are sourced, produced, and manufactured. If anything, these consumer insights hint at just how strong a role content and messaging play when it comes to detailing your sustainable journey.
To offer you some inspiration, we found five brands who’ve managed to hit a chord with their sustainable fashion marketing campaigns, while providing food for thought and leaving a lasting impact.
What Are Some Ways to Market Your Sustainability?
Romanticizing quality and longevity
Case study: Adolfo Dominguez
The campaign: Old Clothes
For Spring/Summer 2020, Spanish designer brand Adolfo Dominguez launched an inspiring campaign (released in February, before the global lockdown) called “Old Clothes”.
The campaign featured images of models wearing the brand’s clothes that were 30 to 40 years old, donated by Dominguez’s old and loyal clientele. The old clothes in question appeared as good as new and showed no sign of looking too “dated” in its style. All of the images featured a bold headline claiming how old the clothes were, followed by a tagline urging its readers to, “Buy clothes that will last longer than the trends. Be older.”
The complementing video campaign featured interviews with the old clothes donors who said they’d prefer “one good garment over three bad ones”, and “a basic wardrobe that can be worn for years to come.”
Why it worked:
The campaign successfully managed to highlight the wearable value of the clothes despite their age, which indirectly pointed to the level of quality and trend-agnostic styles the brand swears by offering. At one point in the video campaign, a model who was interviewed claimed that she, “probably owned 10 pairs of jeans but only wore two” and that she “wears the same thing over and over until it falls apart.” This immediately resonated and set the tone for the rest of the video.
As consumers, we share similar tendencies towards our own wardrobes. All of us have stories about clothes that look good on us, make us feel comfortable, and exude great quality that has lasted longer than imagined. We always turn to those pieces when we’re getting dressed in a rush or simply wish to look good without the added fuss.
Evocative messaging is a great way to send a strong statement about your clothes. In the Spanish brand’s case, the message of revering old clothes has been stitched into its heritage since its inception. According to the brand, “Wrinkles are beautiful” is a phrase that covers the entire philosophical dimension of Adolfo Dominguez.
Just take a look at their Spring/Summer 2019 campaign “Be Older” which features senior folk wearing their clothes. It speaks to the wisdom of the older generation and how they know that “what’s new isn’t necessarily better” and “that it’s not about buying more but choosing better.”
2. Impactful messaging
Case study: Patagonia
The campaign: Don’t Buy This Jacket
In 2011, Patagonia ran a provocative ad in the New York Times featuring its bestselling R2® Jacket under a bold headline titled “Don’t Buy This Jacket” on the occasion of Black Friday. Ironically placed on a day that has come to be known for its hedonistic shopping ways, Patagonia caught the reader’s attention with that headline alone.
What followed was a fine print requesting its readers to consider “buying less and reflecting” before they spent a dime on that jacket or anything else. They even went on to detail the environmental impact of the R2® Jacket along with the resources it consumed, but immediately reminded the reader about just how durable it is and that the buyer can return it once it’s worn out, so Patagonia can “recycle it into a product of equal value.”
All of this concluded with a call to action to join their Common Threads Initiative, which was a partnership between Patagonia, its customers, and eBay to buy and use clothes more sustainably, with the ultimate aim of keeping the clothes they sell from ever reaching the landfill. Today, that circular initiative is popularly known as their Worn Wear program which allows you to trade in and buy used Patagonia gear.
Why it worked:
This ad is a great example of how Patagonia holds itself accountable and responsible for the products that it creates. Despite receiving some backlash and being accused of hypocrisy, the brand was quick to retort that, “It would be hypocritical for us to work for environmental change without encouraging customers to think before they buy.” They added that the reason behind using a provocative headline was to, “To call attention to the issue in a strong, clear way.”
And this wasn’t even their first attempt with an anti-consumerist campaign. When the company got its start as Chouinard Equipments, a 1991 print catalog featured an introductory essay titled “Reality Check” reminding customers that every product they made caused environmental harm and encouraged them to buy better and buy less. Proving that they are a brand that isn’t afraid to lose a sale as long as their core message of practicing conscious consumerism is being spread.
In Yvon Chouinard’s biographical business book, Let My People Go Surfing, the brand's marketing philosophy clearly states that Patagonia’s image is a human voice that arises directly from the values, outdoor pursuits, and passion of its founders and employees. Stating that its voice “is not processed and won’t compromise its humanity,” and in doing so will “offend as much as it will inspire.”
Their philosophy is a great example of how important it is to identify the tone of voice your brand intends to have from the get-go and use it as a manifesto to guide future campaigns and messaging.
3. Preach only what you practice
Case study: Nudie Jeans
The campaign: Create tomorrow's vintage
“Create tomorrow’s vintage” has become Swedish brand Nudie Jeans’ new strategy as their 2022 Sustainability Report highlights. Visually, the ongoing campaign showcases a free-spirited vibe of models exuding the lived-in experience of wearing a pair of Nudie Jeans, while the narrator of the video — in his rock and roll vocalist tone, true to the brand’s image — speaks about how “clothes aren’t killing the planet, but mass consumption is”.
