Green Marketing and Its Impact on Consumers

Posted: January 4th, 2023

Green Marketing and Its Impact on Consumers

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Green Marketing and Its Impact on Consumers

Introduction

With the growing concern surrounding the deterioration of the environment, more businesses have developed increasing awareness of the importance of preservation, demonstrated through green marketing (Zhu, 2012). This concept, currently applied as a marketing tool, involves the implementation of greener practices in business operations and capturing this in marketing strategies (Carrete, Castaño, Felix, Centeno, & González, 2012). The main rationale behind incorporating green efforts within the business or organization’s framework is the core element of corporate social responsibility as well as the humanistic preservation of the environment for future generations (Moser, 2015). According to various environmentalists, the integration of green marketing by businesses is not only founded on the need to appeal to the green customer but also safeguard the environment (Ansar, 2013). This is especially crucial considering the increasingly disturbing reports presented on a global scale, highlighting the extent of climate change and global warming and the immense contribution of existing industries to these deleterious effects (Moser, 2015).

            Green marketing, therefore presents various benefits for both consumers and the business as long as these efforts are honest and effectively executed (Massi & Ottobrini, 2019) . The main aspect of this new marketing tool that will be discussed in this study, is how businesses can expand resources in order to integrate greener products which cater to the needs of their environmentally conscious consumers (Carrete et.al, 2012). This base of green consumers is consistently growing and the more businesses make them a priority, the introduction of greener products only serves to increase their market.

Overview of the Issue

While green marketing is inspired by the altruistic intentions mentioned above, it has unfortunately contributed to “greenwashing”, currently observed in marketing platforms; both online and in the traditional context (Carrete et.al, 2012). Greenwashing is the misrepresentation of goods or practices as environmentally friendly when they are not (Carrete et.al, 2012). With the creation of a marketplace within cyberspace, there has been an increased integration of marketing strategies that leverage on the environmental awareness of consumers to push non-green products (Arbaina & Suresh, 2019). Social media platforms such as Instagram allow followers to engage in advertisements posted on a company’s page in order to learn more about the products they intend to purchase (Carrete et.al, 2012). This has become an easy way to target this customer base through false misleading green claims, which is one of several acts of greenwashing. This research, therefore, seeks to analyze greenwashing in relation to green marketing in order to determine the impact it has on consumers within the social media space, mainly Instagram, Facebook and Twitter platforms.

Literature Summary

For the purpose of this research, relevant academic literature will be evaluated in the highlighted section so as to develop a deeper understanding on the concept of green marketing. The areas will include a close analysis of green marketing, definition and observation of greenwashing, and the incorporation of this concept in social media platforms.

Intricacies of Green Marketing

Green marketing as a concept has been defined by various scholars.  Firstly, it is described as the marketing of environmentally safe products basing on the rationale promoting recycling and reduced waste output (Ward, 2019). Within the market environment, going green describes items whose production requires the use of minimum raw materials leading to reduced waste disposal. From this explanation, this ideology emphasizes the need for companies that go green to engage in business practices that are environmentally conscious (Yudelson, 2008). According to research conducted by Environmental Leader, an estimated 78% of the experiment unit stated that they shop cautiously in order to reduce their carbon footprint and impose little to no harm on the environment (Carrete et.al, 2012).  Therefore, with the increase in awareness by the global community on the importance of environment preservation and conservation, marketing efforts focused on environmental sustainability are easily noticeable by consumers (Bull, 2012). This deduction is additionally supported by various studies citing that brand improvement is directly impacted by green marketing across industries.

Companies that often engage in green marketing are those that seek to integrate green initiatives within the organizational framework or firms that are in the green business (Martins, 2015). An elaborate example of enterprises which produce environmentally friendly products is the Seventh Generation Company (Carrete et.al, 2012) which produces natural laundry detergents and sustainable diapers among other products. According to the company’s chief marketing officer, there has been positive growth since the company’s inception and they have managed to attract a significant client base for their unique products. This is indicative of an increasing market for green products with customers seeking to make more environmentally conscious purchases (Yudelson, 2008). Multinational companies and corporations such as Target are also demonstrating active participation in green products development motivated by this increasing demand, highlighting how achievable it is to incorporate this across the supply chain (Yudelson, 2008). Target has introduced sustainable packaging for all manufactured products further increasing their customer base as more consumers who gravitate towards environmentally friendly products are influenced to purchase from their stores.

The concept of greenwashing emanates from the increasing environmental awareness observed in global economies (Carrete et.al, 2012). There has been an increasing number of products in various retailer and wholesaler enterprises that are reported to be environmentally friendly, therefore marketed as green products (Zhu, 2012).  However, some companies have endeavored to corrupt the goodwill of other businesses by pushing products that are not environmentally conscientious but marketed as such (Yudelson, 2008). This activity goes against the corporate social responsibility standards that businesses are ethically held to, and has been responsible for the increasing conditioning of consumerism behavior. 

