Communicating Sustainability: Role of Eco-friendly Message Framing in advertisement Shaping Consumer Behavioural intention for Sustainable Fashion Choices in Pakistan

Climate change is a serious and challenging issue, driving a global push for sustainability. The fashion industry faces increasing scrutiny for
its environmental impact, particularly in developing countries like Pakistan. Despite rising consumer awareness, the effectiveness of
different communication strategies in promoting sustainable behavior remains an open question. This study explores the role of message
framing in social media fashion advertisements and its influence on consumer perceptions, attitudes, and behavioural intentions for
sustainable consumption. By analyzing eco-framing techniques in advertisements extracted from the digital platforms such as Instagram,
Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and brand websites, this research identifies the types of sustainability messaging frames used and their
impact on consumer choices. This study employs a sequential exploratory design, integrating both qualitative and quantitative approaches
to identify and examine sustainable fashion message framing and its impacts on consumers. The qualitative phase analyzes video
advertisements using eco-linguistic and multimodal frameworks, informing the quantitative phase, which applies an experimental posttest
control group design to assess consumer responses and validate manipulation checks through a survey. The findings aim to provide
practical insights for fashion marketers on improving sustainability messaging and promoting responsible consumption. Ultimately, this
research contributes to a deeper understanding of how advertising language can shape sustainable consumer behavioral intentions in
Pakistan’s fashion industry.
Keywords: Message Framing, Behavioral intention for sustainable Consumption, Online Fashion Advertising, Experimental design,
Multimodality, Ecolinguistics.