Stories We Wear: Promoting Sustainability Practices with the Case of Patagonia

The purpose of this study was to explore why consumers wear and repair Patagonia brand apparel, thus extending the lifespan of the apparel beyond a typical period of consumption. Using a qualitative case study, we examined Patagonia's "Stories We Wear" blog posts from 2015 to 2017. Six emergent themes were identified as consumers' motivation to engage in sustainability practices of repairing and extending the use of Patagonia brand apparel. The findings indicate that the blog posts (a) supported brand attachment and (b) enhanced our understanding of consumer-object relations with apparel items. Recommendations for future research and businesses seeking to expand sustainability practices are provided.

The brand image of Patagonia, Inc., a California-based outdoor apparel and equipment company, is synonymous with concern for the environment and sustainability through responsible manufacturing and consumption (Chouinard & Stanley, 2012; Hwang, Lee, Diddi, & Karpova, 2016). Patagonia emphasizes design of apparel with a high level of quality to, in part, encourage extended use of its apparel and reduce postconsumer apparel waste (Hepburn, 2013). The brand's experiential marketing initiative, the Worn Wear program, practices and promotes sustainability by offering free repair services, online repair tutorials, discounts for trading in used Patagonia brand apparel, and opportunities to share stories of one's adventures in repaired or long-lived garments through its Stories We Wear (SWW) blog (https://wornwear.patagonia.com).

In 2011, Patagonia, Inc. pursued the "Don't Buy This Jacket" campaign as part of its Common Threads Initiative (CTI), emphasizing sustainability via extended use of garments to achieve reduced apparel consumption (Gunther, 2011; Kuehlwein & Schaefer, 2017), which was not received without criticism.

Some consumers and industry professionals questioned whether the statement was disingenuous coming from a profit-motivated apparel retailer and manufacturer (Hwang et al., 2016). In 2013, the Worn Wear program replaced CTI (Patagonia, 2013).

What has differentiated the Worn Wear program from CTI is its emphasis on emotional attachment to unique pieces of long-lived Patagonia brand apparel. It encourages consumers' emotional attachment to their Patagonia brand products and the relationship of those products with their lives (Simpson, 2015). Through the Worn Wear program, customers were encouraged to take pride in the signs of wear on their apparel by learning how to mend tears from sewing tutorials on its website. Free repairs were offered via mobile pop-up to events across the United States and Europe. A truck equipped with sewing machines, supplies, and staff skilled in the refurbishing of clothing provided repairs to apparel of any brand and stimulated interest in Patagonia and its initiatives (Worn Wear, 2017). Another means to engage customers is through the SWW blog, which includes the following prompt in the first page:

Clothing is more than just something we wear. An article of clothing can help to pinpoint a moment in time, it can stimulate fond memories, it can save a life, it is with us through blood, sweat, tears, laughter, and it is certainly there for our near disasters and our proudest triumphs in life. Patagonia gear is built to last and to be there, time and again, as we adventure throughout our lives. These pieces of clothing have their own story to tell... so, let's hear them! (Worn Wear, n.d.)

For this study, we conducted a qualitative analysis of the SWW blog because blogs are critical to the fashion industry (Rocamora, 2011) and the blogs offer an unobtrusive means to better understand consumer behavior (Kozinets, 2002). The purpose of this case study was to explore consumers' motivations to engage in the sustainability practices of repairing and extending the use of Patagonia brand apparel. The study sought to answer the overarching research question: What are the recurring themes in the SWW blog posts related to consumers' motivations and behavior while practicing sustainability through repairing and extending the use of their Patagonia brand apparel? This understanding may benefit businesses seeking to integrate the sustainability practices of garment repair and extended use into marketing efforts.

BACKGROUND AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Research on Patagonia

Patagonia has received significant attention in the field of clothing and textiles for the past few decades in terms of their sustainability practices (e.g., Hwang et al., 2016). This has been noticeably observed in assessing the effect on consumers' purchase intentions of Patagonia's 2011 advertisement, "Don't buy this jacket." Looking at other topics, O'Rourke and Strand (2017) examined Patagonia's creative solutions to mitigating the use of highly toxic durable water repellent on its apparel. Hepburn (2013) examined the paradoxical and "complicated greenness" of the company's ethical consumption message by analyzing Patagonia's catalogs.

