How does the awareness of greenwashing influence consumer purchasing decisions of quality-labelled products in the food industry?

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of greenwashing on consumer purchasing decisions of quality-labels on food packaging. Claims regarding environmentally friendly and sustainable products are nowadays an essential factor that influences the purchasing decisions of consumers. In response to this trend, different marketing strategies have come into play. Some companies are adapting their internal processes in order to qualify for certified label status; whereas others have responded with the use of fake labelling, thus conducting greenwashing. How do consumer attitudes change when skepticism arises due to knowledge of greenwashing? Even fair companies could suffer from other firms’ deceptive behaviour, which generally influences the market conditions. Primary data in the form of a vignette study was gathered to identify how consumer awareness of greenwashing affects their purchasing decisions in terms of consumers’ attitude and the perceived value for quality-labelled products. The findings of this study reveal that consumer attitudes and their perceived value of quality label have significantly changed. The importance of quality-labelling has decreased, indicating the negative effect of greenwasing practices for all organisations in this market segment.