Pitfalls of Sustainability Communication, part 2

Sustainability communication is built from many elements: values, operating principles, impacts, and future goals. What truly determines its effectiveness is whether this whole picture comes together for the consumer in a way that supports both engagement and decision-making.

In the article Pitfalls of Sustainability Communication, Part 1, I examined factors related to the role of sustainability in the context of purchase decisions. In this second part, the focus shifts to the ability to drive commitment. Here are 4 more common pitfalls when communicating sustainability.

Focusing on One’s Own Agenda

Companies striving for responsible business are often keen to talk about their values, backgrounds, operating models, and ambitions. I fully recognize how important it feels to make genuinely values-driven work visible and to ensure its broader societal significance is understood. There´s no question that opening up a company’s agenda and motivations is important! 

At the same time, we may overestimate how much consumers commit to a company's agenda compared to their own needs and motivations. Without a sufficient connection to the recipient and their everyday reality, the impact of sustainability communication easily remains at a “nice to know” level. Communicating a company’s motives can build a positive image, credibility, and respect but still remain disconnected from the consumer’s own motivations.

Facts That Fail to Matter

Sustainability reporting currently receives a great deal of attention, and all fashion companies need to consider the need and the scope of reporting. It is tempting to think that investing in sustainability reporting will also serve as a general sustainability communication tool, covering consumer communication needs as well. However, standardized reporting has not been designed with consumers in mind. As the voluntary standard for SMEs (VSME), for example, puts it: reports primarily respond to the information needs of large companies, banks, and investors, while supporting the management of a company’s own sustainability work.

What is identified in a double materiality assessment is most likely relevant to communicate to consumers as well. But when reporting-driven thinking is transferred directly into consumer communication, the result is often messaging that is “correct” in theory, but feels abstract or difficult to understand. What easily gets overlooked is 

why does this information matter to the consumer? 

And how do we make it understandable for everyone?

Sustainability Lacks Credibility

All companies communicate sustainability even when not explicitly talking about sustainability. Consumers draw conclusions about a company’s motivations for sustainability from everything it does. Credibility is especially undermined by inconsistencies between sustainability communication and other commercial messaging. Marketing is often more visible to consumers and speaks louder about sustainability than dedicated sustainability communication itself. When different parts of communication tell different stories, a fragmented narrative emerges. What has no internal logic, won´t be trusted.

The Message Is Unclear

When sustainability is communicated in a too general perspective or too cautiously, the message easily loses a clear focal point. This lack of clarity rarely stems from having nothing to say. On the contrary, there may be extensive sustainability work, solid facts, and well-justified choices behind it. The challenge arises when everything is communicated at once, without prioritization or a clearly defined angle. It becomes difficult to understand whether the company’s actions represent basic compliance or something that truly resonates and adds value from the consumer’s perspective.

Without a clear edge, consumers struggle to connect with the message or see beyond the abstract. It may not provoke resistance, but it’s easily overlooked and forgotten, so it fails to guide thinking or behavior.

Commitment Is Built on Understanding

Ultimately, sustainability communication is about being understood, and understanding your audience. We commit to what we understand, and to what we feel understands us. If a message feels distant, generic, or disconnected from our own reality, commitment is unlikely to follow.

When sustainability communication meets the consumer where decisions are actually made and speaks a language that resonates with their needs and motivations, the value–action gap begins to narrow. Not because there is more information, but because it is more impactful.

And this is where the true potential of sustainability communication lies.

Read also:

The Pitfalls of Sustainability Communication, Part 1

The Narrative of Sustainability