When sustainability becomes discourse: institutional narratives and symbolic value in brazilian fashion

Authors

  • André Bracciali FEA-USP
  • Vanessa Bulhões

Keywords:

Sustainable Fashion, Impact Businesses, Brand Authenticity, Strategic Communication, Brand Equity

Abstract

This article analyses how three Brazilian fashion brands — Flávia Aranha, Insecta Shoes and Justa Trama — construct symbolic value through institutional communication strategies aligned with socio-environmental sustainability. The study adopts a qualitative and exploratory approach, applying content analysis (Bardin, 2011) to institutional websites collected between March and May 2024. The corpus comprised manifestos, institutional descriptions, educational materials, images and videos, organised into four analytical categories: institutional purpose, socio-environmental practices, communication strategies and brand symbolic value. The results indicate that each brand adopts distinct repertoires of symbolic legitimation, articulating sustainability, authenticity and cultural engagement in their institutional narratives. The main theoretical contribution lies in demonstrating that, in impact-driven businesses, brand equity depends not only on the adoption of sustainable practices but also on the ability to translate them into authentic and culturally resonant narratives. On a practical level, the study systematises strategic communication models in sustainable fashion, providing insights for managers and entrepreneurs in the construction of ethically oriented and symbolically relevant brands.

References

Aaker, D. A. (1991). Managing brand equity: Capitalizing on the value of a brand name. Free Press.

Bardin, L. (2011). Análise de conteúdo. Edições 70.

Beverland, M. B. (2005). Crafting brand authenticity: The case of luxury wines. Journal of Management Studies, 42(5), 1003–1029. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00530.x

Blažková, I., Pedersen, E. R. G., & Andersen, K. R. (2025). Social media narratives in sustainable fashion: Activism, engagement, and consumer resonance. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 29(1), 55–73.

Cardoso, O. O. (2009). Comunicação empresarial: Função estratégica. Atlas.

Chen, Y.-S. (2010). The drivers of green brand equity: Green brand image, green satisfaction, and green trust. Journal of Business Ethics, 93(2), 307–319. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0223-9

Cornelissen, J. (2017). Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice (5th ed.). SAGE.

Dalla Valle, R. (2025). Moda regenerativa e articulação territorial dos ODS no Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Estudos da Moda, 9(1), 88–107.

Eccles, R. G., Klimenko, S., & Solano, C. (2019). The investor revolution. Harvard Business Review, 97(3), 106–116.

Elliott, R., & Wattanasuwan, K. (1998). Brands as symbolic resources for the construction of identity. International Journal of Advertising, 17(2), 131–144. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.1998.11104712

Escourido-Calvo, M., García-Madurga, M. Á., & Seoane-Pardo, A. M. (2025). Sustainable fashion brands and institutional communication in digital environments. Fashion and Sustainability Studies, 12, 45–61.

Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. Routledge.

Fischer, R. M. (2011). Marcas e cultura: Consumo e significado nas estratégias de branding. FGV Editora.

Fittipaldi, L., & Bhaduri, G. (2025). Brand purpose in digital platforms: Strategic communication in ethical fashion. Journal of Sustainable Communication, 8, 103–120.

Fournier, S. (1998). Consumers and their brands: Developing relationship theory in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 24(4), 343–373. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/209515

Franco, M. (2008). Comunicação empresarial: Teoria e pesquisa. Summus.

Godoy, A. S. (1995). Introdução à pesquisa qualitativa e suas possibilidades. Revista de Administração de Empresas, 35(2), 57–63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-75901995000200008

Gutiérrez Bonilla, C., Perona Páez, J. L., & Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, L. (2024). Symbolic value and authenticity in social businesses. Journal of Business Ethics, 189, 89–106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05502-3

Henninger, C. E., Alevizou, P. J., & Oates, C. J. (2016). What is sustainable fashion? Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 20(4), 400–416. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-07-2015-0052

Holt, D. (2004). How brands become icons: The principles of cultural branding. Harvard Business School Press.

Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualising, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1–22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1252054

Kim, H., & Oh, J. (2020). Brand communication strategies in corporate websites. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 25(2), 273–289. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-10-2019-0117

Kunsch, M. M. K. (2003). Planejamento de relações públicas na comunicação integrada. Summus.

Lee, S., & Lee, J. Y. (2024). Conspicuous sustainable consumption and status signalling: Exploring consumer motivations and WOM effects. Sustainability, 16(3), 202–221. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031202

Luhmann, N. (1995). Social systems. Stanford University Press.

Luhmann, N. (2005). A reality of the mass media. Polity Press.

McCracken, G. (1986). Culture and consumption: A theoretical account of the structure and movement of the cultural meaning of consumer goods. Journal of Consumer Research, 13(1), 71–84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/209048

Moorhouse, D. (2020). Sustainable fashion: Past, present and future. Fashion Practice, 12(3), 435–454. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17569370.2020.1773409

Napoli, J., Dickinson, S. J., Beverland, M. B., & Farrelly, F. (2016). Measuring consumer-based brand authenticity. Journal of Business Research, 69(3), 1090–1098. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.08.007

Niinimäki, K., Peters, G., Dahlbo, H., Perry, P., Rissanen, T., & Gwilt, A. (2020). The environmental price of fast fashion. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1(4), 189–200. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0039-9

Pedersen, E. R. G., Gwozdz, W., & Hvass, K. K. (2018). Exploring the relationship between business model innovation, corporate sustainability, and organisational values within the fashion industry. Journal of Business Ethics, 149(2), 267–284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3044-7

Rastogi, A., Kulshreshtha, K., & Jha, M. (2025). Transparency and trust in ESG communication. Journal of Business Communication and Ethics, 17, 140–156.

Sampaio, R. C., & Lycarião, D. (2021). Metodologias de análise de conteúdo digital. Editora Fiocruz.

Seidl, D., & Becker, K. H. (2006). Organizations as distinction-generating and processing systems: Niklas Luhmann’s contribution to organization studies. Organization, 13(1), 9–35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508406059635

UN Global Compact. (2004). Who cares wins: Connecting financial markets to a changing world. United Nations.

United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UN Publishing.

Downloads

Published

2026-04-27

How to Cite

Bracciali, A., & Bulhões, V. (2026). When sustainability becomes discourse: institutional narratives and symbolic value in brazilian fashion. International Journal of Business Marketing, 10(2), 126–136. Retrieved from https://ijbmkt.org/ijbmkt/article/view/338

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 2 (2025): IJBMKT

Section

Artigos Convidados

License

Copyright (c) 2026 André Bracciali, Vanessa Bulhões

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

I hereby declare that the present paper is original, not having been submitted, either fully or in part, to any other publication in any other national or international journal. I further state that once it has been published in the International Journal of Business & Marketing (IJBMKT) it will never be submitted by me or by its other authors to any other  journal. Through this instrument, on my behalf and on behalf of the other, perhaps existing, co-authors, I agree to licence the copyright of the aforementioned paper to the International Journal of Business & Marketing (IJBMKT) and I state to be aware that the failure to observe this engagement will submit the offender to the sanctions and penalties established by the Copyright Act no 9609, of February 19th, 1998.