Politeness strategies in sustainability discourse: a case study of British Vogue’s panel discussion on sustainable fashion

This study is aimed at investigating the use of politeness strategies in the British Vogue panel discussion, “Sustainability in Fashion”. This research explores how politeness functions as a tool to shape discourse on complex and sensitive sustainability issues. There are two main problems solved in this study: (1) what types of politeness strategies are employed by the panelists and the host in the discussion, and (2) in what ways are these politeness strategies used to navigate sensitive topics within the discussion. This study uses a qualitative approach. It analyzes words, phrases, and sentences from the transcribed panel discussion. The data was gained from the discussion featuring a host and three panelists from diverse professional backgrounds, published on the British Vogue YouTube channel discussions. The analysis is based on Brown and Levinson’s (1988) theory of politeness, categorizing utterances into four main strategies. This study reveals that all four politeness strategies (bald on record, positive politeness, negative politeness, and off record) are utilized by the speakers. Of the identified utterances, positive politeness was the most dominant strategy, followed by negative politeness, bald on record, and off record. The prevalence of positive politeness highlights the speakers’ efforts to build rapport and create a cooperative atmosphere. A key finding is the dynamic, layered application of strategies when discussing sensitive issues like greenwashing and labor inequities. Speakers often began with negative politeness to open a topic safely, delivered criticism using bald on record or off-record strategies, and then used positive politeness to restore harmony and build solidarity. This shows that politeness is not merely for maintaining relationships but serves as a crucial diplomatic instrument for conveying sharp criticism and driving change in public discourse.