Greenwashing

The perspectives of companies and consumers

LAB University of Applied Sciences

Bachelor of Business Administration
2023
Heidi Saarikoski
 Abstract

Author(s) Publication type Completion year

Heidi Saarikoski Thesis, UAS 2023
Number of pages
57 + appendix
Title of the thesis
Greenwashing
The perspective of companies and consumers
Degree, Field of Study
Bachelor of Business Administration, International Business
Organisation of the client
n/a

Abstract
There is more and more scrutiny on companies to be a positive contributor to the so-
ciety as CSR other initiatives become more typical. The values of consumers are
changing, and many are trying to limit their consumption. The thesis set out to under-
stand greenwashing from all points of view. The starting point is exploring what green-
washing is. From there on the reasons why companies commit greenwashing as well
as the mechanisms on how it happens are discussed. Then the perspective of con-
sumers and their views on greenwashing is explored. Do consumers care about
greenwashing and what can they do the spot it or even stop it?
Green brands suffer from greenwashing. Hence there is also emphasis on how green
marketing is different from greenwashing. Tools to separate the two are examined.
Previous research is heavily used in the thesis to analyse the topic. The already exist-
ing literature is also used in analysing the survey results. The results are also com-
pared with the research used for this thesis.

Keywords
Greenwashing, green marketing, green purchase intention
Contents

1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Thesis background ............................................................................................. 1
1.2 Thesis objectives ................................................................................................ 4
1.3 Research methods and limitations ...................................................................... 5
1.4 Theoretical framework and research approach ................................................... 6
1.5 Data collection methods and data analysis ......................................................... 6
2 Greenwashing ........................................................................................................... 8
2.1 Greenwashing taxonomy .................................................................................... 8
2.2 Drivers of greenwashing ....................................................................................11
3 Green marketing .......................................................................................................16
3.1 Green marketing principles ................................................................................16
3.2 The green marketing mix ...................................................................................19
3.3 Green marketing strategy ..................................................................................20
4 Consumers & buying behaviour & attitudes ..............................................................23
4.1 Scepticism .........................................................................................................23
4.2 Attitude-behaviour gap and green purchase intention ........................................23
4.3 How to detect greenwashing ..............................................................................24
4.4 Greenwashing sins ............................................................................................25
5 The survey ................................................................................................................29
5.1 Survey design ....................................................................................................29
5.2 Results and discussion ......................................................................................30
5.2.1 Demographics ............................................................................................31
5.2.2 Questions on the topic ................................................................................33
6 Conclusions ..............................................................................................................42
6.1 Answers to the research questions ....................................................................42
6.2 Validity and reliability .........................................................................................44
6.3 Suggestions for further studies ..........................................................................44
7 Summary ..................................................................................................................46
References ......................................................................................................................48

Appendix 1. The survey

 1

1 Introduction

1.1 Thesis background

In today’s world environmental values have become more prevalent, and consumers seek
to reduce their impact on the environment through their consumption choices. These val-
ues influence thought processes, actions, and individual goals. Companies have come to
realize this too and some wish to capitalize on those values with the introduction of corpo-
rate social responsibility. (Chang 2015, 452; Geng et al. 2022, 15.) Corporate social re-
sponsibility (CSR) can be a vague term, as there are multiple differing definitions. It is also
known as triple bottom line, corporate citizenship, and corporate social performance. Fig-
ure 1 below illustrates what is covered with the concept of CSR.

Figure 1. Range of CSR (The Industrial Development Organization, 2023)

The Industrial Development Organization by the United Nations (UNIDO 2023) defines
CSR as

A management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmen-

tal concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders (The In-
dustrial Development Organization, 2023).

Looking at Figure 1, CSR contains a multitude of concepts. At the heart of it all is the busi-
ness itself, as it is up to a business to decide how to operate and manage business activities.
 2

A step further includes stakeholders, employees, and future generations for instance. These
are all groups or elements that are affected by the actions of a business, now and in the
future. Going to the outermost layer, it is finally divided into economic, social, and environ-
mental aspects. Economic aspects include factors such as supply chain, political influence,
and risk management. For example, Apple was accused of irresponsible supply chain is-
sues in 2010. Poor working conditions in their supplier´s plant led multiple employees to
suicide. (Beal Partyka et al. 2023.) The social aspect includes elements affecting people
such as working conditions, human rights, and diversity in the workplace. A responsible
corporation will provide safe working conditions, pay a fair wage, and hire without prejudice
toward certain groups of people. For instance, the company Chiquita has pledged to pay all
of its workers a living wage in all the countries it operates and farms in (Aguilera et al. 2007,
838.) Finally, there is the environmental issues, namely biodiversity, climate change, and
product stewardship. The aim is to reduce ecological damage by considering the environ-
mental effects of their products or services (Halme et al. 2020, 1181). Again, Chiquita has
made efforts to reduce their carbon footprint by introducing a new set of environmental
practices (Aguilera et al. 2007, 838).

Expanding on CSR, some have a broader view, saying that CSR activities consist of social,
environmental, ethical, and philanthropic duties that organizations have to their stakehold-
ers (Convery et al. 2017). CSR can be split into external and internal activities. External
CSR activities aim to aid issues outside of the company, such as poverty reduction, climate
change, and community involvement. Contrastingly, internal activities are those that are
aimed towards the employees of the company. (Shen & Zhang 2019, 876.)

Since CSR as a whole is such a broad concept, the thesis concentrates on the environmen-
tal side of CSR, namely sustainability communications. Within sustainability communica-
tions, the thesis focuses on greenwashing which is a proponent of sustainability communi-
cations (SC). SC is introduced in detail below in Figure 2.
 3

Figure 2. Range of SC (Golob et al. 2023, 47)

Sustainability communications is a rather new term and a relatively unstudied subject.

Hence, SC does not have a clear definition, which has led to fragmented research. Within
SC are topics such as sustainability communication, greenwashing, sustainability/green ad-
vertising, and sustainability reporting as well as climate change, biodiversity, consumption,
production, and mobility. (Godemann & Michelsen 2011 according to Golob et al. 2023, 42.)
A general definition of SC is as follows:

A global social process consisting of recursive sequence of contributions and

debates for a better ecological, economic, and social life (Ziemann 2011, ac-
cording to Golob et al. 2023, 42).

Zeroing in on the topic of the thesis, greenwashing is the act of mispresenting products or
services as greener than they are in reality. This can happen in various ways such as omit-
ting information, being vague about the specifics, or overemphasizing green characteristics.
(Armour 2021.) It can transpire for instance within advertising, communications, investing,
or corporate sustainability reporting (Banerjee et al. 1995; Armour 2021; Vollero 2022, 10,
66). For consumers, it is of utmost importance that they understand what greenwashing is
to recognize it, make informed purchase decisions, and then be able to demand better prac-
tices from organizations. Lyon et al. (2011 according to Unger 2017, 69) state that green-
washing companies have realized the potential to charge more for green products. Green
 4

products are typically designed to be less toxic, more durable, and reparable or composta-
ble. The process of making and packaging can also be less toxic or use less materials in
general. (Davari & Sutton 2014.)

According to a survey with 25, 000 partakers from 12 countries, 81% care and think about
ethical sourcing when purchasing products. On average these 81% of partakers are willing
to use 17.5% more money on products that have used ethical sourcing in the production.
(Banker 2021.) Therefore, it is also a matter of consumer protection to keep organizations
accountable. Furthermore, consumers engage more and more in environmentally friendly
purchasing and consumption habits, such as recycling and paying attention to harmful sub-
stances in consumer products. These consumers are called green consumers. Green con-
sumers are defined by their environmentally friendly purchasing habits, concern for the en-
vironment and its wellbeing, and support shown for the environmentally friendly businesses.
(Govender & Govender 2016, 78.) These purchasing habits in turn are called green con-
sumption (Duong 2022, 1125). Finally, green consumers are known to support green
brands. Green brands are the ones that are distinct from their competitors due to their of-
fering of products with eco-advantages. Green brands succeed in appealing to green con-
sumers because of superior eco-advantages such as decreased environmental impact
when compared to regular products. (Mohd Suki 2016, 2894.)

1.2 Thesis objectives

The purpose of the study is to gain insight into the phenomenon of greenwashing. This is
done by finding out the drivers behind greenwashing as well as how it affects consumers.
The aim is to investigate whether perceived greenwashing has an impact on the purchasing
habits of consumers. This is done through reviewing previous literature on the topic as well
as a survey conducted on SurveyMonkey. First, there is a need to find out if consumers can
spot greenwashing. If they do, does it change their purchasing habits? Understanding the
underlying reasons behind greenwashing is important for the purpose of eliminating it. Elim-
inating greenwashing is beneficial for consumers as it is a way of misleading consumers.

The thesis is valuable as it will help consumers to detect greenwashing, which in turn can
incentivise consumers to choose products from green brands. In addition, companies can
get insights on greenwashing and make sure that they are not part of the problem and can
instead be part of the solution. Finally, this will help consumers and non-governmental or-
ganizations to demand better practices from greenwashing companies. The ideal situation
would be for greenwashing to eventually cease to exist.
 5

The main research question is:

• Does perceived greenwashing have an impact on consumers' purchasing habits?

The sub-questions to help answer the main question are:

• What are the drivers and underlying causes of greenwashing?

• Can consumers spot greenwashing and green marketing from each other?

1.3 Research methods and limitations

The thesis will use quantitative methodology in the form of a questionnaire. The aim is to
get a minimum of 100 answers. Common methods for quantitative research are surveys,
experiments, and structured interviewing. This method is ideal for collecting numerical data.
Qualitative research method on the other hand relies on interviews, focus groups, and an-
alysing documents. As the thesis uses multiple research and books there is also a qualita-
tive quality in the thesis. (Liu 2022.)

The limitations of this study are numerous. For one, the terminology is at times vague in the
literature. Terms such as sustainability, green product, and sustainability communications
have multiple definitions. None of these terms have one agreed-upon definition. In addition,
a lot of the literature on these topics concentrate on a singular country such as The United
States, India, or China. These factors can make the text vague in certain parts. Furthermore,
as the thesis uses an online survey, certain demographics are more dominant than others.
Finally, research shows that respondents in surveys can resort to answering questions in a
socially acceptable way or answer untruthfully instead of admitting the lack of knowledge
surrounding the survey topic (Lietz 2010, 252). These factors may result in skewed answers
and will not reflect the average consumer base.