However, case studies of the Patagonia Corporation are relatively few. Studies that have examined the corporation have tended to focus on its organizational culture (Sarason & Hanley, 2013), its legal status as a Benefit Corporation (Ottman, 1999), and the mythic quality of its public image as a maverick environmental champion (Kuehlwein & Schaefer, 2017).

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) includes sustainability practices and those efforts that strive to form and distribute products in a manner that will minimize harm to people and the planet while supporting the profitability goals of a firm (Dickson & Eckman, 2006). Also included in CSR are concerns for fair trade, ethical labor practices, and consumerism (Connell, 2011; Dickson & Eckman, 2006; Goworek, 2011). Patagonia's goal of inspiring reduced apparel consumption is congruent with research that found fashion retailers' sustainability campaigns to influence consumers' green consciousness (Lee, Choi, Youn, & Lee, 2012). Patagonia's brand image includes a strong CSR message that might be reflected in the SWW blog posts.

Researchers have investigated shoppers' interest in sustainability and perceived CSR. Connell (2011) found that U.S. consumers perceived the following as eco-conscious apparel acquisition behaviors: limiting apparel purchases to only those based on need, selecting apparel made from sustainable fibers, purchasing secondhand apparel, purchasing new apparel from ecoconscious retailers and manufacturers, and sewing their own apparel. Consumer awareness of shopping centers' CSR attributes has been found to have only a small influence on choice of shopping destinations in U.K. (Oppewal, Alexander, & Sullivan, 2006). In contrast, consumers' secondhand clothing consumption in France has been motivated by several key factors: price, ethics/ecology, and the hedonic and recreational aspects of shopping (Guiot & Roux, 2010).

Demographics such as gender and age may influence consumer attitudes toward sustainability in apparel purchases. Research has revealed gender differences in levels of environmental concern and green purchasing behavior (Gam, 2011; Lee, 2009). Younger consumers have preferred renting apparel and the opportunity to return used apparel to the retailer in exchange for a discount on new purchases, whereas older consumers were more likely to prefer postpurchase apparel repairs or maintenance services (Armstrong, Niinimaki, Kujala, Karell, & Lang, 2015).

Experiential Marketing

With the rise of increasing competition and modes of communication, marketing efforts have been shifting to embrace an experience economy, where customers participate in consumption and also they can engage with an environment (Pine & Gilmore, 1998). Research supports that positive associations of mystery, sensuality, and intimacy can impact consumer perceptions and behaviors (Cho, Fiore, & Russell, 2015; Fenko, Schifferstein, & Hekkert, 2010; Fiore, 2007; Fiore, Yah, & Yoh, 2000). Recent research by Yoganathan, Osburg, and Akhtar (2019) found that when online consumers have a predisposition toward ethical products, aligned imagery and tactile priming can be applied to encourage purchases. Sewing tutorials, mending apparel, and featured personal stories about the apparel on the SWW blog allow consumers to participate in the process of maintaining their apparel and engaging with the Patagonia brand as a form of experiential marketing.

Theoretical Framework

The SWW blog's purpose is to publish consumers' stories of their favorite Patagonia brand apparel. The findings of this study may be explained by the following theories which inductively contribute toward understanding how consumers interact with a brand and form lasting attachments to apparel.

Consumer-object relations. Relevant to emotional attachment encouraged by the Worn Wear program is the theory of consumer-object relations (CORs). Shimp and Madden (1988) adapted Sternberg's (1986) triangular theory of love to CORs. While the majority of studies that build upon Shimp and Madden's (1988) conceptual framework for CORs focus on brand attachment, some researchers have analysed consumer connections with brand objects. For example, Fournier (1991), focusing on CORs versus brand attachment, proposed a meaning-based framework for the categorisation of consumption objects that synthesized dimensions of consumer-object interactions: tangibility, emotionality, and commonality (the source of an object's meaning).

Later, Fournier (1995) used brand and product as synonymous terms when shifting to brand attachment. The study of brand attachment has continued, yet research on CORs has been neglected. However, a recent article by Ferreira and Scaraboto (2016) explored consumer relationships with a specific material, plastic, in a shoe brand. CORs may be useful as a larger theoretical perspective for examining the Worn Wear program.

