The role of influencers in the communication of cruelty-free products on instagram: an exploratory study on the impact of sustainability in the beauty industry

• Autores: Villena-Alarcón, Eduardo, Zarauza-Castro, Jorge
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2024
• Institución: Universidad de Piura
• Repositorio: Revista de Comunicación
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:revistas.udep.edu.pe:article/3588
• Enlace del recurso: https://revistadecomunicacion.com/article/view/3588
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Cruelty-free; Influencers; Instagram; Bienestar Animal; Sostenibilidad; Industria de la Belleza; Animal Welfare; Sustainability; Beauty Industry

The growing concern about animal welfare has caused consumers to increase interest in sustainable products. Consequently, the beauty industry is increasingly committed to cruelty-free products. The rise of social media and influencers has driven this shift towards ethical and responsible consumption. Platforms such as Instagram have played a relevant role in disseminating messages related to sustainability through these opinion leaders. The research conducted a methodological triangulation to understand how beauty influencers communicate cruelty-free content and how these messages influence their followers. The methodological design includes a content analysis, a survey and in-depth interviews. The study’s findings indicate that beauty influencers’ communicative efforts are limited and do not significantly impact the prescription of cruelty-free products. The conclusions recommend expanding communication strategies in other digital media to increase awareness in the public sphere for sustainable social change.