Additionally, as creating a survey is a skill and science, and the author is not an established
survey maker, the survey in itself might be partially to blame for the skewed answers. At-
testing to the previous statement, a mistake was made while making the survey. The ques-
tions with the Likert scale from one to five were in the wrong order. One was meant to be
“strongly disagree” and five “strongly agree”. However, it was the opposite, and this was
only noticed once the survey was closed, and all results were gathered. The survey design
is introduced in detail in chapter 5.1. as the design process applies survey design literature
which deserves a thorough look through.
 6

1.4 Theoretical framework and research approach

The thesis is not based on any particular theoretical approach. It is based on exploring
greenwashing, green marketing, and where the two differ. In addition, ways for consumers
to spot greenwashing and whether greenwashing affects their views on green products is
examined. Vollero (2022, 37) conducted a systematic literature review on greenwashing
and found that half of the studies in the systematic literature review did not have a specific
theoretical approach. Hence, it seems an appropriate approach for the thesis as well.

The thesis is deductive in its approach. Deductive research approach means that the re-
search starts from general theories and moves to deduct insights (Daellenbach &
Woiceshyn 2018, 183-184). Deductive research tends to use already existing theories, test
hypothesis based on those theories, and contributes to the literature (Janiszewski et al.
2016, 201; Dudovskiy). The thesis uses already existing literature and theories which are
applied to create the questionnaire, analyse findings, and make conclusions.

1.5 Data collection methods and data analysis

The thesis uses both primary and secondary data. Primary data is data that is collected by
the writers, for example through interviews or surveys (Strauss & Whitfield 2018, 200,202).
The primary data is collected through a questionnaire on SurveyMonkey. It is distributed on
social media with the aim of getting as broad a base of responders as possible. The sec-
ondary data used comes in the form of studies, research articles, books, and other already
existing literature on the topic. Additionally, online sources such as news media and web-
sites from NGO´s are utilized.

The data from the questionnaire is analysed through descriptive statistics. Descriptive sta-
tistics answers questions such as who, what, and why. It is used to calculate, outline, and
compile the data. The data is then presented in a logical and relevant manner. The reporting
will hence be presented with tables. (Vetter 2017, 1797.) Microsoft Excel is used to form the
tables and figures.

The structure of the thesis is as follows: first, the topic is introduced and discussed in a
general way. Then in chapter two, there is a thorough look at what greenwashing is and
what drives companies to greenwash. The third chapter discusses green marketing in order
to differentiate between greenwashing and green marketing. This is helpful for all marketing
professionals and consumers interested in the quality of their purchases. The fourth chapter
moves on to the consumer point of view and consumer experience on greenwashing and
touches on topics such as cynicism towards green brands and green products, as well as
 7

tools for recognizing greenwashing. After a thorough discussion of these topics, the thesis
moves on to the survey conducted to find out consumers' views on greenwashing. The
survey results are discussed and analysed. Finally, there are the summary and suggestions
for further research.
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2 Greenwashing

2.1 Greenwashing taxonomy

While greenwashing can be simply explained by saying it is the act of misleading consumers
with green, untrue claims, it is a multifaceted concept. Torelli et al. (2020, according to Vol-
lero 2022, 9) define greenwashing as a company making a variety of communications with
the intent to mislead stakeholders to construct an exceedingly positive picture of its envi-
ronmental practises. One of the earliest definitions similarly defines it as environmental
claims that are trivial, misleading, or deceptive to consumers (Kangun et al. 1991, according
to Vollero 2022, 9).

Direct, vicarious, and indirect greenwashing

Gatti et al. (2021) suggest that there are three levels of greenwashing which are direct,
vicarious, and indirect greenwashing, shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Levels of greenwashing (Gatti et al. 2021, 24)

Direct greenwashing refers to the phenomenon happening internally within the company
while indirect is the opposite, meaning outside the company on the supplier level. Vicarious
greenwashing is in the middle, the act of a company making deals with a known green-
washing supplier. The focus of these terms is to identify where the greenwashing happens,
internally, externally, or somewhere in the middle. Gatti et al. (2021, 23) assert that sustain-
ability efforts must be carried out with the collaboration of sustainable partners in a sustain-
able supply chain.
 9

Furthermore, through a systematic literature review, Vollero (2022, 40) finds five different
types of greenwashing and states that these are discussed in most scientific literature re-
garding greenwashing tactics. These are selective disclosure, attention deflection, decou-
pling, deceptive labelling, and deceptive manipulation, all of which are introduced shortly.

Selective disclosure as a greenwashing tactic aims to generate a positive picture of an or-

ganization’s performance environment-wise. This is done through selectively disclosing in-
formation about the organization, omitting the negative aspects, and announcing the envi-
ronmentally positive actions. Hence there are no direct lies, but the truth is bent. This hap-
pens on the organizational level and is not used on product or service level. Selective dis-
closure is not limited to greenwashing but is also a tool for misrepresentation of financial
information. (Brown & Dacin 1997; Marquis & Toffel 2012; Guo et al. 2018, all according to
Vollero 2022, 40.) Selective disclosure is less likely to happen if a company is headquar-
tered in a country where organized social movements and public voice are more visible
(Vollero 2022, 41). However, sometimes selective disclosure can be unintentional, and the
intentionality can be challenging to determine (Vollero 2022, 41). Unintentional greenwash-
ing is further explored on page 10.

Attention deflection comprises of multiple greenwashing tactics, including selective disclo-

sure, making it a broad term. It is a general term for all practises made to intentionally dis-
close information selectively to conceal practises that are environmentally damaging. For
instance, vague and irrelevant claims, misleading imagery, and product comparisons that
are inadequate. Unlike selective disclosure, attention deflection can happen on company or
product level. (Cliath 2007; Cervellon 2013; Gössling & Matejek 2014, according to Vollero
2022, 41.) Stakeholders are known to form a positive image of an attention deflecting com-
pany by expanding a few positive traits of a company or product to all aspects of said com-
pany (Vollero 2022, 42).

Proceeding with decoupling, which happens when a company claims to achieve the expec-
tations of stakeholders regarding sustainability issues but does not actually achieve them.
Yet, no changes are made within the organizational structure or practises to correct the
state of affairs. For instance, companies declaring sustainability programs or policies with-
out the means to implement them or without the intention of making the organizational
changes needed to carry out the programs. (Guo et al. 2017; Siano et al. 2017, according
to Vollero 2022, 43.) It is a method aimed to seem legitimate by appearing to conform (Gatti
et al. 2021, 23).
 10

Deceptive labelling refers to eco-labels that are created by the company itself or are missing
the disclosure on what type of sustainability measures are taken or which strategies are
followed. This results in confusion and scepticism for consumers. (Hamilton & Zilber-
man 2006; TerraChoice 2007; Chen et al. 2020, according to Vollero 2022, 44.) Ecolabels
are further discussed on page 14.

Finally, deceptive manipulation refers to manipulation with the intent to validate environ-
mental claims and reports. It is characterized as immoral behaviour, that results in green or
sustainability communication which is not reality, such as the case of Volkswagen claiming
their car to be more sustainable than it was. (Siano et al. 2017; Yang et al. 2020; Gatti et
al. 2021, according to Vollero 2022, 45.)

Unintentional and intentional greenwashing

Greenwashing can be divided into unintentional and intentional. Intentional greenwashing

on the other hand is greenwashing that does not happen accidentally.

Unintentional greenwashing can happen in companies that have ineffective communica-

tion between departments. This in turn can, for example, lead to the communications team
inadvertently to greenwash in advertisements or within B2B sales. Organizational inertia is
also known to cause unintentional greenwashing. An example of this is acquisitions or a
new CEO. In these cases, there can be positive environmental communications that end
up not happening or happening too slowly, even when the intention is to actualize the
claims. (Burbano & Delmas 2011, 74.) Unintentional greenwashing can also happen when
the aim is to decrease the impact on the environment, but the changes made in the com-
pany end up being adverse. For instance, using recycled materials can improve the sus-
tainability of the production process, but ends up increasing the environmental impact
when the whole lifecycle is considered. Hence, the intention can be good but the whole
product lifecycle has not been considered. (Dangelico & Vocalelli 2017, 1273.) This shows
how easy it can be to unintentionally greenwash by forgetting to deliberate the bigger pic-
ture or the product lifecycle. Product lifecycle is a theory in which different stages of prod-
uct development are considered. Those stages are planning, production, usage, and dis-
posal. Planning and production include stages such as logistics, materials, assembly, and
packaging. While these happen on the company level, usage, and disposal are consumer-
oriented events. It is the responsibility of the consumer to use and dispose of the goods
properly. The goal for a company during usage and disposal is to support the consumer
with maintenance and upgrades, for instance. (Bustinza et al. 2022, 1636.)
 11

2.2 Drivers of greenwashing

External, organizational, and individual drivers

Burbano and Delmas (2011, 65) divide the drivers of greenwashing into three levels which
are external, organizational, and individual. External drivers come from outside of an or-
ganization, such as consumers, investors, and competitors, shareholders, and secondary
stakeholders. External drivers such as lack of pressure from law enforcement or consum-
ers give little incentive for organizations to improve. (Burbano & Delmas 2011; Eun-Hee &
Lyon 2015, 705; Wang et al. (2017, 2119) state that relaxed regulation, positive public im-
age, and demand by activists and consumers are among the top external drivers for
greenwashing. Law enforcement, external pressures, and competitors are discussed be-
low on pages 11 to 14.

The drivers at the organizational level include communications, ethics within a company,
and incentives given to employees. According to a survey, top organizational level drivers
are low visibility, incentive-driven corporate culture, and firm size. (Wang et al. 2017,
2119.) For instance, a big company dealing in consumer goods is more likely to be scruti-
nized by the public versus a small company or a company in the business-to-business
sector (Marquis et al. 2016, 485). Managers can be led to greenwash if the company has
an ethical climate that does not punish violators. Additionally, incentives given by compa-
nies can lead to managers justifying the greenwashing in their heads. Such incentives in-
clude rewards for performing per schedule, reaching monetary objectives, and quotas re-
garding green performance communications. (Burbano & Delmas 2011, 73-74; Wang et
al. 2017, 2119.)

