Barbara Behre successfully defends her PhD

Today Dr. Barbara Behre successfully defended her PhD on “Sustainability Communication in Online Fashion Shops”. Her research explored the question: How, when, and why can sustainability communication in online shops encourage more sustainable fashion consumption?

The dissertation makes an important contribution to understanding how sustainability signals and framing in digital retail environments influence consumer decision-making. Barbara’s research shows that sustainability communication is most effective when clear, credible signals are integrated and aligned with product attributes and consumer values. By uncovering how trust, emotions, and cognitive processing shape responses to sustainability messages, her work provides insights on how boundary and enabling conditions of more sustainable fashion consumption online.

Building on this expertise, Barbara will continue her research in a postdoctoral position at the University of Southern California (USC), starting January 2026. She will explore consumer acceptance and communication strategies around sustainable fibers and materials derived from ocean plastic waste recycling, contributing to interdisciplinary efforts to advance circular solutions in the fashion industry.