The Greenwashing Dilemma
A mixed-method study of greenwashing and its effect on consumer trust, brand equity and sustainable buying in India, with policy and branding recommendations.
Methods Mixed methods, Consumer survey (n = 100)
Firms have worked out that environmental claims sell. Rather less has been settled about what happens when consumers stop believing them — whether the damage stays with the brand that overclaimed, or spreads to sustainable products generally.
This paper surveyed 100 urban Indian consumers and combined the quantitative results with qualitative responses, looking at three things: what greenwashing does to consumer trust, what it does to brand equity, and whether it changes sustainable buying behaviour. It closes with recommendations on both the policy and the branding side.
Presented at ICMBP-2025 at Aliah University, Kolkata, where I was the youngest presenter at the conference.