Attachment theory (Ainsworth, 1989; Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980) has explained how psychological linkages to other people are formed during childhood and can continue across a lifespan. A relationship between a person and a brand or service can also demonstrate attachment theory (Johnson & Thomson, 2003). Building upon previous research, the conceptual model of consumer-product attachment presented by Schifferstein and Zwartkruis-Pelgrim (2008) provided connections to self-extension, including that a loving attachment to a possession can mitigate feelings of loneliness and that romantic love toward a possession increases spending on items related to that possession. In terms of sustainability, their findings indicate that cultivating a loving attachment to objects could increase the lifespan of possessions (Schifferstein & Zwartkruis-Pelgrim, 2008). Furthermore, Lastovicka and Sirianni (2011) proposed that future research involving loved and nurtured possessions could determine whether such feelings result in longer use of possessions and less items being thrown away. These findings are relevant to the present study of consumers' emotional attachments to Patagonia brand apparel.

Brand love. The antecedents of consumers' emotional attachment to brands (i.e., superior marketing characteristics, traditional consumer outcomes, userderived benefits, socialization and intergenerational influence, sentimental/ emotional memories) have been established from both firm and consumer perspectives (Grisaffe & Nguyen, 2011). Related to CORs and consumer-product attachment, in which consumers have emotional attachment to specific objects, is the construct of brand love. Brand love is a "construct that helps explain and predict variation in desirable post-consumption behaviors among satisfied consumers" (Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006, p. 79).

Batra, Ahuvia, and Bagozzi (2012) developed a scale to quantitatively measure brand love; however, they also encouraged others to pursue qualitative research to build upon the relationships identified in the scale. Cho et al. (2015) also developed the fashion brand image scale incorporating brand love and recommended marketing practices that encourage emotional associations. As a blog dedicated to promoting the stories about and pictures of consumers' well-loved Patagonia brand apparel, the SWW blog presents an opportunity to explore the connection between CORs and brand love.

METHODOLOGY

A netnographic, case study approach was adopted to complete in-depth analysis of the SWW blog posts (Hancock & Algozzine, 2017; Kozinets, 2002; Yin, 2009). The purpose was to explore consumers' motivation to engage in the sustainability practices of repairing and extending the use of Patagonia brand apparel. Netnography, an ethnographic online research approach, was utilized to understand digital communications (blog posts) between consumers and Patagonia. The use of Internet content as a source for scholarly inquiry has been documented by studies in the social sciences (Kozinets, 2002; Lugosi, Janta, & Watson, 2012) and in apparel research (Touchette, Schanski, & Lee, 2015). Lugosi and Quinton (2018) stated that netnography may be interdisciplinary and "messy" in its aim to understand lived and evolving phenomena; hence, we adopted an inductive qualitative approach.

The SWW blog is a system limited by space and time (Hancock & Algozzine, 2017) and existing within a real context (Yin, 2009). Guided by Thomas's (2011) case study typology, a multiple nested case design was adopted, as blog posts were compared to each other during analysis. The inquiry was exploratory with the intention of theory building (Thomas, 2011). Taking a grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1990), we sought to inductively identify recurring themes in the data and to examine for larger patterns. Existing theories and potentially new theory were applied to enhance understanding of patterns in the data.

Source of the Data

Blogs are a component of Internet data. The blogs can be a rich source of information for scholars (Kozinets, 2002). Scholars may be able to use both words and images that converge in an ongoing process of articulation of the self- and personal identity (Rocamora, 2011). The SWW blog, promoted by Patagonia, Inc. (e.g., https://wornwear.tumblr.com/), is a corporate blog started in 2012 (Worn Wear, n.d.). It is important to note that although individual consumers submit personal stories to the blog, Patagonia plays some role in selecting which stories will be posted.

Sample and Data Collection

After an initial "grand tour" (Kozinets, 2002) for all of 122 SWW posts from 2015, 2016, and 2017 was completed, we narrowed the data to a systematic analysis of 25 posts from the year 2015, 19 posts from the year 2016, and five posts from the year 2017. Prior to 2015, posts to the SWW blog were sporadic and there were gaps of several months between each post; thus, we chose the time period of 2015-2017 for this case study.