Finally, the individual level drivers concern the employees within a company, mainly the
ones making decisions. This partly overlaps with organizational level drivers. Within indi-
vidual level drivers, prominent ones are hyperbolic temporal discounting, optimistic bias,
and narrow decision framing. (Burbano & Delmas 2011, 75; Wang et al. 2017, 2119.) A
driving force for individual level greenwashing is the uncertainty of law enforcement. As
the laws are somewhat unclear and punishments are not harsh, it increases the likelihood
of greenwashing. This is part of narrow decision framing, which is the process of making
decisions without considering the bigger picture. Optimistic bias refers to the tendency to
exaggerate the positive and underestimate negative facts. Finally, hyperbolic temporal
discounting refers to the tendency to want instant results and gratification. This can lead to
decisions to start greenwashing now instead of waiting for the ability to say truthful green
claims in the future. (Burbano & Delmas 2011, 75-76.)
 12

Laws and regulations

One driver of greenwashing is the lack of law enforcement by governments worldwide. So

far it is somewhat of a rare occurrence for a company to pay for their greenwashing.
Some reports indicate that only five percent of green products do not greenwash in any
form (De Freitas Netto et al. 2020, 2). When a company is penalized, the fines have been
small enough for these companies not to suffer long-term consequences. This indeed
does not make companies scared enough to refrain from greenwashing activities. For in-
stance, in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the power under
the FTC Act, section five, to send a cease-and-desist order to an advertiser using environ-
mental claims that are deceptive. In case the advertiser ignores the cease-and-desist, the
fine is 10, 000 USD maximum or up to one year of imprisonment. In the case that the FTC
finds there to be defrauding or misleading intentions, there will be criminal liability. How-
ever, the FTC has charged companies with criminal liability a total of five times between
2000-2009. (Burbano & Delmas 2011, 69.)

Burbano and Delmas (2011) also point out that words such as biodegradable and all-natu-
ral are not clearly defined. This leads to companies either not using them for fear of green-
washing or using the words in order to exploit the vagueness of the terms. These terms
should be clearly defined, as only then can laws and regulations be drawn up and en-
forced effectively. Furthermore, evidence from China, the second biggest economy in the
world, shows that even if there are laws in place, the enforcement of the laws needs to be
vigilant. If the laws merely exist on paper, greenwashing will flourish. (Du, 2015.) It is also
suggested that some companies emblematically comply. This means that they choose to
greenwash to hide from potential investigations and fines. (Dahl 2010, 250; Marquis et al.
2016, 483.)

There is some progress in this area. Public interest entities with 500 or more employees in
the EU are now obligated to do CSR reporting due to the Accounting Act amendment,
which was established on the 29th of December in 2016 (Ministry of Economic Affairs and
Employment of Finland 2023). Furthermore, on the 22nd of March 2023, the European
Commission proposed new laws regarding greenwashing. The proposal targets green
claims, stating that there should be a norm on how to communicate and substantiate
them. Moreover, it includes regulation of environmental labels. (European Commission
2023.) Green claims are environmental claims, which are product-oriented, process-ori-
ented, image-oriented, and have environmental facts. Furthermore, they are classified as
substantive or associative. An associative claim is a generic or broad environmental fact
 13

in addition to being intangible, and irrelevant product-wise. Contrastingly, a substantive

claim has distinct benefits. (Lee et al. 2012, 10.)

External pressure

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and consumers can be considered a driving

force for new laws, regulations, and best practices by putting private regulatory pressure
on companies. Fields that typically experience high private regulatory pressure are energy
(fossil fuel), mining, banking, and insurance. (Foerster & Spencer 2023, 111-123.) In lieu
of stringent regulations to stop greenwashing, the responsibility has fallen on the consum-
ers, activist groups, and NGOs. The highly public campaigns and protests held by the
aforementioned parties get substantial media attention, which can result in reputational
damage. The Guardian (2021) reports that public pressure has made Harvard phase out
its investments in fossil fuels. In similar news, Kurmelovs (2022) reports that Tennis Aus-
tralia dropped Santos, a fossil fuel company, from their partners because of public scru-
tiny. However, these pressures can also lead to greenwashing instead of actual improve-
ments in organizational behaviours (Burbano & Delmas 2011, 71).

These NGOs and activist groups have a wide reach on social media platforms. Indeed, this
can be used for the purposes of spreading knowledge or cyberactivism. Cyberactivism is
the act of using the Internet and social media to gain supporters for a specific cause and
coordinating them for a common good and change. (Attril-Smith et al. 2019, 372.) Green-
peace suggests that cyberactivism had a part in the victory against Shell's plans to execute
seismic blasting in South Africa (Tsotetsi 2022). At the time of writing (10.02.2023), Green-
peace International has four million followers on Instagram, about 3,75 million likes on Fa-
cebook, 1,9 million followers on Twitter, and 198,000 subscribers on YouTube. While some
of these likes and followers are the same people across platforms, some people only follow
them on one platform. And these numbers do not consider the “lurkers” who check out the
content without following the accounts. Lurking is the behaviour of being a silent bystander,
reading the content but not engaging with it by commenting or liking (Edelman 2015). It is
suggested that even up to 90 percent of online users could be classified as lurkers (Attril-
Smith et al. 2019, 286).

In addition to NGOs and consumers, the media plays an important role in educating the
public. Without media, it is difficult to spread a message to a large audience. For instance,
Du (2015) asserts that when the media exposes greenwashing, public opinion will follow
and trust in the green claims of a greenwashing company is lost. Furthermore, media expo-
 14

sure is an important factor in investing as well (Du 2015.) When investors can make in-
formed decisions, they can choose to support greenwashing or non-greenwashing compa-
nies.

Competition

Another reason why companies feel inclined to greenwash is the competition. Reportedly
just in the United Kindom spending on ethical products grew by almost 24% from 2019 to
2020 and the market is estimated to be worth 122 billion British pounds (Das 2022). Hence,
it makes sense for companies to try and stand out from the competition as well as to be the
one company to get the consumers who want to purchase ethical products. According to
Pizzi (2018), environmental practises predict increased revenue in the future. For instance,
a study on the Chinese market shows that truly green firms do better than the greenwashing
ones when considering market evaluations. However, if greenwashing is called out, the
market reacts negatively, and said company is devalued. (Du 2015.) Thus, this is an incen-
tive for companies to greenwash if they believe that they will not be caught. Additionally,
some companies find it costly to be green and hence resort to greenwashing (Eun-Hee &
Lyon 2015, 705).

Research suggests that if most companies in a certain industry communicate positive

facts about their performance on green factors, a brown company is likely to follow suit.
This is in effort to not fall behind on other companies. A brown company is a company
with a weak environmental track record, taking part in greenwashing, such as British Pe-
troleum (BP). (Burbano & Delmas 2011.) For instance, BP advertised its use of solar
power while 96% of its energy is gas and oil based (Robinson 2022 according to Yildririm
2023).

In contrast to not falling behind, some companies choose to greenwash to stand out from
competitors who do no green marketing or greenwashing (Wang et al. 2017, 2113). Fur-
thermore, Chen et al. (2020, 197) state that greenwash decreases the persuasiveness of
green marketing. For instance, all the big oil companies such as Shell, Exon, and BP are
known to greenwash as well as most cleaning product companies (Dahl 2010, 250; Clifford
2022; Elton 2022). For example, this could lead to all oil companies being on the same line
regardless of their green initiatives, greenwashing, or green marketing efforts.

Ecolabels and certifications

As mentioned before, there are hundreds of ecolabels. Ecolabels are meant to be a tool for
protecting the environment as well as a tool to inform the consumer about the environmental
characteristics of a product (Bourizi et al. 2021, 849). Additionally, the goal is to lessen
 15

consumer uncertainty about the validity of their green purchases (Darnall et al. 2018, 954).
The appeal of ecolabels for companies is the consumers´ willingness to pay a premium for
products with the ecolabel and is a means of influencing green marketing (Darnall et al.
2018, 954; Brouwer et al. 2021, 141). Moreover, Brouwer et al. (2021) find that ecolabels
do enhance purchase intention. Ergo, it is reasonable to say that the rise of different eco-
labels comes with an increased chance for greenwashing by fake labels in the sea of all
ecolabels.

There are many kinds of labels such as national, like the Blue Angel in Germany or the
Umweltzeichen Baume in Austria. In addition, there are supranational labels such as the
Nordic Swan created by the Nordic Council of Ministers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
Norway, and Sweden. (Bourizi et al. 2021, 849.) Finally, there are even bigger ones, such
as the Forest Stewardship Council which is worldwide or the European Eco Flower used
within the EU (Darnall et al. 2018, 959).

Consumers seem to trust ecolabels when the government or environmental NGOs provide
information on them. The most distrust goes to ones coming from private businesses. Gov-
ernments, private businesses, and environmental NGOs are the three main sponsors of
ecolabels. The problem is that while governments and environmental NGOs aim to give
consumers accurate information and to conserve the environment, private businesses have
their customers, which are companies, not the consumers, benefit as a priority. (Darnall et
al. 2018, 953-955.)
 16

3 Green marketing

3.1 Green marketing principles

As established, it is important to recognize greenwashing to be able to combat it. How-

ever, it is also crucial to see the difference between green marketing and greenwashing.
Otherwise, companies practising sound green marketing can be subjected to greenwash-
ing suspicions and accusations. Green marketing is the act of encouraging environment
friendly behaviour and attitudes among consumers. Additionally, it is described as an inte-
grated concept for companies to keep evaluating and improving their goals, meeting the
needs and wants of consumers as well as continually minimizing the long-term ecological
impact and harm made. (Polonsky & Rosenberger 2001, 22-24). The incentive for compa-
nies is to reduce their environmental impact, increased revenues, pressure by govern-
ment, stakeholders, and competition, CSR, and new opportunities (Govender & Govender
2016, 78; Kurczewski et al. 2017, 29). Other benefits include increased loyalty in the cus-
tomer base and the likelihood of government contracts is increased (Govender & Goven-
der 2016, 78). The importance of green marketing is clear. Green marketing is essential in
creating awareness of sustainable values, products, and services, which in turn creates
more demand for green products. Successively demand turns into the development of
products that are better for the environment which lessens the impact on the environment
coming from industrial activities. (Dangelico & Vocalelli, 2017.)

An example of legitimate green marketing is Patagonia, the outdoor clothing retailer. They
encourage the consumers to repair their products and even offer a repair service. On
Black Friday 2011, which is known as a day of deep discounts and shopping, Patagonia
ran an advertisement with the tagline “Don’t buy this jacket” (Patagonia 2022).

