Marketing transparency in the Swedish Textile Industry- DIVA
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Marketing transparency in the
Swedish Textile Industry -
A thesis about marketing
transparency on digital platforms
Master’s Thesis 15 credits
Department of Business Studies
Uppsala University
Spring Semester of 2021
Date of Submission: 2021-06-02
Alice Pettersson
Martina Reinli
Supervisor: Philip Kappen
ABSTRACT This research project contributes to understanding how Swedish textile companies use sustainable marketing to express transparency on digital platforms and official documents. Are marketing efforts transparent among firms that promote a clear sustainable focus by not misleading readers? The chosen qualitative methods were document analysis evaluating approximately 91 documents combined with content analysis with 15 Instagram posts analysing how firms transparently express their sustainable focus and offer. The results showed a connection between understandable motivating sustainable statements, proactive approach and vital transparency. It also indicates a link between vague defensive statements and greenwashing tendencies based on inattention writing rather than purposely misleading the reader with unmotivated values. Marketing efforts are generally not transparent in the Swedish textile industry among firms that promote a sustainable focus. Upcycling showed more transparency than rental and second-hand segments. Sustainability is expressed more clearly and directly in transparent firms and has more potential to spread accurate information to customers leading to a positive influence on sustainable consumption. Transparency indicates to be a more competitive tool in sub-industries where sustainability needs to be more addressed to explain the products or services to attract customers that otherwise could be lost. Keywords: Transparency, Sustainability, Marketing, Communication, Textile Industry.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 3
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 TRANSPARENCY IN ORGANISATIONS ............................................................................................... 5
2.2 MARKETING AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL .................................................................................... 6
2.3 CONCEPTUAL MODELS .......................................................................................................................... 7
2.3.1 THE GREEN MARKETING STRATEGY MATRIX ........................................................................ 7
2.3.2 THE VALUE LINKING CHAIN ........................................................................................................ 8
3. EXPECTATIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 9
4. METHOD ......................................................................................................................................................... 10
4.1 SAMPLE.................................................................................................................................................... 10
4.1.1 TEXTILE LANDSCAPE IN SWEDEN ............................................................................................ 10
4.1.2 STEP 1 - CREATING SELECTION LIST ........................................................................................ 12
4.1.3 STEP 2 - CONTEXTUAL VARIABLES FOR EXPLORATORY SELECTION ............................. 13
4.1.4 STEP 3 - SIMPLE RANDOM SELECTION & CONFIRMATION OF EXPLORATORY
SELECTION ............................................................................................................................................... 15
4.1.5 CREDIBILITY & VALIDITY IN SAMPLE SELECTION .............................................................. 16
4.2 DATA ........................................................................................................................................................ 17
4.3 QUALITATIVE METHODS .................................................................................................................... 18
4.3.1 DOCUMENT ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................ 19
4.3.2 CONTENT ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................... 22
4.3.3 FLOWCHART OF RESEARCH METHODS ................................................................................... 24
5. RESULTS ......................................................................................................................................................... 24
5.1 DOCUMENTS AND VARIABLES .......................................................................................................... 24
5.2 RENTAL SUB-SEGMENT ....................................................................................................................... 25
5.3 SECOND-HAND SUB-SEGMENT .......................................................................................................... 30
5.4 UPCYCLING SUB-SEGMENT ................................................................................................................ 36
6. DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................................................... 43
6.1 LEAN GREEN MODEL ........................................................................................................................... 43
6.2. DEFENSIVE GREEN MODEL ............................................................................................................... 46
6.3 SHADED GREEN ..................................................................................................................................... 49
6.4 EXTREME GREEN .................................................................................................................................. 51
6.5 INDUSTRY DISCUSSION BASED ON SUB-SEGMENTS ................................................................... 54
6.6 CONTENT ANALYSIS DISCUSSIONS.................................................................................................. 57
6.7 CRITICAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...................................................................................................... 57
6.8 FUTURE STUDIES .................................................................................................................................. 58
7. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................... 59
8. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................. 62
APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................................................... 71
2
1. INTRODUCTION
This research study is about receiving an understanding of how Swedish Textile companies use
sustainable marketing to express their transparency. It is an exciting and essential topic because
marketing today is a common challenge regarding organisation transparency and goodwill in
communication (Hartmann et al., 2020, p.68). Marketing transparency affects how customers
receive and adapt to information and affect their consumption behaviour and the world
economy. There is currently a development towards a circular economy where sustainability
and economy work together (Unido, 2021a). Human resource professor Carolyn Ball describes
three types of transparency metaphors: transparency as a behavioural norm or value to
overcome corruption by spreading information to the citizens, transparency as openness and
availability of information in regulations, and transparency as a policy analysis where
transparency clarifies policy development (Ball, 2009, p. 303). Levay and Waks describe
transparency as an insight into understanding the surrounding technologies, surveillance,
genetics and information technology (Levay and Waks, 2018, p.11).
We know something about transparency in marketing communication. Steven Sampson is a
professor in social anthropology and has researched within the private sector discussing
business perspectives on corruption and unethical work. In his article, The Morality of
Transparency: Clarity versus Emptiness, transparency is described as a policy to please
external investors, sponsors and the public. The meaning of analysing transparency in a project,
organisation or case is to discover knowledge and to be able to apply this knowledge to make
an organisation, resulting in efficiency and avoiding the risk of creating mysteries.
