Greenwashing – The Dark Side of Eco-Friendly Marketing. A Case Study from Slovakia
Greenwashing is the practice of making false or misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product or service. The purpose of this study is to examine consumers’ perceptions and experiences in relation to the greenwashing tactics used by Slovak businesses within the framework of enviro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae |
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| Online Access: | https://czasopisma.uksw.edu.pl/index.php/seb/article/view/13040 |
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| author | Andrea Seberíni Katarína Izáková Miroslava Tokovská |
| author_facet | Andrea Seberíni Katarína Izáková Miroslava Tokovská |
| author_sort | Andrea Seberíni |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Greenwashing is the practice of making false or misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product or service. The purpose of this study is to examine consumers’ perceptions and experiences in relation to the greenwashing tactics used by Slovak businesses within the framework of environmental health policy. In the present study, we used data obtained through an inductive qualitative research design according to consolidated criteria. From 14 participants aged 20-45, using reflexive thematic analysis, we analysed three semi-structured focus group interviews. Four descriptive themes were created: (1) Individual and interpersonal determinants of consumers; (2) Marketing and organisational determinants of brands; (3) Public policy of the environment and health of the Slovak Republic; and (4) Environmental sustainability and ecological protection. The findings of our study confirmed that greenwashing often relies on buzzwords to reel in consumers, making them believe that the products they purchase are biodegradable or ethically sourced. The observed deterioration of consumer trust in product brands as a reaction to greenwashing threatens the potential of green marketing and contributes to damaging the reputation of the producers. One solution could be disseminating information on how customers can verify the authenticity of organic products through public and social media.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-de1556d8454f44b59ec74b9a3e747891 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1733-1218 2719-826X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae |
| spelling | doaj-art-de1556d8454f44b59ec74b9a3e7478912025-02-03T02:54:53ZengUniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w WarszawieStudia Ecologiae et Bioethicae1733-12182719-826X2024-02-0122110.21697/seb.5800Greenwashing – The Dark Side of Eco-Friendly Marketing. A Case Study from SlovakiaAndrea Seberíni0Katarína Izáková1Miroslava Tokovská2Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica,Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Kristiania University College, Oslo, Greenwashing is the practice of making false or misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product or service. The purpose of this study is to examine consumers’ perceptions and experiences in relation to the greenwashing tactics used by Slovak businesses within the framework of environmental health policy. In the present study, we used data obtained through an inductive qualitative research design according to consolidated criteria. From 14 participants aged 20-45, using reflexive thematic analysis, we analysed three semi-structured focus group interviews. Four descriptive themes were created: (1) Individual and interpersonal determinants of consumers; (2) Marketing and organisational determinants of brands; (3) Public policy of the environment and health of the Slovak Republic; and (4) Environmental sustainability and ecological protection. The findings of our study confirmed that greenwashing often relies on buzzwords to reel in consumers, making them believe that the products they purchase are biodegradable or ethically sourced. The observed deterioration of consumer trust in product brands as a reaction to greenwashing threatens the potential of green marketing and contributes to damaging the reputation of the producers. One solution could be disseminating information on how customers can verify the authenticity of organic products through public and social media. https://czasopisma.uksw.edu.pl/index.php/seb/article/view/13040greenwashingeco-friendly marketingcustomerssocial-ecological modelSlovakia |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Seberíni Katarína Izáková Miroslava Tokovská Greenwashing – The Dark Side of Eco-Friendly Marketing. A Case Study from Slovakia Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae greenwashing eco-friendly marketing customers social-ecological model Slovakia |
| title | Greenwashing – The Dark Side of Eco-Friendly Marketing. A Case Study from Slovakia |
| title_full | Greenwashing – The Dark Side of Eco-Friendly Marketing. A Case Study from Slovakia |
| title_fullStr | Greenwashing – The Dark Side of Eco-Friendly Marketing. A Case Study from Slovakia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Greenwashing – The Dark Side of Eco-Friendly Marketing. A Case Study from Slovakia |
| title_short | Greenwashing – The Dark Side of Eco-Friendly Marketing. A Case Study from Slovakia |
| title_sort | greenwashing the dark side of eco friendly marketing a case study from slovakia |
| topic | greenwashing eco-friendly marketing customers social-ecological model Slovakia |
| url | https://czasopisma.uksw.edu.pl/index.php/seb/article/view/13040 |
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