This time period also coincided with a release of a second video documentary about the Worn Wear program and a rise of consumer interest in the SWW blog (Baillargeon, 2016). The limited number of SWW blog posts from 2017 can be explained by a shift away from adding content to the blog in favour of utilizing Instagram, which relies primarily on images rather than text. Among the 122-sampling pool, 73 posts were excluded because: (a) 15 posts were produced by the Patagonia brand, and (b) 58 posts were reader-submitted. We believed that the shorter posts did not include sufficient content to analyse.

Among the 49 posts included in the analysis were 19 written by women, 29 by men, and one jointly by a male/female couple. Gender was determined on the basis of names, which may generate a degree of error. Some posts were submitted from international locations such as Costa Rica and Argentina. However, the majority of posts were from the United States with 10 entries from the state of California. The average length of the analysed posts was two hundred and fifty-five words, with the longest being five hundred and five words in length. The Patagonia brand name was mentioned a total of 109 times in the blog posts that were analysed.

Data Analysis Procedure

We analysed the content of the SWW blog without direct participant contact. Analyses included only the written portions, not photographs or community responses (i.e., sharing or comments from readers) posted to the blogs. The 49 SWW blog posts from 2015 to 2017 were coded using the constant comparative method, including open, axial, and selective coding (Dey, 1999; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Data analysis, using NVivo 11 qualitative software (QSR International, Chadstone, Victoria, Australia), was conducted by two researchers who individually completed open coding to develop an initial coding guide through an inductive, data-grounded process (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).

Working together, the researchers refined and adjusted the coding guide throughout the data analysis process. A third researcher then reviewed theme descriptions (cf. Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). Greater than 90% intercoder reliability was achieved when applying the revised coding guide to the entire body of data (Creswell, 2013). Axial and selective coding were conducted to examine the interrelationships of themes and to examine the findings in relation to existing theories and previous research (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015; Strauss & Corbin, 1990).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Six emergent themes were identified as the motivations to engage in the sustainability practices of repairing and extending the use of Patagonia brand apparel. The themes were as follows: (a) keeping the garment, (b) imagining the future of the garment, (c) describing physical features of the garment, (d) fixing the garment, (e) thanking Patagonia, and (f) traveling and having adventures. Figure 1 depicts the emergent themes and respective subthemes. When quoted, SWW blog text from individual posts is denoted by P followed by the number assigned to each post by the researchers. Posts P1-P25, P26-P44, and P45-P49 were from 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively.

Keeping the Garment

The first emergent theme, keeping the garment, reflected motivations of the SWW blog post authors to extend the life of their apparel. Through prolonging the use of their garments, the post authors are practicing sustainability. This theme was then categorized according to eight different motivational reasons. Some subthemes involved symbolic relationships to the wearer: legacy, practicing sustainability, emotional attachment, belonging, turning point in life, and garment as memento. Other subthemes connected to functional purposes, quality, and financial investment.

Passing it on as a legacy. "I can see it being passed down in the family as a 'vintage' piece that the kids will get a kick out of someday" [P12]. In instances of the legacy theme, writers expressed a desire to give their apparel to descendants or future generations, rather than dispose of it. Reasons to pass the garment on to others included a continuance of family traditions, the garment no longer fit its owner, and the author's perceived needs of the recipient. Writers' desires to pass on their garments reflect divestment rituals discussed by McCracken (1986). Examples of this theme are as follows: "I hope to pass it down to my kids and truly carry on the tradition" [P29] and "Hope the jacket makes it to my grandchildren and then another 30 years" [P47].

The act of giving the garment to someone else extends consumer use within the product lifecycle and establishes or reinforces relationships with significant others. An emotional attachment with the Patagonia brand may be extended to the recipient of the gifted garment.

Practicing sustainability. "Sustain the earth by...wearing it for another couple years" [P44]. As the SWW blog was developed to promote sustainability, all of the posts indirectly, if not directly, related to sustainability practices. Examples included within this theme explicitly stated sustainability as the reason why the authors were repairing and retaining their apparel. These examples promoted repairs, remaking, and retention as sustainability practices and specifically conveyed why sustainability can be a motivation to continuing use of a garment. Examples of this theme included the following:

Doing more with less is the way to go and repairing clothing is way better than spending more money on something else you don't really need.