Furthermore, Steven Sampson's has two perspectives on transparency: clarity and emptiness as
definitions contribute to a deeper understanding of how truth can be found by following a set
of strategic calculations that can help to clarify how transparency is expressed (Sampson, 2019,
n.p.). Gupta and Manson explain that transparency is often related to openness in being the
opposite of secrecy. According to Gupta and Manson, private actors who favour transparency
voluntarily encourage actors to act towards sustainability goals and avoid regulations.
Transparency can hold government or private actors accountable to see transparency from
government and private actors as a morally grounded right to information (Gupta and Manson,
2014, p.5-6). Another study has concluded that transparency is essential for governance and
communication (Hood and Heald, 2006, p.62-63). Marketing on social media has increased,
resulting in The Swedish Consumer Agency creating guidelines for what regulations need to
be considered when marketing on social media. The procedures include instructions to avoid
3posting unclear and confusing content to consumers (Konsumentverket 2020a). From a critical
capitalism perspective, companies should reflect society's expectations and find a way to gain
profit that supports humans' sustainable expectations by communicating transparently
(Henderson and Sjölander, 2002, p.11,47). Transparency is present when reporting corporate
change. CDP, a charity that uses universal disclosure systems for i.a. companies to overcome
the environmental impact yearly, presents the CDP scoring that unlocks corporate transparency
to boost change. Last year, 2020, 9,600 organisations were disclosed by them, and the number
has risen 70% since the Paris agreement (CDP, 2020).
Yet, there are still gaps in our knowledge, and very little research about transparency in
sustainable marketing is known, which is the topic that will be addressed from the theoretical
and empirical perspective. A study has found limited research about sustainability from the
marketing perspective, even if there is a growing interest in the topic area. Sustainable thinking
needs to be more addressed in marketing communication and educating consumers to minimise
the risk of future generations' survival (Ottosson and Parment, 2015, p. 183.). Another study
has found that building trust with customers on social media is essential for firms e-commerce
where transparency and honest content should express company values (Philippot and Ejdemo,
2010, p.42). Overall there is a significant void in the existing literature. This is problematic
because there is limited information about how company values and sustainable marketing are
expressed in empirical findings. In other words, how sustainability is communicated in
marketing. This study can contribute to an understanding of whether the company creates
marketing that uses transparent information or whether there are questionable shortcomings
despite statements. For example, tendencies of greenwashing if the information is inconsistent
(Ottman, 2011, n.p.).
The study investigates how organisations market their sustainable focus on digital platforms
and official documents—specifically analysing if the marketing efforts are transparent in the
textile industry among firms that promote a clear sustainable focus, meaning that the
information provided is not misleading. The question focuses on two critical factors, Swedish
textile companies and digital platforms. We draw on the data from 15 firms within the second-
hand, upcycling and rental segment. The sustainable business focus compels the analysed
company's documents and digital platforms using a qualitative method. The study is based on
a communication outline and does not investigate what companies practically do. Our findings
uniquely contribute to the transparency literature.
4The remaining outline of the thesis includes the following main sections. In the next section,
we explore the conceptual and literature review of transparency and marketing and
expectations. The third section describes the samples, data and qualitative methods for the
thesis. The fourth section describes results in each sub-segment, and the fifth section analyses
the document results. The findings suggest that transparency becomes lacking when there is
not enough information explaining the sustainable work described in the Lean Green group.
Other findings found that information becomes misleading when bold statements are not
motivated, leaving observers confused. Therefore, lacking transparency can cause
greenwashing tendencies that could be prevented in the Defensive Green group. The Shaded
Green group contributes to knowledge about transparency that can be further improved by
naturally explaining sustainable work and values instead of holding back valuable expertise
from the observer. The Extreme Green findings contribute to the knowledge of successful
transparency marketing where understandable content and motivating arguments become a
competitive tool and an inspiration for the textile industry. The industry sub-segment discusses
why upcycling represented more transparency with a possible explanation of having a deeper
pressure to justify their sustainable work in ways that comes naturally for the Renting and
second-hand sub-segments. The content analysis investigated transparency on another digital
platform resulting in relatively consistent findings. The sixth part presents the results and
analysis, and the seventh section includes the discussion. The last section describes the
summary and conclusion, and potential future studies.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 TRANSPARENCY IN ORGANISATIONS
Today there is a substantial body of literature on the topic of transparency. Transparency and
democracy connect in the sense that humans have the right to know what's happening in the
state and companies. In Swedish healthcare, reports, measurement instruments and follow-up
report documents to show transparency where transparency quality cannot be hidden to the
public. There are three important reasons to show transparency in an organisation: trust-
building internally and externally, reports where measurements and mistakes can be found and
transparency are present with or without the company's consent, if you as a company do not
spread information, others will (Levay and Waks, 2018, p. 22). Transparency in an organisation
can affect their work. The subject of transparency in organisations has received interests from
researchers in different areas such as psychology, management and organisation science. An
5emerging view is that transparency benefits organisations because it contributes to trust.
Several articles mentioned that productivity and commitment within employment have
decreased because of companies' non-transparency internally, for example, non-transparency
when it comes to company goals, visions and policies (Brandes and Darai, 2017, p.189-190).
Gupta and Manson reflect upon the importance of transparency in governance. The authors
investigate the importance of transparent communication to customers since governance affects
customers' ambition to purchase a product or service. Therefore, it is imperative to
communicate transparently in marketing (Gupta and Mason, 2014, p.5-6). These theories show
a gap to be filled to contribute to a better understanding of what transparency looks like in
organisations such as the textile industry.
