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Are You Environmentally Conscious Enough to Differentiate between Greenwashed and Sustainable Items? A Global Consumers Perspective

Author

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  • Mariusz Urbański

    (Faculty of Civil Engineering, Akademicka 3, Częstochowa University of Technology, PL-42-200 Czestochowa, Poland)

  • Adnan ul Haque

    (Business Management Faculty, Yorkville University, 2000 Steeles Ave W, Concord, ON L4K 4N1, Canada)

Abstract

Environmentally sustainable (green) products are frequently advertised to consumers, yet it is debatable whether the consumers are aware whether these green labelled products are environmentally friendly or not. Greenwashing is a phenomenon used by companies to sell their products. Through stratified (probability) and purposive and convenience (non-probability) sampling techniques, an online survey was circulated to gather information from 768 participants from the UK, Canada, and Pakistan to determine consumers’ perspectives on subjects including awareness, trust, and effectiveness regarding greenwashed labelled products. The results were tested using the Chi-Square test for ranked data and structural equation modelling (SEM) for ordinal data. The study found that participants ranking themselves High environmentalists in comparison to Low and Moderate environmentalists, despite being skeptical, fall into the trap of identifying greenwashed products as sustainable. It has been proven that greenwashing negatively impacts the green purchasing behavior of the consumers. Participants reported that products are believed to be sustainable due to the overall perception of the product labelled as greenwashed. There is statistical evidence that purchase intent is not affected by greenwashing. It is also reported that younger people in comparison to older people have less trust and often believe greenwashing is problematic. Consumers were found to be vulnerable and more sensitive when their attention was drawn towards greenwashing. There is a need to educate consumers and improve policies to ensure consumers understand the real labels as greenwashed products are used in daily life.

Suggested Citation

  • Mariusz Urbański & Adnan ul Haque, 2020. "Are You Environmentally Conscious Enough to Differentiate between Greenwashed and Sustainable Items? A Global Consumers Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-25, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:5:p:1786-:d:325911
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gergely Nyilasy & Harsha Gangadharbatla & Angela Paladino, 2014. "Perceived Greenwashing: The Interactive Effects of Green Advertising and Corporate Environmental Performance on Consumer Reactions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(4), pages 693-707, December.
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    5. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4687 is not listed on IDEAS
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