Marketing, fashion and sustainable consumption
In this research group, we study with cultural perspectives how marketing and fashion are created, executed and interpreted by different actors in a constantly changing consumer culture. We are interested in how marketing and fashion are created and executed in practice, i.e., how marketers, designers, the fashion industry and retailing work. There is a need for more knowledge about the role that marketing and fashion play in society at large. By studying practices, it is possible to obtain a more in-depth understanding as a complement to what people say that they do or want to do.
We also study various aspects of sustainability, cultural, ecological, economical and social dimensions, linked to consumption. Understanding of consumption is central for building a sustainable society. Consumption enables growth, prosperity and different experiences, but is not unilaterally positive. Not everyone has the same opportunity to consume as people have different resources in the form of money, knowledge and time. Nor can the impact of consumption on the environment be ignored. Society’s great challenge right now is the impact of production and consumption on the climate. Both overproduction and overconsumption result in a growing garbage dump with a negative impact on the environment. The interplay between production and consumption needs to be noticed and understood in an environmental perspective, but also in relation to marketing and fashion. In the research group, we see production and consumption as complex phenomena in a consumer culture. This means that we problematize to see different perspectives and unequivocally avoid narrow interpretations such as right or wrong. We believe that different perspectives, theories and methods are needed in order to understand something as multifaceted as production and consumption.
Interdisciplinary research that includes the perspectives of different disciplines is encouraged in the research group. Our research often has a consumer perspective, but also a societal or production perspective. We aim to reach out to other researchers, but also society at large. We see it as important that companies, authorities, organizations, politicians and the general public take part of our research results.
Book release: Marketing Fashion: Critical Perspectives on the Power of Fashion in Contemporary Culture
Date: 2023-08-23
Time: 15:00—16:00
Place: The Textile Museum, Borås
Professor Karin M. Ekström releases this new book. Co-authors Marcus Gianneschi, University Lecturer, and Hanna Wittrock, University Lecturer, participate in the presentation of the book.
Research group leader
Karin M Ekström
Professor
033-435 4516
