Balancing Act: The Impact of Product-Oriented Sustainability Information on Consumer Responses

Despite the emphasis on sustainability in corporate communications, fashion brands often fall short in integrating it into product-oriented messaging, especially in e-commerce platforms. This study draws upon signaling theory and information processing theory to investigate the impact of product-oriented sustainability information on consumer responses when purchasing online. We hypothesize that the presence of product-oriented sustainability information produces positive effects on consumer response. However, an increase in the amount of sustainability information may elicit negative consumer responses, thereby challenging the efficacy of sustainability signals. This phenomenon is attributed to information overload, wherein excessive information surpasses individuals' cognitive processing capacity, resulting in diminished information processing and potentially adverse outcomes. The study is based on a mixed method design. Through an exploratory content analysis, we examine actual product-oriented sustainability information across luxury and fast fashion brands' e-commerce platforms. Preliminary findings reveal variations in the presentation of sustainable product attributes, with certain brands allocating a substantial portion of product information to sustainability. Building upon content analysis’ findings, ongoing research plans to conduct experiments to evaluate the effect of product-oriented sustainability information on consumer responses assessing also the mediating role of information overload. We anticipate that an excessive amount of sustainability information provided by fashion brands may lead to unfavorable consumer reactions due to higher information overload. Consequently, our study emphasizes the importance of carefully balancing sustainability information to prevent information overload and foster positive consumer responses. This research contributes to the understanding of sustainability communications in the fashion industry and consumer behavior research. Furthermore, it highlights the evolving landscape of sustainable fashion communications and its implications for industry stakeholders.