Before you even begin to think that you’ve heard this line before, the narrator continues to question whether sustainable fashion is the cure-all we really need and creates intrigue, “Sure, it’s great to see collections that are more sustainable. But are these sustainable collections really taking any burden off our planet, or are they just taking the guilt out of consumption?”
The closing and key message talks about how in order to be truly sustainable, they have to “Create clothes that are meant to be worn a whole life. Clothes that become more beautiful the more you wear them, the more you repair them.”
And those very facts are demonstrated in their campaign and line-up of secondhand clothes on offer through their Re-use collection and through their recycled Rebirth collection. The brand also offers free lifetime repairs on its products, reporting to have repaired 65,386 jeans in 2022 alone.
Why it worked:
The key message, “create tomorrow’s vintage” isn’t a preachy sermon directed at consumers but at the brand itself. It’s evident through this campaign that this message is a doctrine they wish to stand by and have credible proof to back it up. Today, most sustainable marketing is directed at consumers and holds them responsible for their choices; whereas, brands could do better by sharing that responsibility with the consumer for what they put out into the world.
Akin to Patagonia’s strategy of accountability, Nudie Jeans is not only encouraging its customers to keep their clothes long enough to make them worthy hand-me-downs for the next generation but also demonstrating what part they play in making it happen through their circular initiatives.
4. Offer experiences, not just product
Case study: RÆBURN
The campaign: RÆBURN Lab Tours
Since 2018, British designer Christopher Raeburn has been organizing intimate studio tours in London for people who are curious to observe the inner workings of how a sustainable fashion atelier is run, along with a meet and greet with the designer himself. The tours cost $6.99 per person and are limited to 20 participants per tour.
Reviewers of the RÆBURN studio experience on Airbnb described it as “being a kid in a candy store”, where visitors were given the freedom to explore all areas of the studio and the garments within it. Taking pictures was encouraged and visitors were also allowed to try on some of the runway creations. The reviewers also claim that “Christopher was open to discussion on any topic and willing to answer any questions one may have, from inspiration to production and design through to sourcing of his fabrics.”
Why it worked:
When it comes to the inner workings of how brands function or how garments are created, nothing beats offering a fly-on-the-wall experience to your customers — or better yet — an immersive and interactive one like that of Christopher Raeburn.
Brands and their efforts to be transparent about their supply chain have gotten so digitized that a tangible experience is almost always guaranteed to leave a lasting impression. These experiences can help customers gain a renewed sense of appreciation for the product being created.
If the idea seems impossible given the size of the brand’s studio, this could be a great opportunity to utilize influencer marketing to your benefit or share behind-the-scenes snippets of how your business functions.
B Corp Certified Danish brand Ganni has been routinely chronicling snippets of its production team and manufacturing process through its dedicated Instagram handle @ganni.lab. Right from a sneak peek into a day in the life of their Innovation and Sourcing Manager to how their hoodies are made, and even the design software they use to reduce sampling waste.
5. Inject some humor
Case study: Allbirds
The campaign: Meet The Wool Runners
Born in 2016, Allbirds is a sneaker brand that set out to create the coziest, most comfortable sustainable shoe and it all began with their now-bestselling Merino Wool Runners. For their launch campaign, the brand created a fun video that begins with a picturesque visual of some meadows in New Zealand, or what they cheekily call “the land of 29,412,213 sheep.” Then, the narrator, Tim Brown (who happens to be the brand’s co-founder) talks you through what inspired them to create shoes made out of wool in his thick New Zealander accent — hooking you in immediately.
The script of the video is light-hearted and funny, especially in parts where you see the founder’s mother and her friend knitting a sweater. A visual used intentionally to narrate how the wool they use is unlike any “hot or scratchy jumper your grandmother knitted you.” Tim goes on to talk about how Allbirds used “one of the world’s most renewable resources (wool) to turn it into a workable, breathable, comfort experience that’s like being upgraded to first class.”
Why it worked:
Building a mission-driven sustainable brand is serious business. Yet when you inject some humor to showcase your conscious efforts, you’re not only setting a fun tone of voice for your brand but also allowing the audience to digest important information in a light and memorable manner. Humor may not work in all instances, especially when the underlying issue is too serious, but it can be a welcome addition when the concerned information lacks imagination.
Even today, Allbirds maintains its sense of humor across most of its marketing platforms while educating its customers in the process.
About The Author:
Jharna Pariani is a fashion writer and creative strategist whose work is rooted in honesty and deep observation of the world around her. When she isn’t busy penning down her thoughts, she moonlights as a video editor creating fashion and food reels on Instagram for several brands and influencers