Ten-Year Change in Vegan Fashion and Beauty Industries in Korean Society -A Corpus Analysis-

This study examined newspaper articles from 2012 to the first quarter of 2021 to explore how interest in and response to veganism have evolved in the fashion and beauty industries over the past decade. By analyzing keywords and word correlations, we discovered a steady increase in veganism-related articles in both English- and Korean-language newspapers published in Korea, especially since 2019. Since 2012, consumer interest in vegan fashion materials has grown, with fashion and beauty emerging in 2018 as significant vegan-related keywords. As a result, brands have adopted vegan certification systems and introduced vegan product lines, and new vegan brands have emerged. Since 2020, companies have been promoting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management practices and working toward eco-management that reflects vegan trends in all areas, such as cruelty-free product/packaging materials, brands, policies, and services. It is also notable that fashion/beauty consumers have been more actively starting to adopt eco-friendly lifestyles and participate in vegan-related movements since that time. Our findings offer important insights into the evolution of veganism in Korea and can help researchers and industry practitioners to develop future business strategies in the vegan fashion and beauty industries.