Greenwashing and the Consumers
Introduction
With the rise in global warming and the urge for the world nations and leaders to embrace green energy sources, there has been increased activity in unfriendly consumer practices by firms. These practices are done in the name of complying with these efforts of the provision of environmentally friendly products to consumers. Such has not produced desirable results in the wide spectrum of protecting the globe from the harms of factors contributing to climate change and also hindering progress towards the goal of tackling climate change. This paper will focus on a broader perspective, the issue of greenwashing by reviewing its origin, forms, and how it works. Furthermore, the paper will describe the reception of greenwashing by consumers, its effects on consumer perception, consumer limits, and implications on green businesses.
Definition and Background of Greenwashing
Businesses and companies have always sort strategies to retain and attract customers for their products to maximize profits and maintain their brand. Such happens in everyday operations but such strategies might change especially when there are changes in policy. In this case of greenwashing, climate change policies across the world have encouraged the use and production of green products with an effort to conserve the environment and the atmosphere from harmful non-biodegradable materials and greenhouse gases (Khandelwal, et al. 607). To comply with these policies, some companies have been relaying inaccurate and misleading information about the products they offer to the consumers, insinuating how they are environmentally friendly (De Jong, et al. 41). Companies attempt to capitalize on increasing demand for products dubbed environmentally friendly whether they are chemicals free, naturally healthier, or are recyclable (Khandelwal, et al. 607). In the process they deceive consumers by claiming to offer such green desirables and this deceiving of consumers is known as greenwashing (De Jong, et al. 41).
The phrase came from a period in the 1960s referring to one of the most daring examples of greenwashing in the hotel industry when guests were requested to reuse their towels to conserve the environment. However, the industry benefited from reduced costs in laundry products and water. More recently, the issue of carbon emissions has led to companies especially in the energy sector taking steps to rebrand themselves to show as if they are at the forefront of environmental conservation (Urbański and Ul Haque 1786). This was, these companies greenwash their products through rebranding, packaging them new, and even naming them to align with the slogan of environmental conservation (Urbański and Ul Haque 1786). These actions convey a message to the consumer that such products reflect the message in the name or package which in the long-run might be misleading.
Consumer Perception of Greenwashing
Consumers encounter ads and promotions of environmentally sustainable products on an every-day-basis. The big issue, however, remains whether these consumers are aware or not of the genuineness in the green labeling of such products in a manner of them being environmentally friendly (Urbański and Ul Haque 2). An online survey was conducted among 768 participants from Canada, Pakistan, and the UK aiming to assess views from the consumers about awareness, effectiveness, and trust in the issue of greenwashed labeled products (Urbański and Ul Haque 2). Urbański and Ul Haque state that the results of the study indicated participants in three categories namely; high, low, and moderate environmentalists, and who despite their skepticism fails to differentiate between greenwashed products and sustainable products (16). Consumer perception is hence evidently been a victim of negative impacts of greenwashing such as their tendency to purchase green products.
According to the study, the overall perception of the product leads consumers to believe that green-labeled products are sustainable but the participants indicated that consumers do not concentrate on whether they might be greenwashed (Urbański and Ul Haque 17). The results of the study also indicate that greenwashing does not affect whether a consumer seeks to purchase a product or not and that young people tend to be more perceptive with greenwashing of products more than old people (Urbański and Ul Haque 16). Finally, the study puts consumer perception for green products in a vulnerable position especially when they start discovering the element of greenwashing of products by companies (Urbański and Ul Haque 17). Another study intended to investigate the effects of various degrees of greenwashing and found that when consumers discover that a company deliberately lied about their products, their perception of such company leads to serious implications on the company’s reputation (De Jong, et al. 41).
Effects of Greenwashing on Consumer Perception
Greenwashing activities have been in existence for several decades and have dealt a great impact on efforts to promote and adopt green solutions for environmental sustainability. It has become evident that besides the consumers being the most affected by the actions of companies in their greenwashing acts, the perpetrators also suffer big losses in the process. According to research, consumers and other stakeholders find effects of greenwashing to be detrimental to people’s image of a brand or organization (De Jong, et al. 44). There are four distinguished types of research concerning greenwashing namely macro-level studies, survey-based, qualitative, and experimental studies which compare the effects of greenwashing and non-greenwashing practices (De Jong, et al. 45).
