Who Is Part of the Problem?: Critical Analysis of New York Times Readers’ Comments on the Environmental Cost of Fashion Consumption

Using critical discourse analysis, we examined New York Times readers’ perspectives on the topic of fashion sustainability by analyzing 1,000+ comments posted to Elizabeth Cline’s opinion article “Wear clothes? Then you’re part of the problem.” Drawing on institutional theory, we identified actors and institutions that readers viewed responsible for the environmental footprint of the fashion market: obsessive consumers, greedy corporations, and ineffective regulatory institutions. To minimize the footprint, readers proposed a number of sustainable fashion consumption practices as well as regulating industry processes. We uncovered how two fashion logics, (1) the logic of continuously changing trends and (2) the logic of dress codes, guide consumer practices within the fashion market, which is governed by the overarching logic of capitalism. By identifying causes, articulating actions for change, and questioning the legitimacy of the fashion logics, readers displayed interests in consumer activism that aim to transform the mainstream marketplace towards sustainable solutions.