I naturally use things respectfully, mend them, remake them, and use them again. Nothing to throw away, really. That became my work too. Upcycling and remaking kimonos, T-shirts, leather jackets ... I am happy to do what I believe.

Being emotionally attached"We love our jackets...and pullovers like they are part of the family" [P31]. Attachment theory can be extended beyond person-toperson relationships (Lastovicka & Sirianni, 2011; Schifferstein & ZwartkruisPelgrim, 2008). Examples of blog post statements identified in this theme exhibited emotional attachment to an object:

I love my daughter, I love my son, I love my wife, I love the wilderness, and I love this hat.

I wore it every day. Work, play, weddings and funerals. It was always with me... And it was like a friend and a warm hug when I was diagnosed with breast cancer after our daughter was born... It is so much more than an article of clothing.

The sustainability theme directly highlights Patagonia's corporate goal to "embrace risk and act to protect and restore the stability, integrity and beauty of the web of life" (Patagonia, n.d.).

Belonging to a group. "Trail dogs, as we called ourselves, wore Patagonia" [P2]. Statements demonstrating clothing as a means of group or relational acceptance were identified. These statements reflect symbolic meanings of the garmentwhat it signals to self and others (Davis, 1992). A telling example of this theme was:

[W]e finally arrived at camp mid-afternoon and stripped down to change out of our soaking shirts and pants...I noticed that all three of us were wearing Patagonia Capilene boxersall appearing to be of similar vintage..."You guys had those for a while?" Turns out that between the three of us we had put 17 years of wear and tear on our undergarments. Not bad.

Marking a turning point. "For me, it signifies the beginning of adulthood" [P20]. Garments also became ways for the writers to commemorate key life moments. SWW blog posts described how the apparel was present on many such occasions in the authors' lives: "This jacket has been with me during many life changing moments" [P30]. One blog post detailed numerous turning points the author's son experienced while wearing his Patagonia hat, which includes: "...[L] earning to first ride his balance bike and then mastering his pedal bike... and my personal favoritehis first day of preschool" [P15]. Garments were related to key components of self and can be markers of identity formation (Kaiser, 2012).

Serving as a memento. "Every hole and faded patch tells a story" [P4]. In some SWW blog posts, the garment served as a reminder of the past. In many cases, the memories related to past adventures: "Sparks from countless campfires have left tiny holes that remind me of the many crazy adventures with friends and the stories we still tell about them" [P4]. In the data from 2016, apparel was mentioned in regard to remembrance of a loved one who passed away: "My brother passed away a few years ago and...Patches cut from his old jeans go into mine, and I wear a jacket of his every once in a while. It's a little connection I have to him" [P35].

Choosing long-lasting quality. "I have many other products from Patagonia, not because I want to just accumulate things from Patagonia but because I know I am buying a quality product that will last me a long time" [P9]. The structural quality of Patagonia brand apparel, as articulated by blog post writers, contributed to their ability to keep their garments. "This stuff lasts and lasts and lasts" [P2] and "It's always been there as my most dependable and functional piece of clothing" [P42]. Beginning with a quality product can contribute to the length of time a consumer uses a garment. Fletcher (2012) draws attention to quality as a reason to keep garments longer but also introduces that if style preferences change rapidly, then quality may not determine a garment's lifespan. Patagonia, as an outdoor and utilitarian brand, has not been positioned as a brand with a fashion forward focus. Rather, quality apparel products are a priority of Patagonia (Simpson, 2015).

Purchasing as an investment. "I can't lie, the jacket was expensive, I think I payed [sic] $450. But I had done my research and I...saw the purchase as an investment" [P9]. Some writers viewed their garments as assets on which they had been willing to spend a significant amount of money. These sentiments were echoed in comments such as "[T]his jacket was my first big purchase after graduating from college and starting my first 'real' job" [P08], and "I spent exactly every penny I had to make it mine" [P19]. Mackenzie, Cooper, and Garnett (2010) support that viewing garments as investments can contribute to longer use. Ki and Kim (2016) found that consumers' decisions to make sustainable luxury purchases stem from intrinsic values related to environmental consciousness. Examples of garments perceived as investments and luxury were uncovered within the posts of the SWW blog.