2.2 MARKETING AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL
Today there is a wide range of different perspectives of marketing. The book Unboxing
marketing, creating value for consumers, firms, and society by Hartmann et al. discusses
sustainability in marketing and how that affects the entire value chain from product
development to production. Sustainability is a trend that affects humans' lifestyle since
awareness around environmental and social impact offers opportunities for companies to use
marketing (Hartmann et al., 2020, p. 59-60). Guyader, Ottosson and Parment explain how firms
create and express values and how sustainable marketing becomes a challenge, and where
companies do not adapt to sustainability issues in the book Marketing & Sustainability - Why
and how sustainability is changing current marketing practices (Guyader, Ottosson and
Parment, 2020, p. 5-6). Dennisdotter and Axenbrant wrote Storytelling - an effective marketing
tool and analyses marketing as a competitive strategy. When digital platforms are studied, it is
fundamental to analyse marketing based on how customers can be a part of marketing by
spreading the content. Therefore, it is essential to create a story compatible with the brand
(Dennisdotter and Axenbrant, 2008, p.14). Dennisdotter and Axenbrant mean that Storytelling
helps retrieve a reaction and communication with customers where a story can make a company
sound unique with their offer. Therefore, Storytelling can make firms stand out from others by
attracting and creating interest for customers (Dennisdotter and Axenbrant, 2008, p.17-18).
According to Ottman, there are multiple strategies for establishing credibility for sustainable
branding and marketing. Ottman claims that by following her approach, organisations can
achieve credibility without being accused of greenwashing. Ottman also describes methods for
sustainable marketing communication in her book The new rules of green marketing:
strategies, tools, and inspiration for sustainable branding (Ottman, 2011, n.p.). Ottosson and
6Parment found a lack of literature explaining the relationship between marketing and
sustainability. They wrote the book Sustainable marketing: how social, environmental and
economic considerations can contribute to sustainable companies and markets. The book
encourages more interests and research into the subject by presenting analysing different parts
of a firm (Ottosson and Parment, 2015). Business marketing : managing value creation by
Kindström, Kowalkowski and Parment complexifies business value creation to build
competitiveness and attract customer relationships (Kindström, Kowalkowski and Parment,
2021). The literature shows a gap to be filled with theoretical and empirical findings of
marketing transparency with a sustainability focus.
2.3 CONCEPTUAL MODELS
2.3.1 THE GREEN MARKETING STRATEGY MATRIX
The chosen model for the study is the Green Marketing Strategy Matrix since it combines both
sustainability and marketing, the topic we are addressing and is more subtle than other models.
The model draws upon the sustainability topic to present the findings structured to transfer
information into categories. Four main types explain the evolution of sustainability in terms of
how green they are. The Green Marketing Strategy Matrix categorises four different segments
written by Ginsberg and Bloom. The four segments are as follows; Lean Green means
companies trying to impact positively but do not put enough effort into marketing it to
customers. The biggest obstacle is not wanting to sell products as green due to the high
expectations of a green product. The second segment is Defensive green. Defensive green
means that businesses use green marketing to create a better image and reputation. However,
often these firms do not want to market sustainability often to avoid the responsibility of
sustainability if they cannot fulfil the expectations. The third segment is Shaded Green. Shaded
Green means organisations that constantly invest in long-term environmentally friendly
processes but are careful with marketing their activities outwards regarding these investments.
The last segment is Extreme Green and appears in companies that have a holistic approach.
Environmental issues occur from production to the consumer. Since the demands on the market
today are high for sustainability companies, communication can be confusing and misleading
due to wanting to be perceived as green but mislead the observer. If a company's use green
marketing implementation, it can increase the emotional relationship between companies and
their consumers. Companies having a green image can result in brand loyalty. A key element
in green marketing is credibility; to help minimise consumer scepticism, a company needs to
have a good reputation and back up their environmental claims (Ginsberg and Bloom, 2004,
7p.84). This model is beneficial to use to contribute to an understanding of transparency in
different groups. Therefore, the model is helpful to show the relationship between
transparency, communication, marketing, and sustainability in the industry chosen. The
categories exist summarised in figure 1.
Figure 1: The Green Marketing Strategy Matrix showing differentiability on greenness
(Ginsberg and Bloom, 2004, p.81).
2.3.2 THE VALUE LINKING CHAIN
The value linking chain shows how the company values affect the product and the customers.
The model created by Classon and Dahlström is helpful since it practically states how company
values and offer evaluation are compared and correlated, which can help analyse companies'
transparency in marketing by transferable present in this model. The model was created to
analyse CSR performance. The model is useful here since this study analyses the company's
sustainable marketing and how they state to take responsibility and how that responsibility is
presented in the offer (Classon and Dahlström, 2006, p.11). Therefore, the model is helpful to
understand the relationship between values and offer in the chosen subject and draw upon new
information about the connection between value focus and transparency.
Figure 2: The Value Linking Chain with different elements of value and offer (Classon and
Dahlström, 2006, p.11).
83. EXPECTATIONS
In this thesis, sustainability, transparency and marketing are the main variables. The findings
and literature are analysed from an organisational perspective to understand transparency in
marketing. An appreciation for transparency from a marketing approach is vital because the
context has a crucial effect on the perception of information communicated. The students
expect an outcome where the company's sustainable expressions are not in line with each other
on different platforms, which leads to a lack of transparency. Transparency can be misleading
due to not being clear or motivated (Konsumentverket, 2021). In recent times there have been
ongoing discussions where customers do not find companies' sustainable marketing
transparent. For example, the Instagram account Greenwashing in Sweden, where Yrsa
Lindberg, a sustainability communicator, highlights sustainability as a factor for deceptive
marketing rather than a clear strategy (Lindberg, 2021). These tendencies of greenwashing
marketing mean misleading customers on a company's positive environmental impact or
environmental benefits of a product or service that they sell (Lindberg, 2020). Another example
of consumers' growing awareness is the Swedish market sustainability report from 2019, where
statistics express consumers' sustainable commitment. This makes sustainability a topic
companies cannot hide from (Svensk Handel, 2019).