Ideally, five principles guide green marketing. These are consumer oriented marketing,
customer value marketing, innovative marketing, sense of mission marketing, and societal
marketing. These principles make sure that marketing activities are coordinated from the
customers' point of view, create more value for the customer, and product improvements
are truly made for a better customer experience. Moreover, a company’s mission should
be something broader than making the best possible product and finally, marketing should
consider society´s long-term needs. (Gurav 2018, 9-11.) These five principles are ana-
lysed in detail soon. Ottman (2017) further suggests that there are twenty rules to green
marketing. Gurav´s principles are quite broad and there are not as many, while Ottman
has many rules with ample detail. These principles by Gurav and the rules by Ottman take
 17

out the guesswork from consumers and place some of the responsibility of sustainability
back on the companies as shown below in Tables 1 and 2.

Table 1. 20 rules of green marketing (Ottman 2017)

1 Green is mainstream – the majority of consumers are some shade of green

2 Green is cool, and not a fad – green consumers are early adopters and
leaders who influence purchasing behaviour
3 Greener products are equal or better and are often worth the premium
price.
4 Green inspires innovative products and services that can result in better
consumer value, enhanced brands, and a stronger company
5 Values guide purchasing, not only price, performance, and convenience.

6 A life-cycle approach is necessary.

7 Manufacturer and retailer reputation matters for consumers.
8 Green products are not purchased just to save the planet but for health and
other benefits. Hence, forget the green imagery on the packaging.
9 Businesses are their philosophies and brands are what they stand for.
10 Sustainability is a consumer need and an integral aspect of product quality.
There is an overall need for responsibility and sustainability.
11 The greenest products are those with new concepts and business models
with less impact. Innovation for completely new products trumps greening
brown products.
12 Services can meet the needs of consumers better, owning products is not
necessary. For example, renting cars.
13 To build trust in consumers, educate and encage them in multiple sources.
14 Green consumers are influenced by recommendations from friends, family,
and trusted third parties. There is cynicism towards traditional advertising.
15 Brands that tell all are trusted. Transparency in disclosing the good and the
bad is expected.
16 Green consumers do not expect perfection. Set high goals, improve, and
report on progress.
17 Environmentalists are not the enemy, but a potential source of guidance.

18 Nearly everyone is a stakeholder.

19 Be authentic and genuine. Make relevant sustainability efforts.
20 Keep it simple. Consumers now dump useless goods and limit purchases.

Table 2. Five principles of green marketing (Gurav 2018)

Consumer oriented marketing Consumer point of view is key.
Customer value marketing Continued improvement for customer value is key.
Innovative marketing Product and marketing improvements are key.
Sense of mission marketing A company´s mission defined in social terms is key.
Societal marketing Marketing decisions made by considering consumers´
wants and needs, the company´s requirements, and
society´s long-term interests are key.
 18

Consumer oriented marketing is based on selecting a specific group of customers and

choosing to coordinate all marketing communications from the point of view of the select
customer base (Gurav 2018). By contrast, Ottman (2017) suggests that up to 83 percent
of US citizens are at least somewhat green consumers and that it is now commonplace
with rules one, two, and five. However, these green consumers have different priorities
and hence need precise targeting and segmenting, which bring these ideas together. In
addition, consumers are now guided by their values as opposed to just price or conven-
ience.

Moving on to customer value marketing, the second principle, which is characterized by

investing the majority of the resources into customer value building marketing invest-
ments. This means that value for customers is a long-term project, designed to develop
long lasting customer loyalty. Money spent on short-term solutions such as new packag-
ing should be avoided and instead creating value for consumers by the way of product de-
velopment should be prioritized. (Gurav 2018.) Rules three and four suggest the same by
Ottman (2017). Resource intensive products are out and products that can be used for a
longer time and then disposed of sustainably are in. Ottman (2017, 45) suggests that with
these kinds of customer value building activities there is less need for marketing as the
products are held in such a high value.

The third principle, innovative marketing requires companies to constantly keep improving
products and marketing. This is based on the idea that other companies will keep improv-
ing and one that does not will be left behind. (Gurav 2018). Alike, Ottman (2017) recom-
mends the same with rules six, eight, and eleven. New technologies are developed and
put into use to create new, eco-friendly, innovative products and this trend should be kept
going. Furthermore, green products are no longer the lesser choice as they work just as
well, if not better, than the so-called conventional products. Finally, rule eleven states that
to be truly innovative, companies should develop completely new products instead of
making brown products greener. (Ottman 2017.)

The fourth principle, sense of mission marketing, calls for companies to define their mis-
sion in comprehensive social terms. The traditional mission that is focused on products
should be forgotten. These broad social missions have many benefits such as increased
employee satisfaction and a well-defined route forward. (Gurav 2018.) Ottman (2017)
agrees and has similar thoughts expressed with rules seven, nine, and fifteen. According
to rule seven, the reputation of a brand is now of utmost importance as consumers have
become more educated on brands, and production lines. Furthermore, rule nine states
 19

that the values that a brand or company has is what they are. Companies caught in scan-
dals will falter. In addition, rule ten states that sustainability is a need consumers will not
forget, and brands and products need to truly be sustainable. Finally, rule 15 proposes
complete transparency in their marketing and communications. Companies who only dis-
close the good parts of their business come off as insincere. Also, when the bad parts are
discovered, a brand image problem typically arises. With this comes rule 19, which re-
quires authenticity from companies. (Ottman 2017.)

Societal marketing is the fifth and last principle of green marketing. According to this prin-
ciple, companies should aim to have only products that Gurav (2018) calls desirable prod-
ucts. These products have immediate satisfaction as well as benefits in the long run. It is
not enough for a product to have only one or none of these qualities. At the heart of this
principle are the wants and interests of consumers as well as long term interests of soci-
ety, and the demands and necessities of the company. Ottman (2017) has similar
thoughts. Rule 20 claims that simplicity is key. Many consumers are cutting down on un-
necessary purchases and only the desirable products stay. Rule 17 encourages compa-
nies to take in the interests of consumers and states that environmentalists are not the op-
position anymore. Indeed, their views are beneficial to take in, learn from, and put to use.
Furthermore, rule 16 states that consumers do not expect perfection and will appreciate
the effort to be sustainable as long as there is true progress. (Ottman 2017; Gurav 2018.)

3.2 The green marketing mix

The common marketing mix or the four P´s of marketing, product, price, promotion, and
place, can also be greened into the green marketing mix. It contains green product, green
price, green promotions, and green place. (Ngyen-Viet 2023.)

In the marketing mix product means a service, idea, or product that is designed for con-
sumers' wants or needs, providing value for them. To meet the wants and needs of con-
sumers, new products are developed, or old products are tweaked. (Frety 2011, 33.)

Regarding the marketing mix, price refers to finding the right price for a product. The price
must cover all the costs related to making the product and running a company while stay-
ing competitive and attainable for consumers. A low pricing strategy usually results in
many purchases but less profit from each sale while high pricing is the opposite, fewer
purchases are made but the profit is bigger. (Frety 2011, 34.) Green prices are typically
higher than their less green counter parts. The company must create enough value for the
consumers to be willing to pay the extra cost of green product. (Davari & Sutton 2014.)
 20

Promotion is about getting the product visibility and informing consumers about the details
of the product. Promotion includes personal selling, advertisements, public relations, and
sales promotions. (Frety 2011, 34.) Since green products can be more expensive, green
promotions need to engage the consumers and make them see the added value. There
are three criteria for an advertisement to be viewed as green promotion and it needs to
meet at least one. First, the advertising should point out the relation of the product and its
relation to the environment. Secondly, it should endorse green behaviour. Lastly, the ad-
vertisement should make the company look environmentally responsible. (Banerjee et al.
1995.)

Place, which is also known as distribution, involves making decisions on where to sell the
product, warehousing needs, and inventory control (Frety 2011, 34). Green place involves
placing the product from the factories to the place of purchase and finally into the consum-
ers' hands. It is not enough to sell these products in niche “green shops”. The products
should be where the consumers are. (Davari & Sutton 2014.)

3.3 Green marketing strategy

Looking at the green marketing strategy matrix, figure two, it is up to the company to
choose one of these four strategies; extreme, shaded, defensive, or lean green after care-
ful consideration. According to Dangelico and Vocalelli (2017, 1271), the more P´s from
the green marketing mix a company adopts, the greener it is on the green marketing strat-
egy matrix. First, the size of the green market segment within the industry should be con-
sidered, and whether revenues can be increased by becoming greener. The possibility
that the greening efforts go unnoticed or are scrutinized as not being enough is to be con-
sidered as well. Secondly, can the company differentiate its product from other products
on the market when considering the green or sustainability factors. Important factors to
consider are resources, commitment to be green on the highest management level, and
whether competitors can be bested on the greenness or sustainability of products. (Bloom
& Ginsberg 2004, 81.)
 21

Figure 4. The green marketing strategy matrix (Bloom & Ginsberg 2004, 81)

Lean green companies are characterized by being rather green but not advertising the
fact. In terms of the green marketing mix, these companies typically adopt only the green
product. This can be due to not being different enough from competitors, the fear of com-
mitting greenwashing, or because the greenness is mainly achieved by generally trying to
cut costs instead of trying to cut emissions. Such a practice is also known as brownwash-
ing. (Bloom & Ginsberg 2004, 81; Eun-Hee & Lyon 2015, 706; Dangelico & Vocalelli 2017,
1271.) Much of the hotel industry fits into this category. For instance, the placards in the
bathrooms asking guests to reuse their towels to save the planet are now in every hotel.
This practise also saves money on laundry and the towels will take longer to become un-
usable as the amount of washing decreases. (Chi et al. 2015.) Another cause of brown-
washing is the fear of investor backlash. The backlash results from shareholders viewing
environmental initiatives as costly and cutting into profits. (Eun-Hee & Lyon 2015, 707.)
Opposingly, Gatti et al. (2021, 21) state that investors have increased interest in compa-
nies that care about the environment, which would partly make brownwashing unprofita-
ble.