Imagining the Future

There were numerous instances in which writers of the SWW blog posts imagined the future use of their apparel, suggesting that they would like to extend the product lifecycle of the garment. A few examples of this theme include the following: "...[I] look forward to taking it on many more adventures as I begin my career as a traveling therapist" [P12], or just simply "I am looking forward to working long hours and smelling like smoke, sitting by a campfire, in some remote location, wearing my jacket" [P31]. Modeling a future with the garment is evidence of commitment and loyalty to the garment and possibly the brand (Shimp & Madden, 1988). Envisioning a future with the garment emerged as another means that could encourage the sustainable practice of extended use.

Describing Physical Features

Descriptions of the physical characteristics of garments were varied and frequent in the SWW blog posts. Descriptive statements included type of product, colors, and specific styles. Additionally, posts included humanizing the garment, imbuing it with human emotions, sentience and desires of its own, and explanations regarding the wear and tear of the garment.

Humanizing the garment. Of the findings related to description of the garment, this subtheme provided telling insights into wearers' relationships with their garments. "The Snap T had really become...a trusty travel companion and had taken on...a life of its own." [P12]. Rauschnabel and Ahuvia (2014) found that relationships with brands were modeled after interpersonal relationships; anthropomorphizing could impact the relationship. However, SWW blog posts demonstrated the humanizing of garments not brands. One author wrote, "It is a hat that has enjoyed watching our son simply be a kid" [P16]. Another post went so far as to attribute a gender to the apparel: "Unfortunately, the bumps and bruises it's seen have forced me to stop wearing it to business meetings. But that's ok! There's lot's [sic] of places I'd like to go where she'll fit in just fine!" [P30]. Another author's statement, "My gear takes care of me and I take care of my gear" [P49], demonstrates perceived reciprocity in the relationship. Some author's choice to humanize their garment could motivate them to practice sustainability, continuing their relationship with the garment and extending its use.

Showing wear and tear. One author listed signs of wear and abrasions as: "...missing the zipper pull and a dog had clearly chewed off the cuff on the left wrist" [P4]. Meanings beyond simple description were sometimes assigned to the wear and tear. In one post [P17], burn holes on a sweater became a metaphor for stars in the sky. Another post acknowledged that the deterioration of the jacket made it unfit for business meetings, but still acceptable for adventures [P24]. The visible wear and tear referenced in SWW blog posts became part of the story of each garment and another reason to extend the use of their garment.

Fixing the Garment

Ways of fixing garments included sewing, iron-on patches, duct tape, super glue, and staples. Several posts mentioned the Patagonia Repair Center in Reno, Nevada, where customers sent their products to be repaired. Others described the process by which they mended their apparel by hand:

...early on in the trip my rain pants had gotten torn on the brush.... I was going to need these rain pants for the next 40 days on this trip (and the next 20 years afterward). So at the next break for fuel, I got into my pack and grabbed my needle and thread and went to work. Shortly my pants were good as new.

Counter to fast fashion and disposal of garments after limited use, the SWW blog provided a space for consumers to share how they repaired their garments to keep them in use: "Iron-on internal patches have helped to make the pockets almost like new" [P25] and "I hand sewed it but choose to use blue thread to keep the stitch visible" [P13], and "Duct tape provided an easy fix." [P16]. Many of these repair efforts were visible to others, indicating a lack of embarrassment and possibly a sense of pride in refurbishing the items. The descriptions of process and experience of mending garments within SWW blog provided insights into the sustainable practice of repairing apparel.

Thanking Patagonia

The phenomenon of expressing gratitude toward Patagonia emerged from the SWW blog posts, "Thanks for making such great, functional, long-lasting and fun clothing!" [P41] and "So thanks for being you, Patagonia!" [P8]. However, gratitude is not a category present in the brand love scale of Batra, Ahuvia, and Bagozzi (2012) nor the fashion brand image scale of Cho et al. (2015). The findings of Algoe and Way (2014) support that gratitude is integral to healthy and close relationships; it is an impactful mutually responsive behaviour.