Additionally, greenwashing is detrimental as it reduces consumer satisfaction towards a product creating a sense of green myopia (Carrete et.al, 2012). This condition is described as the feeling of perceiving non green products as superior to green products, which is problematic because it is not all products that they consume that are necessarily green, even though they are marketed this way (Carrete, Castaño, Felix, Centeno, & González, 2012). Consequently, greenwashing negatively impacts the proliferation of green marketing as it reduces consumer trust towards green products therefore developing an unwillingness to purchase these items.

Research Questions and Objectives

The main aim of this research is to evaluate the overall perception by consumers relating to green products marketed through advertisement. It seeks to analyze whether customers are perceptive when it comes to the honest or dishonest products as well as explore their responsiveness to the marketing strategies employed in pushing the products through different channels. The curiosity around the overall thinking patterns of customers pertaining to the introduction and marketing of green products for various brands is what has formed the following research question: how aware are consumers in identifying advertisement that presents greenwashing content?

           This section of the research is concerned with the available academic literature on the utilization of the platforms such as social media in driving marketing strategies. In this case, analyzing the nature of customer response to marketing tactics aimed at driving environmental friendly products in the market, particularly when posts are made on individual brand pages (Lin & Hsu, 2013). For this reason, the second question is:  how do consumers perceive green marketing via social media and is it influential in determining their buying decisions?

The main intention for many businesses, when engaging in green marketing, is to contribute positively in saving the environment from the debilitating effects of global warming and adverse climatic change (Hanson, Walker, & Steen, 2017). However, despite these intentions being altruistic in nature, in some instances, green marketing has been perceived rather harshly by various consumer markets particularly on social media platforms (Nittala, 2014). This apprehension is denoted from the response of consumers towards the numerous green market adverts available online which flood the online space (Jansson, Marell, & Nordlund, 2010). Therefore, with a consumer watching or reading similar advertisements several times a day, it becomes rather difficult to separate honest and credibly marketed products from the fake ones (Kirezli & Yiğit, 2019). The overall outcome is consumers spending minimal time watching or reading advertisements and failing to consider the message relayed or the importance of the product advertised in contributing to environmental conservation (P. Govender, & L. Govender, 2016).

            This literature provides an outlook on greenwashing as an outcome of extensive green marketing which is a modern-day problem companies and enterprises are increasingly engaging in this practice to market their products and services (Yudelson, 2008)

. Due to the fact that consumers lack awareness of greenwashing, it has increasingly spread globally, crippling the efforts made in preserving the environment through corporate social responsibility manifested through the adoption of environmentally friendly practices (Khare, 2019. The hypothesis of this study include:

H1: The effects of greenwashing are identifiable and visibly evident in consumers engaged in greenwashed marketing,  as opposed to those watching a non- greenwashed advertisement.

H1a: There is a lower purchase intent observed in greenwashed marketing advertisements.

H1b: Consumer demonstrate a negative attitude towards greenwashed advertisements.

Social media has become the perfect platform in driving sustainability and related practices across industries. This is primarily based on the extensive social interaction occurring within these mediums, presenting companies with a display area for marketing and communication to their customers relating to green products. This study focuses on determining the influence imposed by green marketing strategies applied through social media marketing on the customers leading to the second hypothesis:

H2: Green marketing efforts conducted on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are significantly influential in increasing product purchase intention as opposed to non-green social media marketing gimmicks.

H2a: Positive consumer attitude is observed from consumers who are engaged in an environmentally conscious social media post, posted by a brand.

Methodology

Pilot Study

A pilot study will be applied in the calibration of advertisements utilized in the experiments. It will consist of survey participants who will be exposed to said advertisements. The first two adverts will contain content with a level of exaggeration tantamount to greenwashing, while the other two will be direct and honest advertisements with identifiable environmental claims. Prior to commencing with the experiments, the participants will be subjected to interviews to gauge their knowledge and their level of concern for the environment through a series of questions. The next step will then involve the participants evaluating the four chosen advertisements.

The first question asked for each advert will be on whether the participants feel the elements of the advertisement contain any green-washing concepts. The responses will be recorded as either yes or no. The participants will then be required to present a logical explanation for each selection made. The total number expected from the responses is 28. Finally, the results will be derived based on the number of respondents who succeed in identifying the honest advertisements from those with green washing elements.

