Dear Colleagues,

In today’s world, brands are acting as significant harbingers of a sustainable future. As shown by the recent developments both in research and practice, brands have a pivotal position in society in terms of shaping cultural meanings, values, and norms. We see many brands using their positions to steer the public debate and consumer behavior to more sustainable trajectories. Consider Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, and Unilever as topical examples of multinational brands taking visible stances on sustainability.

However, the link between branding and sustainability is not always congruent or straightforward. There are several examples of such brands failing to integrate sustainability in their covenant, as stakeholders judge the sustainability efforts misaligned with the brand. Thus, creating sustainable brands must be seen as a joint effort between the brand and its key stakeholders such as customers, employees, and partners. To support brands as contributors to societal and environmental well-being, at a time when this can be considered a worthwhile endeavour, this Special Issue aims to create space for understanding how different stakeholder groups engage in cocreating sustainable brands.

We invite research papers focusing on various types of sustainable brands, such as corporate brands, nonprofit brands, institution brands, personal brands, and country brands, to name a few. Creative, interpretive research approaches are most likely to offer interesting viewpoints on the topic. We invite research using innovative research methods and multidisciplinary materials. Diverse perspectives including consumer and stakeholder perceptions and experiences, marketing communications, and branding strategies with a focus on cocreation with stakeholders, as well as specific dimensions of sustainability, are encouraged. Furthermore, approaches that examine the reasons why brands can fail in their sustainability efforts are within the scope of this Issue.

Dr. Elina Närvänen
Dr. Sonja Lahtinen
Ms. Ulla-Maija Sutinen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• brands
• branding
• sustainable brands
• sustainability brands
• brand cocreation
• interpretive approach