The role of BTS and BLACKPINK artists in promoting sustainable fashion : a qualitative framing analysis on social media campaigns and celebrity endorsements
Anagipura, Nithini (2026)
Pro gradu -tutkielma
2026
School of Engineering Science, Yhteiskuntatieteet
Kaikki oikeudet pidätetään.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20260619100558
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20260619100558
Tiivistelmä
The global fashion industry accounts for approximately 10% of annual greenhouse gas emissions, yet consumer engagement with sustainable fashion remains low. K-pop artists like BTS and BLACKPINK reach millions of followers globally through luxury brand partnerships and social media, giving them the potential to shape how younger generations understand and engage with sustainability. However, the research on celebrity endorsement, sustainable fashion, and the Korean cultural wave known as Hallyu are growing, only a limited number of studies examine how K-pop idols specifically frame sustainability in their digital communication. The application of framing theory to this context is largely absent from the literature. This study addresses that gap by examining how BTS and BLACKPINK frame sustainable fashion across their social media campaigns and endorsements.
A qualitative framing analysis was conducted using Entman's (1993) four-function framework, problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendation. A purposive sample of 60 publicly available posts was collected from six digital media platforms (Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, Facebook, and news websites) from the period of January 2020 to May 2026 and analysed using NVivo 15, generating 22 nodes and 502 coding references. Posts were also classified as explicit or implicit in their sustainability messaging to allow comparison between the two groups and across platforms.
Causal interpretation was the dominant frame, driven primarily by celebrity influence as its strongest sub-node. This reflects a consistent pattern in which idol–brand partnerships foregrounded luxury consumption while environmental impact went unaddressed. This is not a passive omission; it is a communicative choice that positions desirability and cultural belonging, rather than environmental responsibility, as the primary logic of fashion consumption. Fandom identity construction emerged as the second key causal factor, as followers actively replicated idol fashion choices in ways that reinforced unsustainable consumption. Treatment recommendation was the second most prominent frame overall, centred on upcycling and support for ethical fashion, with the BTS x RE;CODE collaboration and Lisa's preloved clothing event as clear examples. Problem definition and moral evaluation were the least represented frames, with environmental awareness addressed in only two posts across the entire dataset, suggesting both groups assume rather than cultivate environmental consciousness in their audiences. BTS produced more explicit sustainability content than BLACKPINK, and YouTube was the most direct platform for such messaging.
These findings reveal that BTS and BLACKPINK communicate sustainability as an aspirational lifestyle rather than an environmental responsibility, placing the burden of change on individual consumers rather than on brands or the industry. This matters because the scale of their reach means their framing choices influence how an entire generation conceptualises sustainable fashion. Therefore, the gap between aspiration and urgency for sustainable choices widens, as BTS’ and BLACKPINK’s cultural infrastructure, built on identity-based consumption and emotional loyalty, makes the aspirational frame difficult to challenge. If aspirational consumption continues to dominate over environmental urgency, K-pop's cultural power risks reinforcing the consumption patterns it has the potential to change. The study contributes to the field by applying Entman's framing theory to idol-oriented social media communication and by establishing K-pop's transnational cultural infrastructure as a meaningful and underexplored site for sustainability communication research. The findings point to the need for K-pop artists and their brand partners to move beyond lifestyle framing toward communication that names environmental problems clearly and links them to genuine accountability.
A qualitative framing analysis was conducted using Entman's (1993) four-function framework, problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendation. A purposive sample of 60 publicly available posts was collected from six digital media platforms (Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, Facebook, and news websites) from the period of January 2020 to May 2026 and analysed using NVivo 15, generating 22 nodes and 502 coding references. Posts were also classified as explicit or implicit in their sustainability messaging to allow comparison between the two groups and across platforms.
Causal interpretation was the dominant frame, driven primarily by celebrity influence as its strongest sub-node. This reflects a consistent pattern in which idol–brand partnerships foregrounded luxury consumption while environmental impact went unaddressed. This is not a passive omission; it is a communicative choice that positions desirability and cultural belonging, rather than environmental responsibility, as the primary logic of fashion consumption. Fandom identity construction emerged as the second key causal factor, as followers actively replicated idol fashion choices in ways that reinforced unsustainable consumption. Treatment recommendation was the second most prominent frame overall, centred on upcycling and support for ethical fashion, with the BTS x RE;CODE collaboration and Lisa's preloved clothing event as clear examples. Problem definition and moral evaluation were the least represented frames, with environmental awareness addressed in only two posts across the entire dataset, suggesting both groups assume rather than cultivate environmental consciousness in their audiences. BTS produced more explicit sustainability content than BLACKPINK, and YouTube was the most direct platform for such messaging.
These findings reveal that BTS and BLACKPINK communicate sustainability as an aspirational lifestyle rather than an environmental responsibility, placing the burden of change on individual consumers rather than on brands or the industry. This matters because the scale of their reach means their framing choices influence how an entire generation conceptualises sustainable fashion. Therefore, the gap between aspiration and urgency for sustainable choices widens, as BTS’ and BLACKPINK’s cultural infrastructure, built on identity-based consumption and emotional loyalty, makes the aspirational frame difficult to challenge. If aspirational consumption continues to dominate over environmental urgency, K-pop's cultural power risks reinforcing the consumption patterns it has the potential to change. The study contributes to the field by applying Entman's framing theory to idol-oriented social media communication and by establishing K-pop's transnational cultural infrastructure as a meaningful and underexplored site for sustainability communication research. The findings point to the need for K-pop artists and their brand partners to move beyond lifestyle framing toward communication that names environmental problems clearly and links them to genuine accountability.