As the name suggests, defensive green companies use their green marketing as a de-
fence. It can be to safeguard the company from scandals, crises, or competitors. As it is a
defensive action, green marketing is not continued but rather sporadic or half-hearted.
The company can truly be green, but the marketing is mainly seeking to boost the com-
pany image. (Bloom & Ginsberg 2004, 81-82.) Defensive green companies tend to follow
green promotion and green product from the green marketing mix (Dangelico & Vocalelli
2017, 1271). Even though the fast fashion industry as a whole is not green or sustainable,
the clothing retailer Gina Tricot is an example of a defensive green company. The retailer
does not make green advertising but on their official website, there is a sustainability tab.
 22

Shaded green companies have made a wholehearted commitment to green products.

These companies have invested in sustainability on a financial and nonfinancial level.
However, they still choose to not make the greenness the main aspect when advertising.
This leads to the embracement of green price, green product, and green promotion of the
green marketing mix. The tangible benefits coming from the design of the product is first
and the environmentally friendly aspects second. (Bloom & Ginsberg 2004, 82-83; Dan-
gelico & Vocalelli 2017, 1271.) For instance, LED lightbulbs are mostly marketed as a
more economic option as they last a longer time as opposed to the older lightbulbs. The
fact that they are also the more environmentally friendly option is an added bonus.

Finally, the extreme green companies are the ones that have green values in their very
core. These companies also embrace all the parts of green marketing mix: green price,
green promotion, green place, and green product. The sustainability aspects have been
considered from the sourcing to manufacturing to the disposal of the product. (Bloom &
Ginsberg 2004, 83; Dangelico & Vocalelli 2017, 1271.) One such company is Lush, the
cosmetics brand. The company has pledged to be inclusive, pay fair wages for employees
and suppliers as well as to campaign for their beliefs (Lush 2023).
 23

4 Consumers & buying behaviour & attitudes

4.1 Scepticism

Greenwashing has led to growing suspicion of any green claims that companies make
(Polonsky et al. 2010, according to Chen et al. 2020, 196). There is no one agreed upon
explanation for the term green claim. In the thesis green claim is any claim, true or false,
made by an organization, with sustainability or environmental aspects. 92 percent of con-
sumers will have a better image of an organization making an effort to be more sustaina-
ble. Yet there is a growing number of enterprises participating in “secret sustainability” for
the fear of greenwashing allegations. A study found that 77 percent of participants would
boycott a company if they found out that they had been deceived with green claims. (Chi
et al. 2015, 3.) After the number of brands with green claims went from 400 to 2300 in just
five years, the scepticism among Brazilian consumers also went up (Yildirim 2023). Simi-
larly, Lee et al. (2012, 10) claim that the scepticism stemming from greenwashing is the
reason why the green market is not as big as it was expected to be.

Scepticism refers to the belief that something is not right, believable, or credible. It can be
a personality trait, i.e., pre-dispositional or situational, which means that it is happening in
the moment. (Zhang & Hanks 2017, 2073.) There seems to be a belief that an environ-
mentally sound company is either cheating or the product is not as good as a “normal”
product, especially if it does not cost more. One survey found that 45 percent of the re-
spondents actively distrust companies touting sustainability (Bernardino 2019, 3; Coburn
2019.) Furthermore, Chen and Chang (2013) suggest that greenwashing has a direct link
to consumers trust towards green claims as well as makes consumers confused about
green claims altogether. Szabo and Webster (2021 according to Vollero 2022, 22) concur
that past encounters with misleading marketing communications can result in confusion
and scepticism toward green marketing efforts. As consumer demand is a driver for green
products, the scepticism towards green claims can result in weakened demand for green
products. This in turn can result in companies not being incentivized to change their busi-
ness operations to be more sustainable. (Chen et al. 2020, 195.)

4.2 Attitude-behaviour gap and green purchase intention

It is a known fact that for most people, there is a gap between the ideal version of self and
the actual self. The same applies to green purchasing habits and consumers. Many are
aware of the impacts certain purchases or products have on the environment, yet the same
non-environmentally friendly purchasing habits continue. (Irwin et al. 2022, 25.) This devia-
tion between green or sustainable attitudes and green purchasing habits is called attitude-
 24

behaviour gap (Newholm et al. 2016, 251). In fact, Cowe and Williams suggest that while
30 percent of consumers have been identified as green consumers, only 3 percent of their
purchases were green (Dean et al. 2014, 89). This is also reflected in statistics, for instance
in 2009 only four percent of the UK´s domestic spending was on ethical consumption (Da-
vies et al. 2012, 38). The attitude-behaviour gap raises the question of whether consumers
would change their purchasing habits if they were more educated on greenwashing and its
effects.

To lessen this gap would mean an increase in sustainable spending and more awareness
of topics such as greenwashing from the public. Verbeke and Vermeir (2006, 188) propose
a few reasons behind the gap, namely lack of information and the belief that sustainable
products are not easily available. Furthermore, consumers need reminders and information
on ethical products at the right time and place. Consumers have a tendency to forget or mix
up information. Hence, providing information at the point of purchase might increase ethical
spending as it decreases the amount of research consumers have to do and reminds them
about the issues they care about. (Irwin et al. 2022, 27-29.) In addition, if market information
is deemed untrustworthy, the consumer will not act upon their green purchase intention
(Brouwer et al. 2021, 152).

Green purchase intention refers to customers willingness, preference, and probability to

choose products which are environmentally friendly and sustainable in nature (Rashid 2009,
according to Amin and Tarun 2021, 1326). Green purchase intention relies on previous
green purchase experiences, trust in the products, green brand knowledge, and the envi-
ronmental views of consumers (Mohd Suki 2016, 2895; Chen et al. 2021,46021). A study
on personality traits finds that agreeable people tend to have a stronger green purchase
intention than those on the other side of the spectrum (Duong 2022, 1134). Factors that
lessen the green purchase intention are scepticism towards green claims in advertising,
selfish personality, and the notion of lack of availability of products. Purchasing green prod-
ucts is essential when it comes to ecological environments and their development sustain-
ably. (Chen et al. 2021, 46020; Duong 2022, 1134.)

4.3 How to detect greenwashing

The detection of greenwashing is important because the notion of greenwashing seems to

negatively affect purchase intention as well as the brand image of the greenwashing com-
pany (Unger 2017, 68). Naderer et al. (according to Unger 2017, 10) state that the aim of
green advertisements is to make consumers feel good about themselves when choosing a
product or service. The statement suggests that the emotions of consumers are used to
make a sale. For example, using pictures that evoke positive emotions in packaging may
 25

help consumers to forget about the negative features. This is also called executional green-
washing. This type of greenwashing uses imagery of nature in conjunction with the actual
product. This is so effective that even the experts in the matter find it more difficult to detect
greenwashing. (Unger 2017, 10.)

Typically, those who detect greenwashing earlier are concerned about the environmental
issues or have green knowledge. Green knowledge refers to knowledge about environmen-
tal issues. Environmental concern on the other hand refers to general concern for the envi-
ronment as well as the wish to conservation of the environment. Those with environmental
concerns however are not necessarily those who are knowledgeable in green issues. How-
ever, both groups with high knowledge or high concern are more likely to be sceptical about
green claims. (Unger 2017, 39-40.)

4.4 Greenwashing sins

As established before, recognizing greenwashing is the first step on the road to stopping
it. TerraChoice has introduced a concept of seven sins of greenwashing, which help con-
sumers identify greenwashing. A research claims that copious products marketed with
green claims end up committing at least one of these sins (Chen, Chang 2013). This re-
search result underlines the relevance of these sins as a tool to detect greenwashing. This
model is also used as a tool to recognize greenwashing in CSR reporting and public rela-
tions (Vollero 2022, 18).

1. Sin of the hidden trade-off

This means that a product or service is advertised to be green or environmentally
better option based on one trait, but other traits are not considered that make the
product not green. This seems to be because the advertised green fact is an ac-
tual fact, and the greenwashing happens by omission not by lying. (TerraChoice
2010.) For instance, fast fashion companies advertising recycled, or sustainable
clothing is a hidden trade-off. While the material is recycled, it is still fast fashion
and overlooks the use of child labour. (TerraChoice 2010.) In fact, the fashion re-
tailer H&M´s claims seem to be 96 percent of the time false (Campbell 2021). One
of H&M´s controversial actions has been its recycling program. Customers are en-
couraged to bring their old clothes to the store, where they will be sent to be made
into new clothes. However, only about 35% of the pieces can be recycled due to
the materials and a gap in technology (Agro & Matteis 2018). Furthermore, cus-
tomers bringing in old clothes are given a 10% discount coupon for their next visit
(H&M 2023). This is often viewed more as an incentive to buy more, rather than
incentivising sustainable actions such as recycling. To make matters worse, many
 26

of the garments from this recycling program are shipped to Ghana, which is strug-
gling with the amount of clothes, H&M alone has sent a million garments there in
2023 so far (Lindberg & Wennman 2023).

2. Sin of no proof
Products or services state information as a fact when there is no proof that can be
easily accessed or there is no proof provided by a third-party. (TerraChoice 2010.)

3. Sin of vagueness
Sin of vagueness refers to products and services which have vague statements
such as “sustainable” but do not tell how it is green (TerraChoice 2010). As men-
tioned before, the cleaning supplies industry is infamous for its rampant green-
washing practises. In 2022 the Advertising Standards Authority in the United King-
dom banned one advertisement. Persil, a cleaning brand, aired an advertisement
on TV, which stated that it is kinder to the planet without substantiating evidence.
(Akepa 2021.)

4. Sin of worshipping false labels

A product or service that has a fake environmental label commits the sin of wor-
shipping false labels. False labels give the impression that a third party has ap-
proved the product, hence the label, which brings a false sense of trust and safety
to consumers (TerraChoice 2010). The problem with green labels is that there are
over 400 worldwide (Castka & Corbett 2016). In fact, according to the 2013 Euro-
barometer, 93 percent of consumers find product labels to be unclear and identify-
ing the best ecolabel difficult (Brecard 2017, 359; Kurczewski et al. 2017). It makes
it difficult for consumers to trust the real ones or even know which ones are real
and which are not. Legitimate, certified ecolabels are the likes of Energy Star,
Leaping Bunny, and MSC (Ecowatch 2021). The companies using legitimate eco-
labels also suffer because of this as consumers cannot identify them (Brecard
2017, 359).

