Communicating CSR commitment in Italian fashion brands: a linguistic analysis of corporate websites across market segments (Brunello Cucinelli, Liu Jo, Teddy Group)

In recent years, the growing focus on sustainability has profoundly transformed the way companies communicate their social and environmental commitment. This thesis aims to analyse the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Italian fashion industry, with a specific focus on the communication strategies adopted by selected brands to convey their sustainable values. The first part presents a review of the relevant literature. In particular, the first chapter examines the reasons behind the growing interest in sustainable and responsible business practices, highlighting the shift from a profit-driven management approach to one centred on creating shared value. The strategic role of communication is also emphasised, underlining how crucial it is for companies to effectively convey their commitment to sustainability in order to achieve legitimacy and long-term success. The second chapter provides an overview of the current state of the textile and clothing industry, analysing its environmental and social impact, the main sustainability-related challenges, and emerging business models such as fast fashion and slow fashion. It also highlights potential changes applicable along the value chain and the main trends driving the transition towards sustainable fashion, including the circular economy and the sharing economy. The third chapter outlines the procedures used for selecting and collecting data to compile the corpora under study. It further presents the methodology adopted and the software tools chosen to conduct the linguistic analysis. The fourth chapter, which represents the core part of the thesis, is dedicated to a linguistic analysis of the corporate websites of three Italian fashion companies, selected as representatives of different market segments: Brunello Cucinelli (luxury), Liu Jo (premium), and Teddy Group (fast fashion). The goal is to identify the discursive strategies and linguistic tools used to communicate CSR efforts to an online audience. The qualitative analysis focuses on recurring expressions and structures, with particular attention to phraseology related to environmental and social responsibilities. The comparison between companies highlights both commonalities and differences in the construction of responsible discourse. The conclusions confirm the centrality of CSR in digital communication, regardless of market positioning. Experience in the field of sustainability proves to be a key factor in strengthening corporate reputation, consolidating brand image, and generating long-term value, in a context where communication plays a crucial role as a tool for self-promotion.