Building Green Brand Equity: A case study of Italian Fashion Companies

Fashion is a powerful force both in artistic and monetary sense. In 2025, revenues in the fashion industry are projected to reach 880.91 billion USD. Fashion industry also employs more than 300 million people along the value chain. With such enormous economic power, fashion is also a way for people to communicate their cultural and political expressions. With all its economic benefits, there is a dark side to fashion: it is, historically, one of the leading industries polluting earth. The industry is responsible for as much as 10% of the pollution globally. According to a report by the EU, the industry is also responsible for polluting 20% of the world's water. In the face of climate change, what can the fashion industry contribute to lower its negative impact on the planet? Especially when they also face challenges from the consumer side such as their little faith in green promises of fashion brands thanks to green-washing allegations. And as previous research shows, consumers seem to care less about the ethical aspects of their purchases and more about the products’ attributes. Can fashion brands really overcome these challenges and be the agent of change for the good? Artistically and culturally, fashion has an incredible effect on the way we live and interact with each other. However, the biggest force that defines this century and the ideas we consume and assume has been in fact marketing. Marketing has helped companies sell products, services, ideas and so much more. It has changed the way we consume things, make decisions and relate to products & services culturally. Through this research thesis, I would like to explore how fashion companies native to Italy are using marketing to communicate sustainability with their customers, how they measure the impact and in what ways is integrating marketing efforts elevating their, what we call, “green brand equity”. Green Brand Equity is defined as: the intangible assets of a brand related to its environment-related activities that may produce additional values to its products and services. The first part of the research will focus on briefly introducing the history of fashion in Italy, moving on to the theoretical background on existing research in green brand equity, sustainable marketing in fashion and consumer behavior and attitude towards green marketing. This review of literature will allow me to develop hypotheses for the research questions and develop KPIs to evaluate green marketing initiatives by fashion companies in Italy and their impact on overall brand equity. In conclusion, I will highlight any suggestions or ideas I may develop along the way.