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Submitted 20/08/20, 1st revision 19/09/20, 2nd revision 21/10/20, accepted 03/11/20
Abstract:
Purpose: The aim of the article is to diagnose knowledge about greenwashing and consumer attitudes towards this phenomenon on selected markets of European organic food products. The main principle of greenwashing is the attempt to give the impression that the company is doing more for the environment than it actually does. The article discusses the characteristics of greenwashing and also examines the level of awareness among young consumers about the knowledge of this type of practices on the organic food market.
Approach/Methodology/Design: The subjects of the research are young people, aged 12-35, from two European countries Poland and Turkey. The research material was collected by direct interview method using a questionnaire, which contained 15 closed questions and 5 survey questions. The selection of the sample was deliberately random.
Findings. Demographic characteristics such as sex, education or other descriptions of consumers as net monthly income, place of residence do not change the knowledge about greenwashing.
Practical Implications: Greenwashing is a barrier to economic development in a sustainable way, because it contributes to the increase of skepticism among consumers towards pro-environmental initiatives. Greenwashing companies use resources that could be used in an environmentally friendly way.
Originality/Value: It cannot be ruled out that the results obtained may also affect other groups of consumers and other markets.
Keywords: Greenwashing, green consumerism, social corporate responsibility, social consumer responsibility, rural areas.
JEL: M14, M31, D18, D91, Q01
Paper Type: Research article
1.Introduction
During the last decade, the market (especially consumers) has become more aware of environmental issues. They have been used especially by large corporations shaping their activities within the framework of ecological marketing. Ecological marketing covers a wide range of activities, including product modification, changes in the production process, changes in packaging, as well as modification of advertisements. One of the negative effects of these adaptation changes is greenwashing. The phenomenon called Greenwashing is defined in marketing as the dissemination of disinformation (Horiuchi and Schuchard, 2009). It is used by business to convince consumers that the organization is socially responsible in terms of the environment (Lippert, 2011). Greenwashing activities use information asymmetry and misleading buyers (Jakubczak and Gotowska, 2018). The problem of greenwashing appears more and more often...