Experimental Design

Following the completion of the pilot study, the questions asked will be reformatted and reconfigured in order to increase their suitability required for the next main experiment. In the main experiment, a total of three advertisements will be utilized in order to evaluate the validity of the hypotheses. In addition to this, two social media posts will be incorporated in this evaluation. The first advertisement will contain greenwashed content whereas the second one will incorporate honest claims therefore it will be an honest and environmentally conscious advert. The third advertisement will be used for the control group who will be required to determine whether it is greenwashed or green content.

Pertaining to the social media posts, the same rationale will be applied with the inclusion of either green or non-green elements.  For all the participants, the questions asked in the survey will be the same.  However, the social media posts will be rotated with the application of a projected quarter, in order to maintain the equal application of data manipulation in equal group sizes. For the social media posts, 38 participants will be questioned and 25 participants will be engaged for each advertisement. In total, there should be 73 control group participants, 72 greenwash participants and 73 non-greenwash participants. When presenting the social media posts, 110 participants will be engaged for the green advertisements and lastly for the green exclusive social media posts, 109 participants will be involved in the questioning.

Survey

The third portion of the study will involve online surveys availed by Qualtrics. The first survey will test the participant’s environmental awareness level which will require answering prompt questions. Out of the three advertisements highlighted in the previous sections, the participants will be asked to evaluate one. Due to the importance of ensuring the participants are familiar with the concept of greenwashing, a definition will be provided. Subsequently, the participants will be questioned relating to the one advertisement selected. 

In testing the first hypothesis H1, the dependent variable selected will be consumer attitude, purchase intent, and greenwashing.  These variables will be analyzed against the non-greenwashed and greenwashed advertisements which are the independent variables. Following the completion of the survey questions, the participants will be required to provide an elaborate explanation on the selections in order to establish whether they are conversant with the concept of greenwashing.

In evaluating the second hypothesis H2, relating to businesses exerting green marketing efforts in social media platforms in order to influence customer decision-making concerning product purchase, the participants will be randomly selected from two social media platforms: Twitter and Facebook. One post on Twitter will include greenwashing elements while the other posted on Facebook will not contain any green elements. The independent variable, which is the social media posts and their varied characteristics, will be tested against consumer attitude and purchase intent which are the dependent variables for the second hypothesis. In facilitating the survey, the data will be collected from demographic questions answered by the participants.

Fig 1; Pie chart on survey on advertisement with green contents to evaluate credibility of green marketing on social media   

Sample Collection

            Through a Facebook link, the survey participants will collect the survey questions. This process will ensure the experimental unit is diverse in terms of racial and ethnic background, age, education and gender. The desired sample size prior to the commencement of the study is 75, which will be disintegrated into various quotas applicable for each section. The overall collection of data will include a total of 218 participants, derived from each of the divided groups for the advertisements and social media posts.

Data Analysis

Data collected from the survey will be evaluated by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). In order to eliminate any unreliable or incomplete responses, data cleaning will be conducted to increase data reliability and validity. To test homogeneity, the Levene test will be applied. Subsequently, the one-way ANOVA will be applied on the collected data to assess the three advertisements which will either confirm or nullify the first hypothesis. The variables analyzed in this test will include the purchase intent and consumer attitude to greenwashing and non-greenwashing advertisements. The third analytical test is Turkey’s that will be used in measuring hypothesis H1a. It will also be applied in conducting post hoc analysis on comparative data collected in order to demonstrate significant variations.

	Levene Statistic	P Value
Purchase Intent
Attitude
Greenwash Content

Limitations of the study

The sample collected can pose a limitation to the validity and reliability of the research. The targeted participants will be under 24 years of age, recruited from merchandising and marketing classes and other college settings. Based on their age, it is easier for them to have been exposed to non-green and green marketing advertising content before. In case of any previous exposure, the participant’s responses may be partially biased due to their awareness of which      elements identify genuine and dishonest green marketing adverts.

The second limitation emanates from the location where the participants are engaged in the study. In future studies, it is important to consider the implication of this factor as it influences the variability of responses. Location placement and regionality play a critical role in determining the participants’ receptiveness to the green and non-green marketing advertisement. This is due to exposure, as previously mentioned, and the history, culture and traditional behaviors of particular communities in relation to the environment.      

The third limitation pertains to the type of advertisement selected for the research. In this study, the marketing content was gathered from actual brands. This limits the research design because of the possibility of consumer attitude towards a brand to influence their perception on whether the advertisement is actually green or non-green. Therefore, in the future, it is important for the research structuring to consider prior conceptions of existing brands [1] as well as age and regionality.                