5. Sin of irrelevance
This sin refers to products and services that give irrelevant promises and facts.
They can be true or untrue. The most common one is to claim that there are no
chlorofluorocarbons in a product. While it is true since it has been banned by law,
it is irrelevant and makes it more difficult for a consumer to find a more sustainable
product. (TerraChoice 2010.)
 27

6. Sin of lesser two evils

This sin is committed when a product category seen as harmful, such as tobacco,
makes green claims. The claims are made to distract the consumers from the gen-
erally bad product category and to make them see the category in a good light. For
instance, while “green” tobacco is better than regular, it should be avoided alto-
gether and while Exxon helped to 100 square meters of rainforest, it is still an oil
and gas company providing fossil fuels (TerraChoice 2010; Unger 2019, 6.)

7. Sin of fibbing
This is a phenomenon of making false claims (TerraChoice 2010). In 2007 this
was fairly uncommon, but since then there have been multiple scandals. In 2015
Volkswagen committed the sin of fibbing by claiming false test results in their pollu-
tion emissions tests and RyanAir did the same when they claimed to be an airline
with low levels of CO2 emissions (Hotten 2015; Frost & Smout 2020). Even as of
2023, Greenpeace Finland just held a competition called Vuoden huiputus. It is de-
signed to call out greenwashing. This year’s winner was Finnair, who claimed in
their advertisements, that they now fly with renewable gasoline which takes out 80
percent of the greenhouse gas emissions. Finnair was unable to back this up and
there was no third-party providing proof such as scientific tests or research.
(Greenpeace Finland 2023.)

Figure 5. The commonality of the greenwashing sins (TerraChoice 2010)

 28

It is rather concerning that there was a need to add a seventh sin of “worshiping false la-
bels” in 2009, as it is a sign of new ecolabels popping up at a noticeable rate. This sin has
grown noticeably from 2009 to 2010, as have the sins of no proof and vagueness. The
fact that vagueness has more than tripled from 2007 to 2010 shows that there is a true
need to educate consumers. It seems that companies think they can do this without being
called out. While these sins are product level sins, consumers can also watch out for five
firm-level greenwashing sins by Contreras-Pacheco and Claasen (according to de Freitas
Netto et al. 2020, 9-10) which are dirty business, ad bluster, political spin, it´s the law stu-
pid, and fuzzy reporting, noted below:

1. Dirty business
This sin is committed by a company that is in a polluting and unsustainable busi-
ness sector such as the oil and gas industry.
2. Ad bluster
Company level effort to direct attention away from the unsustainable practices by
advertising other aspects of a company.
3. Political spin
The pursue of political influence, in which the end game is to receive benefits in
the sustainability field.
4. It´s the law stupid
Marketing green company policies, which are in fact laws and not an optional sus-
tainability effort.
5. Fuzzy reporting
Communications that try to benefit from seeming sustainable. For example, CSR
and other sustainability reports. The lack of two-way communication within the re-
ports is taken advantage of.
 29

5 The survey

5.1 Survey design

After comparing survey platforms, Survey Monkey was chosen. Even though it is not free,
like Google Forms, it gives more design choices and more data to analyse. This in turn will
give a better overall view of the data received. After creating the survey, it was distributed
via Instagram, Facebook, and at the place of work of the author. These platforms were
chosen to ensure the amount of survey takers would be sufficient and hopefully gauge a
wide array of respondents from all ages and genders.

The survey was designed with the intention to get as accurate and valuable data as possi-
ble. Firstly, the wording and topic of the questions were considered. The questions were
worded in a way that does not sway or lead the participants to answer a certain way. The
wording can lead to a change in the point of view as much as 30 percent. The questions
were relevant to the topic, and accurately worded without the jargon of the industry, to be
easily understandable. These factors are important for the results to be reliable since re-
spondents will not often admit their lack of knowledge and will proceed to answer anyway.
(Iarossi 2005, 1-31.) In addition, if the questions are too difficult to understand, the survey
takers may answer untruthfully and answer according to what they believe to be the socially
acceptable option (Lietz 2010, 252). Secondly, the number of questions was limited to 17
so as not to take too much time. Thirdly, the questions avoided passive voice and negative
wording as Lietz (2010, 251 & 254) indicates that those take longer to understand and more
mistakes are likely to happen. However, there was also a recommendation to leave the
demographic questions to the end. This was not done as the author has seen many surveys
done this way as well. (Lietz 2010, 252).

Before posting the survey, usability testing was conducted. Usability testing is used to see
how easy it is to access the survey as well as how the questions are understood. This is
done by watching the survey taker fill out the survey. (Beatty 2020, 295.) In practice, this
was done by the author who supervised a few survey takers. However, as these survey
takers were friends of the author, it is possible that the friends did not want to say anything
negative. This in turn does not help to find issues with the survey. However, this did help
to see that mobile and computer versions of the survey worked. This was important, be-
cause when a survey is optimized for phones, the breakoff rate is expected to be lower
(Berzofsky et al. 2021, 254).
 30

The questions in this survey are divided into two sections. The first section is short and
covers the basic demographics: age, gender, and country of residence. The second sec-
tion holds the questions on greenwashing. The questions use a five-point Likert scale.
This is commonly used in surveys intending to identify opinions and views (Bermudez et
al. 2015, 53). The decision to have an odd number of response alternatives as in, there is
a middle option (3) was made to ensure more reliable answers. If there is no middle op-
tion, the results can be skewed as survey takers are forced to have opinions that they do
not have. (Lietz 2010, 262.) There are 10 statements with the Likert scale to measure the
extent to which the respondents agree with the statements. Five being strongly disagree
and one being the opposite, strongly agree. In addition, there are a few questions with
yes, no, and maybe as possible answers. These questions add depth and a certain base-
line. The Likert scale questions can then be compared to these and see if there is con-
sistency in the answers given.

The second part starts with getting a baseline of the knowledge the survey takers already
have on the topic. After that, there are more in-depth questions on the topic. Some ques-
tions contained a picture and a “is this greenwashing” question to find out if greenwashing
was detected by the respondents. One of the pictures contains a form of greenwashing
while the two do not. This design choice was made to be able to analyse and contrast the
answers between greenwashing and green marketing. Are both or none perceived as
greenwashing?

The survey was published on many platforms. Firstly, the author had the link on her Face-
book and Instagram accounts. The assumption was that Instagram would bring in more
answers from the younger generations while Facebook would bring in the answers from
older population. In addition, the author encouraged colleagues at her place of work to an-
swer. Secondly, three other people published the link. One on Instagram stories, the second
on her Facebook, and the third on a workplace Facebook group. This brought in a more
varied age group and people of various backgrounds to answer. Having a diverse group of
people answer the survey means that the results are more generalizable and not presenta-
tive of only a certain group of people.

5.2 Results and discussion

A total of 128 people answered the survey. Since 100 was the goal, this number of respond-
ents slightly exceeded expectations. The time it took to get this number of answers was as
expected, two weeks.
 31

The survey in English gathered 26 respondents while the one in Finnish gathered 102 re-
spondents. While the difference is significant, all responses are viewed as valuable. Hence,
it was important to make it in two languages for it to be available to as many people as
possible.

The completion rate was 78.5 percent. This means that 21.5 percent clicked the survey
open but did not complete it. Breakoffs are common in web surveys. Common reasons for
them are the design of the survey and open ended questions. Cernat et al. (2022) suggest
that those most likely to breakoff are males, students, and affluent individuals. Furthermore,
the interest in the topic of the survey is a factor. (Cernat et al. 2022.) Since greenwashing
is a niche topic, this paired with the other factors may explain the number of breakoffs.

One issue that might have affected the results is that the Likert-type questions were graded
the opposite way from the usual, but this thought only occurred once the results were al-
ready in. Typically, five stands for strongly agree and one is the opposite, strongly disagree.
However, in this survey it was the other way around, which might have caused confusion.
It was not done on purpose. This is also important to keep in mind when reading the thesis.

5.2.1 Demographics

As expected, more women replied to the survey than men (Figure 6). The age range of
respondents on the other hand is spread out more evenly than initially expected (Figure 7).
The two best represented age groups are the 20 to 29-group, and the 30-39-group. To-
gether they make up 62 percent of the respondents. Most of the respondents were from
Finland with 115 respondents or 91 percent out of all respondents.

In all of the figures and tables to come, n is a symbol for the number of people who answered
the question.
 32

Ages, % under 20
2% 2% 20-29

6% 30-39
40-49
18 % 33 % 50-59
60-69
10 % over 69

29 % N: 128

Figure 6. Age distribution

Gender
2% 1%

32 % Male
Female
Other

65 % Don´t want to tell

N: 128

Figure 7. Gender distribution

Certain groups seemed to know more about greenwashing based on the answers to the
question “I know what greenwashing is”. According to the survey, 35 percent of those who
know what greenwashing is are 20 to 29 years old. In second place was the next age group,
30 to 39 years old, with 27 percent. Interestingly the next age group with the most
knowledge is 50 to 59 years old respondents. Women represent 67 percent of those who
know what greenwashing is. However, the majority of respondents are women as well.
 33

5.2.2 Questions on the topic

The first three questions after the demographics were “yes, no, maybe” questions. The re-
sults are represented in figure 8. These questions were added to find out how much the
respondents know about the topic.

Green marketing and greenwashing

70
60
Percent of repies

50
40 Yes
30 No
20 Not sure
10
N: 128
0
I know what greenwashing I know what green Green washing and green
is marketing is marketing are the same

Figure 8. Questions 4-6

66 percent reported to know what greenwashing is, while 19 percent said no and the re-
maining 16 were not sure. Green marketing on the other hand seemed to be less familiar,
as only 50 percent knew what is, 38 percent were not sure, and 12 percent did not know.
Comparing these two results, green marketing had more people who were not sure. Per-
haps green marketing was a new term for more people while greenwashing is a more com-
mon one. Additionally, only four percent thought that greenwashing and green marketing
are the same. 62 percent said that they were not, and 36 percent were not sure. This sug-
gests that there is not as much scepticism on green marketing as some literature suggests
or that the results from the survey do not reflect the general population. However, as only
50 percent said that they know what green marketing is, it can be suggested that many had
to guess whether greenwashing and green marketing are the same.