The presence of gratitude toward the Patagonia brand in the SWW blog posts suggests that gratitude could extend to consumer-brand relationships. The SWW blog posts provided customers an opportunity to express gratitude toward Patagonia and endorse the brand. These statements can be considered word-of-mouth (WOM) recommendations and, as such, provide insights into how brand love and attitude mediate WOM, thereby extending Lastovicka and Sirianni's (2011) research. Authors repeatedly thanked Patagonia for offering garments that allowed them to extend the use of their garment and facilitating their ability to practice sustainability.

Traveling and Having Adventures

Three subthemes incorporated adventures: describing adventures with the garment, stating the location of the adventure, and expressing need to escape or connect with nature. The adventures completed and the locations visited were numerous and varied. In regard to expressing the need to escape or connect with nature, one post shared: "I would wear this vest in suburban Wisconsin when I felt the urge to seek more and explore" [P10], highlighting the wearer's association of the vest with adventures.

Another explained, "I admired flamingos existing at their native habitat (a frozen pink lake!), pondered the natural beauty of badlands, geothermals and Salar Uyuni...ultimately granting me deeper and richer connections with Nature and Humanity" [P37]. Hepburn (2013) identified what she called a narrative of "double greenness" in Patagonia's catalogs: CSR practices combined with a mythic theme of "sublime" experiences had by Patagonia consumers adventuring in remote, wilderness locales. The SWW blog posts mentioning enjoyment of nature and the wilderness echoed Hepburn's findings, that consumers would wear their Patagonia brand apparel as they "dressed for sublime experiences" (Hepburn, 2013, p. 632). Experiences in nature can also encourage readers and authors of SWW blog posts to practice sustainability in order to preserve the natural world.

We conducted this qualitative case study to enhance the understanding of consumer involvement with the SWW blog. We sought to understand what the blog posts might accomplish for the company and its customers, which could benefit businesses seeking to integrate sustainability practices of repairing apparel and extending its use. Hence, companies could use this in their marketing efforts. The findings illustrate how the SWW blog posters have engaged to share experiences involving sustainability practices. We believe that the six recurring themes have provided insight to support existing theory, emerging motivations for prolonged use of garments, and potential implications for marketing efforts.

Stories We Wear contributors' reasons for repairing and keeping their Patagonia brand apparel support CORs (Fournier, 1991, 1995; Shimp & Madden, 1988) and the concept of brand love (Batra et al., 2012). SWW blog posts described passionate attachment to Patagonia brand apparel. Consumers kept Patagonia brand apparel, in part, because of the emotional attachment they had to the garment. While brand love contributes to brand loyalty, a study completed by So, Parsons, and Yap (2013) found that providing "superior functional benefits and symbolical benefits" (p. 416) creates a stronger brand loyalty outcome. The SWW blog contents support the conclusion that Patagonia's emphasis on product quality has resulted in strong brand love and attachment.

In the case of the SWW blog, these feelings of object attachment and brand love are intertwined with sustainability acts. The SWW blog posters perceived Patagonia brand apparel as long-lasting and much loved. By featuring these posts, Patagonia broadcasts consumer-endorsed sustainability marketing messages that have the potential to encourage others to form lasting emotional attachments to their apparel as a means for reducing consumption. The themes reflected by the SWW blog can be used by other brands planning to launch sustainability campaigns and integrate emotional attachment with sustainability practices. A brand could encourage its customers to share and document meaningful instances that illicit emotional attachment while wearing their garments, this could promote extending the use of their garments.

Another option would be to host a contest where one could submit an imagined future adventure while wearing the brand's garment, fostering emotional attachment could lead to extended use of the garment. By reading the SWW blog and repairing their Patagonia brand apparel, customers become engaged with the brand in a meaningful way. Their brand engagements result in sustainability acts, promoting brand love, and deepening the emotional attachment to their Patagonia brand apparel.

Our findings illuminate Patagonia customers' motivations to prolong the use of their garments. Consumers' emotional attachment to a brand is recognized as bringing financial benefit to the brand or company producing and/or distributing the product (Grisaffe & Nguyen, 2011). SWW blog stories could inspire additional consumers to adopt the brand, resulting in benefits to the brand.

