Bridging the nexus between consumers' greenwashing perception and their purchase behavior: Do confusion and perceived risk matter?

Abstract

In recent years, the sustainability trend has become popular with fast fashion businesses around the world, as consumers increasingly care about the environmental impact of their choices. This has pushed companies to use environmentally friendly messages and measures. Although efforts towards sustainability are commendable, an alarming trend has emerged: the phenomenon of “greenwashing”. In these “greenwashing” activities, companies often exaggerate or misrepresent their environmental efforts to attract environmentally conscious consumers. Greenwashing creates a serious negative impact on consumer confidence, resulting in a loss of trust in companies, their products and services. Therefore, the science research topic “Bridging the nexus between consumers' greenwashing perception and their purchase behavior: Do confusion and perceived risk matter?” was conducted to examine whether the Greenwashing Perception of some fashion brands affects consumers' shopping intentions and behavior and find out the factors that govern this relationship. Data was collected from consumers in Ho Chi Minh City with 180 valid surveys included in the analysis. The results of the study show that Greenwashing Perception has a negative impact on Purchase Intention through two intermediate variables: Perceived Risk and Consumers' Confusion, thereby reducing consumers' Purchase Behavior. The research brings practical significance, finding the factors that impact the relationship between Greenwashing Perception and Purchase Intention, then proposing solutions for administrators to minimize the impact of greenwashing when implementing sustainable strategies in business and gain consumers' trust in their brand, thereby promoting their green shopping intentions and behavior.