Green branding backfires: consumers reject sustainability claims they don't trust
A comprehensive review of sustainability marketing research reveals a painful paradox for brands: while some consumers pay premium prices for green products, many others actively resist them—particularly when unfamiliar third-party labels are involved. The backlash against perceived greenwashing is forcing companies to rethink how they communicate environmental credentials.
Originaltitel: Consumer responses to sustainable product branding strategies: a literature review and future research agenda
<p><strong>Purpose</strong> – This literature review aims to synthesise the research on various sustainable product branding activities and their impact on consumer responses to sustainable products and brands.</p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach</strong> – This literature review is semi-systematic and can be classified as a domain-based review. The search strategy was systematic and well-defined.</p><p><strong>Findings</strong> – The authors identified four themes: building brand equity, brand communication, product development and third-party labels and ratings, within the sustainable product branding activities that influence consumers’responses to sustainable products and brands. The study’s findings revealed diverse, and not always favourable, types of behavioural and attitudinal responses from consumers. As for the positive consumer responses, the authors found positive attitudes towards brands, willingness to pay a premium price and positive word-of-mouth intentions. As for the negative consumer responses, the authors found perceived greenwashing, negative brand evaluations and resistance to sustainable products with unfamiliar third-party labels. Several future research propositions and implications for research and practice are discussed.</p><p><strong>Originality/value</strong> –Despite the large number of studies that look at sustainable branding strategies, there is a gap in terms of synthesising the knowledge on consumer responses to sustainable product branding strategies. This paper intends to fill this gap.</p>