All actors along the entire textile value chain need to make it easier for Swedish consumers to
make more sustainable consumption choices. Companies offering climate and health adapted
goods need to have clear communication (Naturvårdsverket, 2021b). Furthermore, it is crucial
to present a straightforward sustainable approach to get credibility in marketing. A lack of a
sustainable system could result in consequences for a company's revenue, and in some cases,
the company's survival could be at risk (Verksamt, 2021). These factors make the textile
industry a relevant industry to test the expectation and answer our research question. Therefore,
the expectations are based on the current debates and adaptations, and we, therefore, believe
that transparency criticism can appear when studying marketing as a third party. We expect
that companies do not communicate sustainability transparently because few restrictions and
regulations impact the chosen firm's sustainable communication (Riksdagen. 2021a;
Riksdagen. 2021b). More often, transparency in sustainable marketing are initiatives based on
the businesses' own ambitions and capabilities adapted to the Sustainable Development Goals
guidelines and strategies for 2030 (CSR Sweden, 2021). The global guidelines were created In
2015 by The United Nations called the Global Agenda 2030. The Global Agenda 2030 consists
of 17 goals with several sub-goals (Samordningsförbundet Göteborg Centrum, 2021). A
9strategy to consider the global goals has a CSR approach with information about how
companies intend to focus towards sustainable improvements. CSR is the responsibility of
companies obligated to improve the impact they make in society based on finding a balance
between economic, environmental and social aspects. These aspects are based on the
company's needs and capabilities (Unido, 2021b).
As a company, you need to use different strategies to help contribute to these three areas, but
the companies themselves decide how to proceed. With the help of innovation, companies need
to develop sustainable business models, products and services by ensuring that laws comply
(CSR Sweden, 2021). Furthermore, global guidelines need to be taken into consideration. We
believe that the chosen industry, method, theory, alteration of companies, variables, is a
relevant tool to analyse transparency empirically to confirm or not confirm lack of consistent
transparency in company marketing. The expectations can be perceived as a critical view of
company marketing.
4. METHOD
4.1 SAMPLE
4.1.1 TEXTILE LANDSCAPE IN SWEDEN
The textile industry is a growing industry in several areas. In 2019, the Swedish fashion
industry had an income of SEK 380 billion and had increased 8,9% compared to the previous
year. In 2019, 62 038 people worked in the textile industry in Sweden (TEKO, 2019, n.p.). See
figure 3 for an outline of the Swedish textile industry in 2019.
Figure 3: Presenting the total sales in 2019 in the different textile sectors excluding H&M
(TEKO, 2019, n.p).
10The multinational company H&M stood for 60% of the Swedish fashion industry in 2019. It is
also interesting to know that 96% of H&M sales consist of their export sales. Therefore, the
Swedish Fashion Association chose to present numbers with and without H&M due to the
company standing for more than 50% of the Swedish market's sales (TEKO, 2019, n.p.). The
total sales in the textile industry in Sweden is presented in table 1 below:
Table 1: Presenting the total sales in the fashion textile industry in 2019, SEK billions
(TEKO,2019, n.p.).
Another aspect of the growing industry is the textile production process that significantly
impacts the environment. The textile industry is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse
emissions globally and is responsible for using large amounts of natural resources during the
production phase (Naturskyddsföreningen, 2019). Therefore sustainability concerns are
present in the industry, and new sustainable strategies constantly develop in all parts of the
supply chain. There is currently a shift in the textile industry where companies move from fast
fashion to slow fashion, meaning a priority for textile quality rather than quantity that demands
unnecessary waste. The size of the industry offers several focus areas in how to produce and
consume textiles. The fast fashion industry is challenged by companies implementing second-
hand, renting, exchanging, and in other ways focusing on creating more sustainable alternatives
to customers (Röda Korset, 2020a). Various industries try to implement new circular business
models with competitive alternatives to sell brand new products (Svensk Handel, 2021, p.47).
The yearly Swedish report Swedish trade sustainability survey 2020 shows that second-hand
renting and reusing is not a trend but here to stay. The report represents Sweden's consumer
patterns:
46% of the consumers bought reused; everyday clothes 24%, shoes/bags/accessories 17% and
party clothes 11% (Svensk Handel, 2021, p.48).
11The consumers also rented; everyday clothes 2% party clothes, 3% and shoes/bags/accessories
2% (Svensk Handel, 2021, p.50).
People also repair; everyday clothes 12%, shoes/bags/accessories 8% and party clothes 5%
(Svensk Handel, 2021, p.51).
35% of Swedish consumers left their old textiles at recycling units during 2020 (Svensk Handel,
2021, p.46).
Sustainable development within the Swedish textile industry is changing due to customer
demands, business adaptation and external initiatives such as organisations, associations and
regulations. This makes it beneficial to work sustainably in the textile industry in Sweden since
it gives compatible strengths on the market where there are encouraging forces boosting
sustainable development. Kairos Future has found different consumer groups valuing different
perspectives of sustainability (Kairos Future, 2019, p.22-23). Textiles and sustainability are
working more as allies even though it is still a process that demands more customer activity. A
solution to help transparency towards customers is acknowledging third-party organisations by
applying for sustainable certificates on services or products (Naturskyddsföreningen, 2021a).
