Sustainability Claims in the Luxury Beauty Industry: An Exploratory Study of Consumers’ Perceptions and Behaviour

Abstract

AbstractSustainability has been at the forefront of communication in the beauty industry; however, the luxury sector has remained relatively silent. This chapter presents the findings of an exploratory qualitative study investigating consumers’ perceptions of luxury beauty brands and their sustainability signals. Eleven interviews with female consumers aged between 30 and 50 were conducted online. The study contributes to the existing literature by joining two stands of studies: luxury beauty consumption and sustainability and investigating lived consumer experiences with sustainability signals in the luxury beauty industry. As such, five behavioural patterns emerged encapsulating consumers’ relationship with their luxury beauty and its sustainability signals. This study highlights consumers’ limited awareness and engagement with luxury beauty brand sustainability signals.KeywordsSustainabilityLuxury beautyLuxury brand communicationBeauty consumer behaviour