Eco-Critical Discourse Analysis of Social Media Products Description of Beauty Companies

A Case Study of the Body Shop

Authors

  • Fatima Faiz MPhil Scholar, Applied Linguistics, Government College University Faisalabad Author
  • Warisha Waseem English Teacher, Dar E Arqam School Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36755/ijll.v3i01.65

Keywords:

Eco-Friendliness, Beauty Products, Social Media Advertisements, Greenwashing, The Body Shop, ECD

Abstract

This study presents an Eco-Critical discourse analysis of Social media product descriptions in beauty Companies, focusing on The Body Shop as a case study. The aim is to examine how The Body Shop represents its products in terms of Eco-friendliness and sustainability on social media platforms and to critically analyze the underlying discourses and their environmental implications. The research employs a qualitative approach, drawing on eco-critical theory and discourse analysis. Additionally, the study investigates the alignment between the discourse presented in social media product descriptions and the company's actual practices regarding environmental sustainability. The findings reveal that The Body Shop utilizes various discursive techniques to construct an image of eco-friendliness and sustainability, including the use of natural imagery, appeals to ethical values, and claims of cruelty-free and environmentally responsible practices, and also used nature images for high ratings. They use ideologies according to the people’s mindset and erase all the chemicals which use in their beauty products and show images that are very close to nature like the use of fruits and seeds from different countries. The research highlights the importance of critically examining the representations of eco-friendly claims made by beauty companies on social media and calls for more informed and critical consumer engagement.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Acha, W. A. (2022). AN ECOCRTICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF ANTHROPOCENTRISM IN THE CAMEROONIAN PRESS. International Journal of Humanity Studies, 120-140.

Berardi, F. 2012. The uprising: on poetry and finance. Los Angeles, CA: Semiotext(e).

Boo, E. (1990) Ecotourism: The Potentials and Pitfalls, Vol. 1. Washington, DC: World Wild Fund.

Deluca, K. (1999). Image politics: The new rhetoric of environmental activism. New York: Guilford Press.

Ecotourism Society (1991) ‘The Ecotourism Society: An Action Agenda’, in J.A. Kusler(ed.) Ecotourism and Resource Conservation, pp. 75–9. Madison, WI: Omnipress.

Fennell, D.A. (2001) ‘A Content Analysis of Ecotourism Definitions’, Current Issues in Tourism 4(5): 401–21.

Halliday, M. (2001). New ways of meaning: The challenge to applied linguistics. In A. Fill & P. Mühlhäusler (Ed.), The Eco linguistics Reader: Language, Ecology and Environment (pp. 175-202). New York: Continuum.

Mühlhäusler, P. (2003). Language of Environment: Environment of Language.

London: Battlebridge.

Peeples, J. (2015). Discourse/rhetorical analysis approaches to environment, media, and communication from: The Routledge Handbook of environment and communication. London: Routledge.

STAMOU, A. G., & PARASKEVOPOULOS, S. (2004). Images of nature by tourism and environmentalist discourses in visitors books: a critical discourse analysis of ecotourism. Discourse & Society, 105-129.

Stibbe, A. (2015). Ecolinguistics Language, ecology and the stories welive by. LONDON AND NEW YORK: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Downloads

Published

28-06-2023

How to Cite

Eco-Critical Discourse Analysis of Social Media Products Description of Beauty Companies: A Case Study of the Body Shop. (2023). Inception-Journal of Languages and Literature, 3(1), 66-74. https://doi.org/10.36755/ijll.v3i01.65