Conclusion

This research is important for marketers who are seeking to integrate green marketing as part of their promotional strategy in both traditional advertising and social media contexts. The findings will be monumental in demonstrating to corporates and businesses that consumers have developed a deeper understanding of greenwashing as a concept employed by companies to falsely market their products. Consequently, marketers will be encouraged to avoid product falsification aimed at dishonestly attracting consumers in order to secure sales.  According to research, environmentally conscious consumers increasingly make online purchases. With this in mind, along with the H2 variables which include purchase intent and attitude, the outcome of this study will motivate marketers to extensively explore social media platforms as an avenue for green product launches.

Additionally, it can also be used as an effective outlet to facilitate the distribution of marketing material as green consumers are likely to react positively to social media advertisements that honestly portray green products. The essential result of this study, from a business point of view, is that green companies heavily invested in social media will demonstrate a higher purchase intent as opposed to their competitors.

References

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Moser, A. K. (2015). Thinking green, buying green? Drivers of pro-environmental purchasing behavior. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 32(3), 167-175. doi:10.1108/jcm-10-2014-1179

Ward, S. (2019, June 25) Green marketing definition. The Balance Small Business. Retrieved           from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/green-marketing-2948347

Yudelson, J. (2008). Challenges to the firm posed by green marketing dynamics. Marketing Green Building Services, 4(23), 210-225. doi:10.1016/b978-0-7506-8474-3.50018-1

Ansar, N. (2013). Impact of Green Marketing on Consumer Purchase Intention. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 78(3), 56-89. doi:10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n11p650

Arbaina, S., & Suresh, A. (2019). Determinants of Drivers of Green Marketing and its Impact on Consumer Awareness and Purchase Intention: An India Perspective. International Journal of Management Studies, VI(2(2)), 72. doi:10.18843/ijms/v6i2(2)/08

Bull, J. (2012). Loads of green washing—can behavioural economics increase willingness-to-pay for efficient washing machines in the UK? Energy Policy, 50, 242-252. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2012.07.001

Carrete, L., Castaño, R., Felix, R., Centeno, E., & González, E. (2012). Green consumer behavior in an emerging economy: confusion, credibility, and compatibility. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 29(7), 470-481. doi:10.1108/07363761211274983

Hanson, D. G., Walker, R. H., & Steen, J. (2017). Green Marketing of Green Places. Greener Marketing, 6(5), 325-337. doi:10.4324/9781351283083-21

Hanson, D. G., Walker, R. H., & Steen, J. (2017). Green Marketing of Green Places: The Tasmania Experience. Greener Marketing: A Global Perspective on Greening Marketing Practice, 9(5), 325-337. doi:10.9774/gleaf.978-1-907643-20-0_23

Jansson, J., Marell, A., & Nordlund, A. (2010). Green consumer behavior: determinants of curtailment and eco‐innovation adoption. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 27(4), 358-370. doi:10.1108/07363761011052396

Khare, A. (2019). Green Apparel Buying: Role of Past Behavior, Knowledge and Peer Influence in the Assessment of Green Apparel Perceived Benefits. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 8(45), 1-17. doi:10.1080/08961530.2019.1635553

Kirezli, Ö., & Yiğit, M. K. (2019). Why Do Companies Engage in Green Marketing? Green Business, 2(12), 797-820. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-7915-1.ch039

Lin, H., & Hsu, M. (2013). Using Social Cognitive Theory to Investigate Green Consumer Behavior. Business Strategy and the Environment, 24(5), 326-343. doi:10.1002/bse.1820

Martins, G. (2015). Washing Green. Ethical Marketing and the New Consumer, 3(4), 229-239. doi:10.1002/9781119206514.ch24

Massi, M., & Ottobrini, C. F. (2019). Are Businesses Washing Consumerism With Green Ideology? Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services, 5(34), 92-109. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-8270-0.ch006

Moser, A. K. (2015). Thinking green, buying green? Drivers of pro-environmental purchasing behavior. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 32(3), 167-175. doi:10.1108/jcm-10-2014-1179

Nittala, R. (2014). Green Consumer Behavior of the Educated Segment in India. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 26(2), 138-152. doi:10.1080/08961530.2014.878205

P. Govender, J., & L. Govender, T. (2016). The influence of green marketing on consumer purchase behavior. Environmental Economics, 7(2), 77-85. doi:10.21511/ee.07(2).2016.8

Yudelson, J. (2008). CHALLENGES TO THE FIRM POSED BY GREEN MARKETING DYNAMICS. Marketing Green Building Services, 3(1), 210-225. doi:10.1016/b978-0-7506-8474-3.50018-1

Zhu, B. (2012). The Impact of Green Advertising on Consumer Purchase Intention of Green Products. SSRN Electronic Journal, 4(33), 23-45. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2182906

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Good information added, and relevant to the study. It needed some elaboration, formatting , grammatical and punctuation.