Macro-level studies show that there are no positive effects due to greenwashing but instead could lead to adverse effects on an organization’s performance in the total. Furthermore, survey-based practices show that greenwashing practices go hand-in-hand with consumer perceptions with such practices negatively relating to green trust (De Jong, et al. 45). Also, Qualitative studies show that consumers sometimes have trouble understanding whether products are greenwashed or green, and such contributes to confusion which is a major cause of changed behavior towards green products (De Jong, et al. 46). Regarding experimental studies, participants were confronted with communication on the brand’s corporate claims on green labels and actual environmental performance. Results show negative effects on consumer perceptions on how green such organizations are varying between merely reducing the effects of green claims to backfiring on the organization (De Jong, et al. 46).
In terms of the effects of greenwashing in the various sectors of industry and society, it has had rampant effects in the automobile, beauty and cosmetics sector, and manufacturing. Furthermore, consumers perceive phrases such as eco-friendly and natural as communication tactics in the world of greenwashing (Khandelwal, et al. 610). Greenwashing has had an impact on research intended for the production of quality products as it encourages poor findings hence in the end misleading the consumer (Khandelwal, et al. 610). Despite the increased efforts by firms to work on the credibility of their brands as they navigate through greenwashing practices, their intentions are most of the time revealed posing a great risk of tarnishing the brand further and sometimes facing legal tussles. Hence, greenwashing has an impact all-round besides the green initiative being meant for the betterment of everyone in society.
Restrictions on Consumer Perception and Insinuations on Green Businesses
Greenwashing has overtime put consumer’s willingness to buy green products in a decelerating trend. Such is especially when they perceive that the quality of a product is less desirable hence making the act of greenwashing a risky venture especially when either the consumer or stakeholder doubtful of the green labels. Restriction to consumer perception, therefore, comes in when messaging, labeling, and phrasing green information is seen to direct the consumers to believe that green products are inferior in quality compared to non-green products. Companies indeed have a big wall to climb in terms of reverting consumer perception and psychology regarding green products in which they have a moral authority to provide given the state of the earth’s climate (Lyon and Montgomery 248).
To avoid the negative views and reviews regarding such products, companies should put seriousness in offering legitimate green products by not misleading consumers with their selfish motives. Companies should deal with negative consumer perception by engaging in green activities such as advertising, labeling, and marketing to show a company’s actual dedication towards environmental conservation and sustainability. Moreover, such activities should be visible, meaningful, engaging, and genuinely committed to sustainability as well as the promotion of consumer wellness. In the end, implications of greenwashing will not be felt by such a company as the claims from the information directed on the product packaging and promotions will be promoting green practices.
Works Cited
De Jong, Menno D., et al. “Different Shades of Greenwashing: Consumers’ Reactions to Environmental Lies, Half-Lies, and Organizations Taking Credit for Following Legal Obligations.” Journal of Business and Technical Communication, vol. 34, no. 1, 2019, pp. 38-76.
Khandelwal, Manvi, et al. “GREENWASHING: A Study on the Effects of Greenwashing on Consumer Perception and Trust Build-Up.” Research Review, vol. 04, no. 01, 2019, pp. 607-612, www.researchgate.net/publication/331630061_GREENWASHING_A_Study_on_the_Effects_of_Greenwashing_on_Consumer_Perception_and_Trust_Build-Up. Accessed 22 July 2020.
Lyon, Thomas P., and A. W. Montgomery. “The Means and End of Greenwash.” Organization & Environment, vol. 28, no. 2, 2015, pp. 223-249, www.jstor.org/stable/26164732?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3Ae91a4aaf38d072bf0b6bee672d9d9059&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents. Accessed 22 July 2020.
Urbański, Mariusz, and Adnan Ul Haque. “Are You Environmentally Conscious Enough to Differentiate between Greenwashed and Sustainable Items? A Global Consumers Perspective.” Sustainability, vol. 12, no. 5, 2020, p. 1786.