The emerging factors presented makes the textile industry interesting to study since it burdens
the environment and can shift and be more sustainable with the help of customers
(Naturvårdsverket, 2019).
4.1.2 STEP 1 - CREATING SELECTION LIST
The strategy for composing the company selection was an exploratory selection, leading to
new knowledge about a specific topic. The reason for using exploratory selection was to gain
insights and information about companies in this study area (Lundén, 2020).
The first step, when we started our selection of sustainable companies, we made a diagram
listing a total of 83 potential companies that are illustrated in the Appendix (Appendix A:
Creating selection list). This first draft was based on potential companies without specific
delimitations in fashion and slow fashion. The companies were found by researching the
Instagram media platform, where they mentioned sustainability as an essential factor for their
work. The reason for choosing Instagram to find companies was due to personal interest and
12knowledge of the platform. The companies were identified by using systematic research.
Qualitative research is often about studying people, and therefore Instagram is suitable since it
is a platform based on interaction (Punch 2005, p. 141-142). The process of Instagram made it
relevant and easy to find potential companies due to the Instagram search tool, which suggests
similar accounts when you click follow on a profile. With the help of the algorithm, we could
find companies that previously were not known to the researchers. Therefore this selection
process was decided as more suitable for this study than using, for example, other platforms
such as Google search engine, which does not offer the same amount of appearance and
relevant findings.
4.1.3 STEP 2 - CONTEXTUAL VARIABLES FOR EXPLORATORY
SELECTION
The second step, the exclusion of companies, had a diverse focus that did not fit in with the
rest of the companies in the group. The exploratory selection aimed to collect companies with
similar challenges and opportunities to reach an even more specific focus area
(Linnéuniversitetet, 2021). We decided to focus on Swedish companies to conclude Swedish
strategies and realised that this limitation needed to be made to receive a more suitable
outcome. After excluding the non-Swedish companies from the list, we realised that three sub-
segments within the textile industry were identified. These subcategories had a focus on slow
fashion in common. Naturskyddsföreningen (SNF) have publicly announced that textile
companies need to offer more sustainable solutions in their businesses to make the fabric last
longer (Naturskyddsföreningen, 2021b). Therefore, these variables were important when
conducting the qualitative analysis, and we identified three sub-segments as Second-hand,
Renting and Upcycling. Second-hand clothes mean buying products that have already been
used by someone else (Myrorna, 2021). Renting clothes means paying to borrow clothes for a
limited time period (Miljö & Utveckling, 2019). Upcycling clothes means making a new
product from an old one (Teli et al., 2015). The reason for choosing this exhausting variety of
the slow fashion sub-segment was to have a perspective on more sustainable textiles than newly
produced products. When the selection process began, the exclusion was based on a total of 9
contextual variables. We believe that these standard variables are essential since the different
findings will be based on similar aspects of the textile industry. Preferably this will answer the
questions of this thesis without unnecessary, inconsistent implications. The variables chosen
are based on factors that suit the area studied and fill a gap in the knowledge that has not been
studied before with specific sample traits in the industry.
13THE 9 VARIABLES WERE THE FOLLOWING:
● The companies did not have a clear fast fashion or a trend focus
● The companies did not mainly sell new textiles
● The company had a clear focus on either second-hand, renting or upcycling
● The company had understandable sustainable information on their website at first look
without any factors pointing at irrelevant information for the study
● The companies had a sustainable focus on their website at first look
● Exclude companies repeatedly included in previous studies to contribute to new
research objectives in ways that have not been looked upon before
● All samples being Swedish companies
● All samples had a focus on clothing
The companies were chosen because of their sustainable information online about the research
question we aim to answer. A decision was made to study five companies in each category,
including small and big companies, based on the number of employees and assets. The mix of
big and small companies can bring different aspects of marketing. A study has shown that
smaller companies with a lower turnover have a higher sustainability focus than companies
with higher turnovers (Tillväxtverket, 2016, p.19). Due to this limitation, a couple of second-
hand and rental companies that had to be excluded from the study were Rentroutine, Tise,
Rerobe and Vinterie; These companies were not selected due to not having a developed website
with sustainability information which was a criterion (ReRobe, 2021; Rentroutine, 2021; Tise,
2021; Vinterie, 2021). We also excluded Norrona and Varner Group since the companies are
not Swedish (Norrona, 2021; Varner, 2021). The Red Cross and Erikshjälpen are similar
organisations, both focusing on helping people in need (Erikshjälpen, 2021a), (Röda Korset,
2021). However, the Red Cross was excluded from the study since it is a much larger
organisation regarding employees and total assets compared to Erikshjälpen (Erikshjälpen,
2020a), (Röda Korset, 2020b, p.27). Therefore, the Red Cross was not considered relevant
since it would include many factors represented by its size and might bring information that is
hard to limit to this study.
We realised that second-hand were overrepresented when conducting the second sample step,
meaning that the sample collection naturally included more companies in this subsection. This
could have to do with second-hand sales on the Swedish market, which explains an increase of
1415% during 2019 and is on the front of textile development. A reason for the significant rise in
Second-hand alternatives on the market today can impact consumers' changing attitude and
consumers' awareness of their environmental impact (Sveriges Radio, 2019).