Moving on to next set of questions, namely eight, nine, and ten as shown below in Figure
9. These are presented on the Likert scale.
 34

Greenwashing attitudes
50
45
40
Percent of replies

35
Strongly agree
30
25 Agree
20
Neither agree nor disagree
15
10 Disagree
5 Strongly disagree
0
Greenwashing is a I would buy products All companies N: 128
problem from a greenwashing greenwash
company

Figure 9. Questions 8, 9, & 10

The majority, 77 percent reported that they agree or strongly agree that greenwashing is a
problem. However, when asked whether they would buy products from a company they
know does greenwashing, only 37 percent said they would not. The expectation beforehand
was that about the same number of respondents who view greenwashing as a problem
would also then not buy products that are greenwashed. Furthermore, as discussed on
page 23, a previous study showed that 77% would boycott a company they knew to green-
wash. This proposes a question on whether the question was misunderstood, or if this is a
case of attitude-behaviour gap. As only 27 percent said that they think all companies do
greenwashing, this does not explain the results either.

Questions 12 and 13 asked about trust in sustainability and green claims and they too were
answered on a one to five Likert scale. The answers are shown in Figure 10.

Trust in marketing communications

60

50
Percent of replies

40 Strongly agree
Agree
30
Neither agree or disagree
20
Disagree
10 Strongly disagree
0
N: 128
I trust advertisements with I trust green marketing
green or sustainability claims communications in general

Figure 10. Questions 12 and 13

 35

Similar levels of distrust were reported on green- or sustainability claims as well as green
marketing communications. 22 percent reported to trust advertisements with such claims
while 28 percent trusted green marketing communications. The corresponding distrust lev-
els were 57 and 40 percent. 12 percent were more on the unsure side (answer 3) when
asked about green marketing communications. Since the word green marketing communi-
cations can be ambiguous, this clarification was added to the survey: (packaging, social
media, advertisements). In comparison, a survey carried out by the European Insurance
and Occupational Pensions Authority revealed that 63 percent of consumers in the Euro-
pean Union have distrust towards green claims (according to Parente 2023). The discrep-
ancy in these results could be attributed to the small number of respondents or the fact that
mainly Finnish people responded to the survey.

Since only four percent said that green marketing and greenwashing are the same thing, it
is interesting to see such a distrust in green claims. If consumers know the difference be-
tween the two, there should be some level of trust in marketing. One option is again that
the word “claim” was misunderstood to mean claims that are not true, or that the question
was entirely misunderstood.

Question seven was an open-ended question asking for examples of greenwashing. The
results are below in Table 1.

Table 1. Examples of greenwashing

Category Mentions
Image control by overmarketing greenness or false information 17
False information on product level 12
False information on company level 12
Vague wording such as "green", "sustainable" 11
I don´t know, difficult to detect 10
Green packaging and imagery in marketing communications 10
Half-truths, lying by omission, distracting consumers 9
No proof on claims made 7
False ecolabels or lack of them entirely 6
Fast fashion, H&M 5
Finnair 5
Claims that apply to all products or companies 3
Oil and energy companies 2
n: 89

Out of the 128 respondents, 89 answered while the rest skipped the question altogether.
Ten answers were deemed unusable, as those had answers along the lines of “I don’t know”
or question marks. The remaining 79 were put into categories. Some of these 79 answers
are reported in more than one category as they mentioned multiple categories. Hence the
 36

table has more than 79 as its total. As open-ended questions tend to get fewer answers,
this rate is better than expected.

False information is clearly mentioned the most. Furthermore, some of the aforementioned
sins of greenwashing by TerraChoice are mentioned too, such as vagueness of language,
and false ecolabels. This suggests that some forms of greenwashing might be easier to
spot than others. One respondent had this to say:

“When a company makes claims about green practices without facts to prove it or when the
claims are very vague ... Also making such claims without any certificates seems quite sus-
picious to me...”

There were also certain industries and companies named multiple times. These were the
fast fashion, oil and electricity industries, Finnair, and H&M.

Since greenwashing often occurs in the packaging of products, a question of whether con-
sumers read and evaluate the packaging was added. An important factor is the word “eval-
uate” in the question. It is not enough to just read the packaging if the claims are not critical
thinking and evaluation is not part of the process.

59 percent reported to read and evaluate the packaging, while 25 percent did not. Interest-
ingly, only 58 percent of the people who reported to know what greenwashing is, said that
they read the packaging. Before analysing the results, there was an assumption that those
who know what greenwashing is would have an interest in buying products that are not
associated with greenwashing. Taking a look at the packaging of products would then be a
prevalent part of shopping. Furthermore, going back to the results from question seven,
green packaging and imagery were named eight times while false ecolabels, which often
are in packaging, were named six times. These numbers suggest that there is a level of
acknowledgement of greenwashing at the packaging level, but it still goes unnoticed by
many. On the other hand, it might be a conscientious decision to make shopping easier.
Irwin et al. (2022, 26) suggest that those consumers with the most interest and concern
over ethical purchasing are the ones most likely to not seek out pertinent product
knowledge. This is to avoid the guilt that comes from learning about unethical issues re-
garding the purchased products because these are the people who have the most difficulty
coping with the unethical production of goods.

Questions 11, 15, 16, and 17 were designed to find out if consumers think they can spot
greenwashing. With this in mind, question 11 was a straightforward “I can spot greenwash-
ing when I see it” while the rest had pictures and the respondents were asked to rate
 37

whether or not there was greenwashing to be seen. The answers from question 11 will be
compared with the picture questions.

The first picture is not greenwashing while the other two are. The second picture was cho-
sen as it is not as easy to spot as greenwashing as the third one is, per H&M´s and the fast
fashion industry´s reputation. All pictures represent the same industry on purpose. Each
picture question contained a text box to explain why each respondent answered the way
they did. There was a total of 61, 70, and 73 answers for each question.

The survey reveals that 36 percent agreed that they could spot greenwashing, 36 percent
were not sure, and 27 percent said they would not be able to spot it. These numbers are
good to keep in mind while the picture questions are analysed. The results are shown below
in figure 11.

"This picture is greenwashing"

50
45
40
Percent of replies

35 Strongly agree
30 Agree
25
Neither agree or disagree
20
Disagree
15
10 Strongly disagree
5 N: 128
0
Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3

Figure 11. Questions 15-17

The picture questions reveal that 47 percent correctly identified the first picture as not green-
washing. For the second and third pictures, the rates were 59 and 73 percent. As predicted,
the last picture was the easiest to call out for greenwashing.

Starting with the first picture question, question 15. Looking at image one below, this picture
is not greenwashing and is viewed as green marketing for the purpose of the thesis. The
aim of this was to see if there is scepticism towards green marketing and to compare the
results of this picture to results from other questions. Mainly, the goal is to see how those
who think they can spot greenwashing perceive the Patagonia ad as well as to see whether
those who know what green marketing is saw this as such.
 38

Image 1. Patagonia ad (Schwab 2017)

47 people said they can spot greenwashing. However, only 44 percent of those people
recognized the Patagonia ad as not greenwashing. This seemed to be the most difficult one
out of the pictures as 29 percent of the people “in the know” did not agree or disagree.
Furthermore, out of those who said they know what green marketing is, 39 percent identified
this as not greenwashing. This means that the majority of those who know what green mar-
keting is, did not recognize this as green marketing. These results may reflect the fact that
when taking surveys, participants are known to sometimes rate themselves in a better light
than is realistic as discussed before.

40 people gave a verbal response to this picture. These answers further cement that this
was a difficult picture to comprehend. 63 percent were confused, wanted more information,
or thought that this might be an advertisement against Patagonia. Conversely, the ones
who identified this as not greenwashing mostly commented that this does not promote con-
sumerism or does not have false or vague claims. When designing this survey, there was
a concern that many would know Patagonia´s reputation, but only one said so in the com-
ments. Hence it seems that Patagonia´s reputation did not sway the results. This is the
opposite of the H&M picture later on.

Moving on to the next picture, image 2 below, which conveys greenwashing in the form of
vague language and lack of easily found proof on the claim responsibly made. The other
factor why this picture was chosen was the printed on recycled paper statement. This piece
of paper represents a miniscule part of the jeans and the manufacturing process and does
not represent the product itself. In the light of the answers, this picture was easier to point
out as greenwashing than it was to point out the Patagonia ad as not greenwashing. 70
 39

percent of those who said they can spot greenwashing did indeed rate this correctly as
greenwashing.

Image 2. Pair of jeans (Image: Heidi Saarikoski)

Going back to question seven, “What are examples of greenwashing?”, many identified
vague terminology, unsubstantiated claims, and fast fashion. Looking at the comments re-
garding this picture, the same things were mentioned several times. 47 people gave a com-
ment, which was a slight improvement compared to the picture before this one. Two com-
menters held Levi´s in good esteem and stated that this is not greenwashing, while five
needed more information. The rest of the comments were unanimous in two factors: that
there is no proof or certificates on the “responsibly made” claim, and that it might only be
about the recycled paper and not the jeans. Secondly, they noted that the paper is a negli-
gible part of the entire manufacturing process. In addition, one said that Levi´s has a bad
reputation, and another that the fashion industry as a whole is damaging the environment,
hence the picture is greenwashing. One respondent summed up the general consensus by
stating

the paper may as well be ecological, but facts about the manufacturing of the jeans etc are
not known. There is no proof on the claims.

Finally, the last picture in the survey, image 3 below, was a tweet posted by H&M. This was
chosen on the account of H&M´s reputation as a conglomerate in the fast fashion retailing
business. For scale, H&M produced 3 billion garments in 2021 alone (Segran 2021). The
 40

purpose was to be able to compare if this would be easier to spot because of the reputation
or if the message in the tweet would confuse the respondents.

Image 3. H&M tweet (H&M 2021)

As mentioned before, 73 percent said this is greenwashing. For comparison, out of those
who said they could spot greenwashing, 85 percent detected this picture to be greenwash-
ing. Notably, this was also the question that received the least “neither agree nor disagree”
answers among all respondents, which suggests that there was the least confusion or un-
certainty in this picture. Furthermore, there are the most comments with a total of 50 com-
ments. Out of those comments, four stated this is not greenwashing, nine needed more
information or said they do not know, and another five comments were not understandable
for the author. This leaves 32 statements on why the picture is greenwashing. These could
be categorized into a few common themes. Firstly, many noted that as a fast fashion brand,
H&M simply cannot truly care about the future of the planet and sustainability. The percep-
tion of fast fashion or H&M was enough for many to view the picture as greenwashing.
Secondly, many felt this as an attempt to distract consumers by associating the company
with an eco warrior while not having the same values as Catarina. Thirdly, commenters said
there is an attempt to appeal to a younger generation. One specified that young people
might not be media literate yet and are being taken advantage of. Finally, a few did credit
 41

H&M by stating that they do have some genuine attempts to be more sustainable but are
far from being sustainable as of now.
 42

6 Conclusions

6.1 Answers to the research questions

The main research question: Does perceived greenwashing have an impact on con-
sumers purchasing habits?

