Greenwashing versus Green Marketing in der Modeindustrie. Auswirkungen auf den Kaufentscheidungsprozess
Greenwashing versus Green Marketing in the Fashion Industry. The Impact on the Purchasing Decision-Making Process

Summary/Abstract: Sustainability has become part of the social consciousness in the last decade, due to increasing environmental problems. But green marketing implies great costs, and many companies are taking the short way, called greenwashing, to create the impression of false sustainability. They invest more in greenwashing campaigns to improve their image in order to be perceived as environmentally friendly than in changing their business model and practices. The current study focuses on greenwashing in the fashion industry and analyzes the impact on the buying behavior of consumers from different countries. The results of the conducted online-administered survey, reveal that even if most respondents are familiar with the concept of greenwashing, not all of them show interest in the topic, nor consider it in their purchasing decision. Less than a third would no longer buy fashion items from brands accused of greenwashing. Yet, half of them would pay more for sustainable products. Interest in greenwashing and willingness to spend more money on green fashion brands increases proportionally with the education level, yet not to a great extent. The same applies to income. There are no significant differences regarding the interest in greenwashing according to this variable. Collected data also show that fashion brands that engage in green marketing reach smaller awareness and sales figures than companies that develop greenwashing campaigns. Differences between responses from Eastern and Western Europe regarding the impact of greenwashing on the purchasing decision making process are minimal, even though in Western Europe people are more familiar with the phenomenon of greenwashing.

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