Speculation on why it was not as natural to research upcycling beliefs is that upcycling is not
as common in textile business models compared to the other subsegment groups. However,
some textile companies do upcycle as innovation projects on the side but not as their primary
focus area, impacting the limitation in the research findings. For example, the H&M Group are
working with upcycling projects, but fast fashion is still their primary area of focus (H&M
Group, 2021). Therefore, we excluded H&M since it does not have a specific upcycling focus
as other companies and marketing trends represent multiple studies. Two other companies were
excluded because of Fast Fashion, which focused mainly on selling newly produced textiles,
KappAhl and MQ (Saati, 2021, p.22-23). We excluded these two companies due to repeatedly
being included in similar previous studies focusing on CSR questions. The underrepresented
rental companies could have to do with an undeveloped trend that has not yet reached the
Swedish market. The rental market is more extensive in countries such as Germany, England
and the US. According to researchers, Svensk Handel rental is predicted to be the future way
of consuming textiles (SVT Nyheter, 2019).
4.1.4 STEP 3 - SIMPLE RANDOM SELECTION & CONFIRMATION OF
EXPLORATORY SELECTION
In the third step, a selection was made based on companies acknowledged as contributing to
sustainable development by Swedish Textile Initiatives, Fact Movement and The Swedish
Textile Initiative for Climate Action STICA (Fact Movement, 2021; Sustainable Fashion
Academy,2021). We, therefore, used Fact Movements and STICA sustainable lists, including
companies experts believed were in the front of the sustainable textile industry in Sweden.
The reason for using the lists was to get expert statements of relevant companies in the industry
and exclude personal preferences as far as possible. We believe that the list was appropriate
due to their specialist knowledge and intentions to compare companies and present companies
that deserved to be acknowledged based on their sustainability focus. Fact Movement
highlighted the following companies from our previous selection: Future Closets AB,
Föreningen Erikshjälpen, second-hand Butiker), Stockholms Stadsmission, Houdini
Sportswear AB. We also included the list of textile company members in STICA.
15The exploratory selection ended up with 11 companies out of 15; that was the number of
samples we wanted to reach to get a representable balanced group in the industry with 5 in each
sub-segment. Consequently, we made a simple random selection where four more companies
were included to get a random selection. Furthermore, this step was the most challenging part
of the selection process due to limited advice where random selection helped exclude personal
preferences. The last four companies chosen were Gemme Collective, Humana second-hand,
Sellpy and Swedish Stockings. We believe that the simple random selection was a suitable
complement to the exploratory selection. The companies in the second selection followed the
contextual study variables and therefore qualified to be included in the study group. In other
words, other companies from step 2 would have qualified as well if they were selected. 5
companies from each sub-segment do not give an exhaustive list of the segments, but it still
contributes to understanding how these 15 companies communicate.
Table 2: Companies analysed in the study. The numbers come from allabolag.se and LinkedIn
19/4-2021 (AllaBolag, 2021; LinkedIn, 2021).
4.1.5 CREDIBILITY & VALIDITY IN SAMPLE SELECTION
The reason for including 15 companies was the time limit and keeping the study relevant to the
concepts of qualitative research. We believe that the qualified companies are the most suitable
for the study with the most relevant information since all companies followed the contextual
variables. The companies are eligible to represent this study since they all apply to a narrow
focus. Each group has similar possibilities to express their sustainable work since they all have
been observed based on the same terms in the selection process. We believe that the selected
companies can represent the sub-segments to some extent due to following the variables
16mentioned and have a sustainable focus that can represent companies with similar traits in these
sub-segments.
Furthermore, even if these specific, evident traits do not apply to all companies in the sub-
industries, it can be viewed as a part of the industry that highlights sustainability as an essential
factor on their digital platforms. It can, to some extent, represent companies that fit into the
company selection in the subgroups meaning that the results can be transferable. The selection
process made it possible to draw legit conclusions without collecting data from all Swedish
companies within these groups. We believe that it is crucial to have a limited selection that can
represent that gap of knowledge rather than having a wide range of companies that cannot
represent any specific area. Consequently, the upcoming results are trustworthy and have
reliability since the entire process is described, including detailed information in the
appendixes ongoingly. Kirk and Miller explain trustworthiness as a qualitative method where
the researcher studies the objects and how they interact. The samples in the study will be
analysed separately and within each sub-segment group (Kirk and Miller, 1986, p.70). It is
important to note that the samples were chosen without regards to the firm's size, including
employees and revenue. Therefore no conclusions will be drawn based on employees or
revenue.
4.2 DATA
The study uses sustainable focus as an indicator in the analysis process of businesses marketing
transparency. Consistent with the definition in the literature, we identified sustainable
transparency based on the matrix model with the four green market segments (Ginsberg and
Bloom, 2004, p.81). The business websites were the primary data for analysing the sustainable
values and focus of the companies. The sustainable documentation differs in the sample where
some have published sustainability reports, certificates, agreements, set specific goals, while
other samples have only communicated through the website. We used this information to
complement the firm's websites to understand the company's sustainable information better.
The reason for observing several document types was to give all companies a fair chance to
express their sustainable work and see if they addressed it transparently. We also analysed if
there were any transparent explanations as to why it is essential to focus on sustainability and
showing the company challenges and opportunities to the public (Sveriges Kommunikatörer,
2021). Following Ginsberg and Bloom's theory of the green market segments helped us
17investigate the transparency focus dimension. Following the model enabled us to collect
independent information from the organisations in the analysis. This research cannot speak for
the entire textile industry as a whole. Therefore, this study was based on three limited sub-
industry groups with similar traits to make them as representable as possible for the thesis. All
companies were studied with the same data methods.