By using a blog, one form of social media, as a platform from which to broadcast customer stories, Patagonia encourages sustainable choices, builds emotional attachment, and encourages brand love.

The company approaches a "new materialism" explained by Scott, Martin, and Schouten (2014) by promoting value in sustainability achieved by experiential engagement in long use and repairing for reuse of products that acquire emotional, almost magical, meanings over time.

Our findings also support the conceptual framework of consumer-object relations (Fournier, 1991, 1995). Unlike previous consumer research on brand love (Grisaffe & Nguyen, 2011), our findings include expressions of brand love that extend to the product level. The SWW blog demonstrates that consumers love their Patagonia products; in this case study, the product is a source of brand love. The implications for CSR research include encouragement of emotional attachment to products as a means for not just enhancing brand love but also encouraging reduced consumption of apparel products (Connell, 2011; Dickson & Eckman, 2006; Goworek, 2011). While there are several factors that impact brand love (Cho et al., 2015), experiences with garments can instigate feelings of brand love and result in extended use. Experiential marketing research could focus on the generation of brand love through experiences with products in the future research.

Other apparel brands could use the findings to shape marketing campaigns to facilitate consumers' emotional attachment to garments and leverage their connections to sustainability practices. The SWW blog embodies the recommendations of Gam, Ma, and Banning (2014) to pursue marketing campaigns that promote social responsibility. For example, future campaigns could include more emphasis on both the experiential and memento aspects of apparel ownership, creating memories of meaningful experiences while wearing apparel. This experiential memory-making could result in increased object attachment to the apparel and increased feelings of brand love. Depending on the prerogative of a business, these experiences could inspire repeat purchases or the sustainable practice of extended use. While Patagonia uses the SWW blog to emphasize sustainability practices in apparel consumption, other firms could use similar campaigns to emphasize other topics or practices that align with their respective brand images.

LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

A limitation of this study is the nature of a corporate blog, in which content is shaped by the company as a means to communicate corporate identity (Rocamora, 2011). While the blog posts are presented as stories from customers, they are mediated by Patagonia, and it is unknown to what degree. In addition, only a small portion of Patagonia customers post in the blog. Therefore, we do not know how representative the blog posts have been of the sustainability practices and emotional attachment to apparel of all Patagonia consumers. We did not communicate directly with the authors of the blog posts, limiting the full voice of consumers.

Another limitation is that we focused on only the text of the blog posts. We did not include the visual images. In addition, the SWW blog posts that we analyzed were limited to those with one hundred words or more, which might cause skewed findings.

Further research needs to be conducted through communicating with the authors of the SWW posts, analyzing the images accompanied with each post, and including the posts

Future research could include the areas of brand attachment, emotional attachment to apparel, apparel repair as a means of brand engagement, and consumers' stories about favorite apparel and brands. Specifically, further research involving the customers who have posted to the SWW blog, using focus group interviews, could bring greater understanding of their emotional attachment to their apparel, their love for the brand, and their sustainability practices. Studying how consumers who read but do not post to the blog assign meaning to the SWW would expand understanding of the effectiveness of the blog as a marketing tool.

This study raised the question of authentic customer voices versus curated corporate content as a significant limitation; further studies could help to determine the impact of the differences between diverse sources of consumer stories. A future study could take a deductive approach utilizing an overarching theory to determine the relationships between sustainability, COR, and brand love. Quantitative research conducted with a larger population could assess consumers' motivations to keep a garment and connections to sustainability practices, emotional attachment, and brand love.

AUTHORS' CONTRIBUTIONS

Dr. Michel and Ms. Feori originated the study, performed data collection and analysis, and wrote the first draft of the article. Dr. Damhorst, Dr. Lee, and Dr. Niehm supervised the study and contributed to the manuscript preparation process. Ms. Feori and Dr. Lee contributed to the final version of the manuscript.

Questions:

1. What are 2 things you understood well from reading this article?
2. What is 1 thing that you did not understand from this article and what specifically or why?
3. What is 1 thing that you really liked from any of the readings?