The short answer is that the perceived greenwashing has only a small impact on purchasing
habits. The survey revealed that that 94 percent of those who said they know what green-
washing is also view it as problematic. This indicates that there is a certain level of caution
regarding advertisements with green claims. However, more than half of respondents did
not know whether they would buy products from a greenwashing company. This raises the
question on whether this is a case of not wanting to reply in a way that is not socially ac-
ceptable, as is known to be a problem in surveys. Another option is that there was a lack of
knowledge regarding greenwashing. In addition, this supports the attitude-behavioural gap
regarding green purchase intentions. Also, almost half of respondents noted that not all
companies greenwash. So, according to the survey there is a population of people who
believe there are non-greenwashing companies, yet they do not know whether to support
those or the greenwashing ones.

The results raise a question on how to make more consumers interested in their purchasing
choices. Perhaps if the concept of greenwashing was more concrete, and there was an
understanding of the consequences that it brings, greenwashing would be viewed as a big-
ger issue.

Sub-question 1: What are the drivers and underlying causes of greenwashing?

There are many reasons for greenwashing, and sometimes it can even be unintentional. In
these instances, the aim is good, but the execution is lacking. This can be the result of a
big corporation with organizational inertia, or the lack of information flow between depart-
ments. Sometimes changes are made with good intentions, but the overall impact ends up
being for the worse.

In the case of intentional greenwashing, the purpose is to gain a monetary advantage by

gaining new consumers with green purchasing habits, or by standing out from or reaching
the level of the competition. The goal is to blend in with the green brands. These tendencies
go hand in hand with organizational level greenwashing, where the ethical environment is
lacking.

Another driver is the aim to skirt the bad reputation of being a brown company and to stay
out of trouble coming from law enforcement, media, or NGOs. In these cases, the effort
 43

goes to not standing out as a brown firm but blending in with the rest of the industry. If the
laws were stricter as well as enforced more, it would be safer for companies to actually
change for the better.

The company level environment is to be considered as well. If there are monetary incentives
or the ethical environment does not encourage transparency within the company opera-
tions, the decision makers are more likely to greenwash. It is reasonable to assume that
there is the possibility that the company does not intend to be a greenwashing company but
gets sidetracked because of these incentives.

Finally, sometimes greenwashing comes down to the individual level factors. It is a question
of how the person greenwashing copes with it and how they explain it to themselves. It is
also a question of ethics and incentives.

Sub-question 2: Can consumers spot greenwashing and green marketing from each
other?

The short answer is sometimes. There seems to be general confusion on the difference
between the two. In some cases, it is difficult even for a trained eye to detect greenwashing.
Such is the case when it comes to using nature imagery in packaging. Hence it is also
somewhat difficult for a regular consumer to distinguish greenwashing from green market-
ing. It was evident from the results of the survey. For instance, only half of the people who
reportedly know what greenwashing is said they can spot greenwashing when seeing it. It
is a worrisome discovery – if those who know what greenwashing is cannot spot green-
washing, then those who do not know of the phenomenon certainly will not spot it. Some
confusion was also indicated in the survey. While over half reported to not trust advertise-
ments with green or sustainability claims, 35 % did not know whether to trust green market-
ing communications is general.

While most were able to indicate greenwashing on the greenwashing pictures, there was
considerably more confusion regarding the image consisting of green marketing. This is
partly due to the scepticism towards all green claims, as well as the tactics that companies
employ to make the signs of greenwashing less obvious, such as non-certified ecolabels.
The scepticism leads to consumers suspecting the legitimacy of truly green products and
green brands. The solution would be to provide independent, non-biased information for the
consumers at the point of purchase.

Solutions for this is more laws and regulations as to place the burden of legitimate marketing
and communications to companies. However, it is always a slow process to change laws,
especially within international context. This is needed due to globalization and the fact that
 44

many companies work internationally. In the meantime, there should be more information
provided for consumers. If there was education on the matter already in primary education
levels, the consumer base would eventually grow to be very informed. Another factor to
consider is the point of purchase. The information regarding purchasing potentially green-
washed products is most useful before the purchase. Furthermore, the sins of greenwash-
ing should be updated. This would give an actual tool for the consumer, making it easier to
grasp the concept of greenwashing. With an easy tool like that, the consumer feels less
alone.

6.2 Validity and reliability

Validity and reliability are important factors when considering the credibility of research.
Validity refers to the accuracy and veracity of the content. (Brink 1993, 35.) In addition,
validity pertains to whether the findings can be applied to a larger population and whether
the instruments in the research measure what is intended to measure (Brink 1993, 35; Blake
2019, 3). The survey did ask the right questions and the survey produced good quality data
with people mainly from Finland. However, as it was anonymous there is no knowledge on
whether the survey takers are a diverse group of people even though there is a good vari-
ation age-wise. The number of replies is too small for it to be a good representation of the
Finnish population.

Reliability on the other hand examines if a research method generates the same results on
repetition of the research (Blake 2019, 3). As the survey was anonymous, it can be deduced
that the result would be the same. As the analysis of the results revealed, the results mainly
followed the same patterns as other, previous research has revealed.

Furthermore, mixing qualitative and quantitative research can be considered to add credi-
bility (Darawsheh 2014, 560). As the thesis has a survey that is quantitative and uses mul-
tiple scientific sources which is qualitative, the thesis contains both aspects.

6.3 Suggestions for further studies

As there is already a good number of studies on greenwashing in certain countries, such

as the USA, a study conducted in Finland, or the Nordics would be beneficial. The results
from other countries are not always applicable to Finland as the culture is different.

Furthermore, the survey in the thesis was rather small, hence a countrywide survey would
reveal more data. Another survey with more respondents could also factor in different as-
pects about the respondents such as education level or smaller age groupings to get more
specified data.
 45

Additionally, future research could zero in on a specific industry or specific tactics or areas
of greenwashing as opposed to generalized greenwashing research. In addition, an up-
dated version of the most prevalent greenwashing sins currently being employed should
prove useful for consumers and those making regulations. Another interesting topic would
be to study Finnish people´s reactions to green marketing versus greenwashing claims.
 46

7 Summary

The thesis was conducted to understand greenwashing and its underpinnings. The aim was
twofold. The first goal was to shed light on what happens on the company level for green-
washing to happen. This was done through a review of what greenwashing is, and how it
differs from green marketing. The second goal was to research how consumers feel about
green purchasing and how greenwashing changes purchasing habits.

The thesis started with an introductory chapter including a general overview of the upcoming
topic and research methods. It introduces the larger environment of CSR and how sustain-
able communications, and greenwashing are a part of this bigger picture. The importance
of greenwashing was highlighted. Greenwashing interferes consumer rights as well as the
production and innovation of new green products.

The second chapter discusses greenwashing as a phenomenon as well as what drives

companies to commit greenwashing. There is a general overview of greenwashing typology.
What stands out from this chapter is the copious forms greenwashing takes. From firm level
to supplier level, and from intentional to intentional. Greenwashing can be in any part of
business activity, from investing to marketing. In the heart of it all is false communications.
The publishing of false claims, which leads to greenwashing.

Considering the importance of telling apart greenwashing from green marketing, the third
chapter discusses green marketing. It is equally important for organizations and consumers
to be able to distinguish the difference between the two. This way organizations can do
better, and consumers can make informed purchasing decisions. At the moment, it is too
easy to make greenwashing seem like green marketing. The terminology is vague and
greenwashed advertisements laden with words such as green, sustainable, and biode-
gradable. This is often paired with colours and imagery that reminds of nature. Sometimes
even a false ecolabel is added. It is no wonder that the average consumer is confused. For
a brown company, it is best to first generate green policies and ones they are a reality,
green marketing can be considered. For the truly green company, there are many ways to
market and restore the trust of consumers. Once a company knows where they are on the
green marketing strategy matrix, it can start to formulate a strategy based on the green
marketing strategy. As a last step, the five principles of green marketing and the 20 rules of
green marketing ought to be applied.

Chapter four moves from the general to the point of view of consumers. The main focus is
on the consumers and their thoughts on greenwashing as well as the reasons behind their
green purchasing habits. As the human mind is a complicated one, there are multitude of
 47

factors to consider regarding purchasing habits. The green purchase intention is dependent
on the consumers level of trust in green claims, ideals, values, level of knowledge, as well
as personality traits. There are also more random things such as information provided at
the point of purchase, their previous experiences with green products, and the perceived
availability and quality of green products. As can be expected, the confusion on the market
brings cynicism and scepticism. As difficult as detecting greenwashing can be, there are
some tools for the consumer to use. TerraChoice introduced the seven sins of greenwash-
ing which are product level sins, so anyone can consider them when trying to assess the
credibility of claims regarding a singular product. There are also five sins that are committed
on company level, which help when considering a company as a whole instead of a certain
product.

After the chapters introducing and discussing theory, chapter five discusses the survey con-
ducted to find out what consumers think about greenwashing. The results are compared
with other research already available on the topic. There are a few stand outs in the survey
results. Firstly, while a clear majority viewed greenwashing as a problem, it was not reflected
in whether they would purchase products from a greenwashing company. This might indi-
cate that either it is not a big enough as a problem, there is an attitude-behavioural gap, or
there were some untruthful answers. Secondly, the cynicism toward green marketing was
lesser than anticipated as about 60 percent though that all companies do not greenwash. A
third did not agree or disagree, leaving another third to be skeptical. Thirdly, as there are
similar levels of distrust for green marketing communications altogether as well as green
claims in advertising there seems to be some confusion on the topic as a whole. The fact
that about half of the respondents said that the Patagonia advertisement was greenwashing
or did not agree or disagree supports this sentiment. Finally, the survey revealed that the
there are some clues that consumers use to spot greenwashing. These were vague word-
ing, overmarketing sustainability issues, and no proof of claims.

Overall, it is encouraging to note that the literature on this subject is new and expanding.
With more resources and research comes more knowledge. The knowledge will eventually
spread to more and more people, helping green brands to be separated from the brown
companies.
 48

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Appendix 1. Title
16. This is greenwashing
16. This is greenwashing