A problem with electronic communication is the possibility of rendering on websites, where
companies can change the data on their digital platforms whenever the information is
inconvenient or outdated (Matei, Russell and Bertino, 2015, p.261). In other words, what they
claim to achieve and how that correlates in marketing based on what they have published. The
data collection can be criticised due to the companies' variation of public documents; still, that
is not crucial for the transparency evaluation since the data available in the data will be studied.
It is imperative to ensure that the collected data is accurate, demand corrections, second
opinions, and go back to previous data to correct it. A defence is that the data collection was
made by two researchers separately and then combined to analyse the diversity and combine it
with reliable data by using interpretivism.
4.3 QUALITATIVE METHODS
The empirical analysis is concerned only with official sustainability communication through
the organisation's websites and Instagram during a time frame between 2020-2021. We tested
our expectations and investigated the research question using qualitative methods by studying
companies' sustainable focus from the transparency perspective. The qualitative methods are
suitable in the research due to unveiling explanatory variables for the influence of transparency
by analysing the primary data texts and interpreting their meaning.
A decision was made to use a qualitative research method instead of quantitative research due
to the chosen topic transparency. A depth approach to the variables seemed more suitable than
measuring and including numbers based on specific factors, which could have missed detailed
information. The thesis uses a methodological triangulation based on two different qualitative
methods, where the findings are compared, to study how the information correlates on various
platforms. The study includes a document analysis and a content analysis. Jennifer Mason
explains that it is good to use different methods to broaden the understanding (Mason, 2018,
p.37). The Green Marketing Strategy Matrix differentiability on the greenness model is used
to collect information about the companies transparency information in the document analysis.
18The content analysis helps categorise how green the companies are (Ginsberg and Bloom,
2004, p.81-83).
The methods are deductive since the theory strives to find tendencies by discussing the results
with earlier studies, literature review and expectations in the conclusion. The preferences are
based on scientific standpoints, and the writers have taken the role of an observer to study
marketing expressions. The methods analyse the companies on the same terms meaning that
the study analyses the same questions in each company. This study will not be able to be
replicated in the future since the chosen samples, industry, digital platforms, documents, and
the content will most likely be changed over time and the approach to transparent marketing.
Therefore, the reliability is not consistent over time since the content will be challenging, and
other researchers will process the information differently to some extent since the chosen
methods are qualitative (Tracy, 2020, p. 266-267). The study has delimitations, such as the
study does not represent how the businesses work practically. The thesis does not analyse the
company's leadership.
4.3.1 DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Public documents can reveal information about how the observations communicate their values
that give insight into how the values are presented and provide an understanding of the
company's work (Tracy, 2020, p. 80). The document analysis is made through a coding
document method where patterns in sustainability transparency are studied through the Atlas.
ti software. The software is used as a codebook where paragraphs and words are highlighted
based on the searched tendencies. We used the Google Chrome program Screenshotting - full
page capture to save the websites as documents. The documents can be sent to the reader upon
request, and the links are presented in Appendix (Appendix B: Datalinks). The screenshots and
links demonstrate the text analysed in Atlas. ti to study all samples. The authors of the study
believe that this method can result in a more profound knowledge of content analysis on
Instagram.
The combination of the two methods can result in a better understanding of transparency
information, both from the document perspective that looks at the values and the content
perspective that studies the offer using the value chain model. The outline of the coding method
and the content method can be illustrated by looking at The Value Linking Chain that shows a
structure for information development (Classon and Dahlström, 2006, p. 11). The coding used
19is based on questions to give further knowledge about the company practices throughout the
documentation. This data is then used when studying if the responsible statements found
matches their actions on Instagram. The company's sustainable focus is looked upon using
document analysis. The Value Linking Chain is used to analyse the document values that are
then acknowledged in the content analysis, where the students evaluate the offer. Therefore,
the study focuses on the assessing part of the value model and uses the values to receive an
understanding of their transparency (Classon and Dahlström, 2006, p. 11). It can be supported
as a feasible model since the information studied already exists, and the risk of failing to collect
empirical material is small.
The method is believed to be the most suitable to reveal information about companies
transparency since the data already exists compared to, for example, interviews where the data
is created during the process and can lead to limited insight over a shorter time period.
Furthermore, there is also a chance that interviews would present a different result for the
chosen topic of this study by struggling to create valuable data. This problem happened for
Classon and Dahlström in their master thesis, where they only received responses from 8 of 15
companies (Classon and Dahlström, 2006, p.19). Atlas. ti can be criticised for not using all
features available. The document analysis only focuses on the written content in the documents
and excludes images, videos, music and other communication tools. This limitation can be
defended by the limited time frame and the word count. There is a possibility that published
documents were excluded from the study due to restrictions in the research period and the
possibility of companies not making it easy for observers to find sustainability documents. A
limitation was made not to study in-depth chemical or physical terms explaining the sustainable
material.
VARIABLES FOR MARKETING TRANSPARENCY
Apart from limiting the study groups in the sample section, other variables helped set criteria
for businesses' marketing transparency and sustainability to ensure that the group and
indicators looked upon were based on the same terms. Therefore, the indicators were based on
expert knowledge to make sure to exclude personal interest when possible. In this study, we
refer to sustainable marketing as companies operating with social, economic and environmental
approaches from strategy in documents to the actual realisation (Ottosson and Parment, 2015,
p. 12). Sustainable development is often discussed from three dimensions: social,
20environmental and economic. Henderson and Sjölander highlight that companies must focus
on the following areas to operate sustainably: structure clear goals, measure process and
welcome third opinions to evaluate their sustainable focus (Henderson and Sjölander, 2002,
p.11,47).
Sustainable marketing demands clarity. Otherwise, there is a risk of misleading customers if
the customers do not understand what the company is relating to. Therefore, companies need
to prove and strengthen their standpoints that they use in marketing to be verified by the
observer (Konsumentverket, 2020b). The observation studied risks and opportunities in their
sustainable focus and if experts supported the sustainable progress and focus or if the
statements clearly were based on personal experiences without information supporting the
claims (Matei, Russell and Bertino, 2015, p.259-260). According to the Fashion Transparency
Index, listed contact information to the company, sustainable support/team, supply, and
manufacturers show significant transparency. Therefore, this was included in the study as a
variable (Fashion Revolution, 2018). Green Marketing can increase goodwill and improve
media relations and company image and brand, which can mislead customers by not expressing
sustainable statements clearly (Gordon, Carrigan and Hastings. 2011, p. 147-149). The
sustainable policy was included as a variable since it adds to the subject. Transparency policy
documents can, for example, provide missing details in companies' work that customers need
to understand their process (Harvard Kennedy School, n.d.). A company can present their
economic boundaries and their impact on their sustainable work to explain how they take
responsibility and work externally with sustainable issues (Lujan Salazar and Guzman, 2017,
p.126).
The researchers also chose to look for certifications within the company. Eco-labels are an
example of a vital tool to help imply high environmental requirements produced by an
independent third party (Naturskyddsföreningen, 2021a). To support statements made by the
companies in their communication, sustainable agreements and corporations can help set
standards for a firm and environmental impact; therefore, this perspective was looked upon
(Government Digital Service, 2021). Based on the factors presented, we conducted the
document analysis based on 16 search words as the variables given below where we
commented if the marketing included transparent information:
211. Agreement/ Corporation
2. Certificates
3. Challenges
4. Contact Info
5. Contact Info - Sustainability questions
6. Economical boundaries for sustainable change
7. Expert Knowledge
8. Goals
9. Green Marketing tendencies
10. Inconsistent sustainable promise
11. Measurable, sustainable actions
12. Opportunities
13. Suppliers & Manufacturers listed - contact info
14. Sustainable focus
15. Sustainable policies
16. Transparency
4.3.2 CONTENT ANALYSIS
A content analysis was chosen to complement the document analysis and was pursued to draw
upon further information about marketing on different digital platforms to clarify if the
companies were consistent in their marketing. The content analysis was conducted after the
document analysis. Content analysis is a method that is often used in triangulation to encourage
consistency and research if the coding data is similar to the content data (Tracy, 2020, p. 276).
Content analysis can inform or persuade audiences about a social issue, policy position, product
or service. Content analysis is commonly used in marketing, journalism, communication,
studies of literature and many other disciplines and professions (Drisko and Maschi, 2016,
p.27). Content analysis has applied to the companies Instagram posts between the year 2020
and 2021. There are limitations to what can be said when doing content analysis on Instagram.
Also, posts usually only include an image and possibly a short associated text. The writers find
that content analysis is suitable to capture the typical themes or concepts in the company's
transparency marketing on social media. Content analysis is also favourable when analysing
data over time. Instagram is a modern digital platform for sharing images in a social network
and has 1074,3 million users by 2020 (Statista, 2021).
22According to a study made in 2020 by the Swedish Internet Foundation, 50% of the Swedish
public 16+ visit Instagram at least once a day. The report also included facts about how the
pandemic has impacted the increase of using the digital platform Instagram for all age groups
(Internetstiftelsen, 2020, p.104). Therefore, the thesis writers believe that it was accurate to do
a content analysis on the social media platform Instagram. Kirk and Miller mean that there is
no such thing as perfect validation since it is based on field research (Kirk and Miller, 1986,
p.70). The content analysis only discusses findings from the document analysis and the
literature in the thesis. It is crucial to note that only one Instagram post is analysed, and
therefore the method is not representable for the company's entire Instagram account. A critical
acknowledgement is that the reliability and validity, therefore, is limited in this method. Still,
the benefit of using this second method was to investigate if the Green Marketing Strategy
Matrix tendencies were similar on another digital platform. Therefore, the method is used as a
spot-check for checking if the communication from the document analysis is similar on
Instagram. The content analyzes the posts by comparing the statements made in the text with
the Green Marketing Strategy Matrix (Ginsberg and Bloom, 2004).
VARIABLES FOR CONTENT ANALYSIS
The posts were chosen with only two selections. The posts include texts and do not only
represent communication through an image without associated description. In other words, the
data is studied in the caption alternatively associated post description and not the pictures
themselves. The second selection was the publication date between 2020-2021. The content
analysis is analysed based on the four variables examined and relating it to the Green Marketing
Strategy Matrix. The perspectives looked upon are related to Ottosson and Parment sustainable
marketing strategies and are summarised in four variables to see how the sustainable marketing
on Instagram is correlated to the documents studied and if that can bring additional knowledge
to the subject. The variables looked upon are:
1. Sustainable marketing informs customers about how their work drives sustainable
lifestyle choices and habits.
2. How sustainable products are better than non-sustainable products in communication
3. Communicate company offer.
4. Explaining the positive effects of consuming sustainable products. (Ottosson and
Parment, 2015, p. 114).
23You can also read
